Virginia Law

The Virginia Commission to End Hunger (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government.

The purpose of the Commission is to develop an action plan every two years for ending hunger in the Commonwealth, review the progress of such plan, and ensure cross-collaboration among government entities and community partners toward the goal of ending hunger in the Commonwealth.

2024, c. 296.

The Commission shall have a total membership of 19 members that shall consist of eight legislative members and 11 nonlegislative citizen members. Members shall be appointed as follows: three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; five members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; five nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom is a researcher at the university level, three of whom are representatives from community organizations working toward ending hunger, and one of whom is a nutritionist, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and six nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom is a researcher at the university level, one of whom is a representative of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, two of whom are representatives from community organizations working toward ending hunger, one of whom is a high school junior or senior student representative from a public school, and one of whom is a board-certified physician, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.

Legislative members of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed.

No Senate member shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms, no House member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms, and no nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates or the Senate Committee on Rules shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.

The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.

No recommendation of the Commission shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the Commission (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Commission.

2024, c. 296.

Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in § 30-19.12, and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive such compensation for the performance of their duties as provided in § 2.2-2813. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.

2024, c. 296.

The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Identify all funding sources that can be used for improving nutrition and ending hunger for which the state has administrative control as well as for development of future funding.

2. Identify strategies for ensuring that each public elementary and secondary student has access to nutritious meals and snacks at school, including by promoting full participation in all federally assisted school meal and snack programs by both eligible schools and eligible students in such schools.

3. Identify barriers to food access and develop sustainable policies and programs to address those barriers.

4. Promote and facilitate public-private partnerships.

5. Develop benchmarks and set goals to indicate success.

6. Submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual report for publication as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports. The chairman of the Commission shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Commission no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted for publication as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.

2024, c. 296.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the chairman of the Commission. The Division of Legislative Services shall provide legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the Commission. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission, upon request.

2024, c. 296.

This chapter shall expire on July 1, 2027.

2024, c. 296.