# Virginia HB859: Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements.

Virginia HB859, Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Rae Cousins (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0684)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB859-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB859
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0684)
- Sponsor: Rae Cousins (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 10 (328 yes, 5 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Department of Education; Farm to School Program Task Force; membership requirements. Amends the membership requirements of the Farm to School Program Task Force established in accordance with applicable law by requiring the membership to include (i) one member of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules after consideration of the recommendation of the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education and Health; (ii) one member of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates after consideration of the recommendation of the Chair of the House Committee on Education; (iii) at least four members to be appointed by the Department of Education, including at least one school board member, one representative of the Department of General Services involved in procurement, one representative of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and one farmer or producer in the Commonwealth who sells only the farm or agricultural products produced or grown by him; and (iv) such additional members as the Department of Education deems necessary or appropriate.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Virginia schools get farm-to-school program support: benefit, low. The law requires Virginia’s education department to establish a task force to improve students’ access to farm-to-school programs. These programs include public schools buying and highlighting local food in meals, plus hands-on learning through gardens and farm visits. The task force works with sch…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Rae Cousins (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | House | Senate substitute agreed to by House | pass | 98 | 1 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Education and Health Substitute agreed to | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 39 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-04 | Senate | Reported from Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-26 | Senate | Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations | pass | 15 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 93 | 2 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Reported from Education | pass | 18 | 2 |   |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (35)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0684) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 684 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB859) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB859ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Senate substitute agreed to by House (98-Y 1-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-09: Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Education and Health Substitute agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Reported from Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-03-02: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB859) (House)
- 2026-02-27: Committee substitute printed 26108248D-S1 (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Reported from Education and Health with substitute and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Assigned Education sub: Public Education (Senate)
- 2026-02-19: Senate subcommittee offered (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Referred to Committee on Education and Health (Senate)
- 2026-02-04: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-03: Read third time and passed House (93-Y 2-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-02: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-01-30: Read first time (House)
- 2026-01-29: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB859) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Reported from Education (18-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-23: Assigned HED sub: K-12 Subcommittee (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on Education (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26105157D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221724.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221723.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210865.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210864.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-27: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185455.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185454.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-19: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1170952.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1170951.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086212.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086211.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221724.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1221723.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210865.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210864.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185455.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1185454.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1170952.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1170951.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086212.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086211.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB859-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).