---
type: "Bill"
title: "Food donations; labeling, liability."
description: "Food donations; labeling; liability. Exemptsindividuals and entities that donate food and charitable organizations that accept food donations from criminal and civil liability fordonating or receiving food past its best-by date or other non-safety labels so long as all parties are informed. The bill provides thatimmunity from liability shall not apply in instances of gross negligenceor intentional misconduct."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2022"
identifier: "HB 1249"
citation: "Virginia HB 1249 (2022)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Glenn R. Davis"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 32
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2022-01-20"
last_action: "2022-04-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/73cfa5be-ee83-4856-85a5-d600003f6084"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+sum+HB1249"
source_hash: "94d309bad495fb987a4760cef2f0849e74ac043f2f2f4654f9b2250e8cc2fccd"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 1249 (2022) — Food donations; labeling, liability.

Food donations; labeling; liability. Exemptsindividuals and entities that donate food and charitable organizations that accept food donations from criminal and civil liability fordonating or receiving food past its best-by date or other non-safety labels so long as all parties are informed. The bill provides thatimmunity from liability shall not apply in instances of gross negligenceor intentional misconduct.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **CHAP0633** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+CHAP0633)
2. **Committee substitute printed 22106365D-H1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB1249H1)
3. **HB1249EH1** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB1249EH1)
4. **HB1249ER** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB1249ER)
5. **Presented and ordered printed 22104344D** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?221+ful+HB1249)

## Votes

- VOTE: Passage (100-Y 0-N) — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (15-Y 0-N) — **15–0** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N) — **10–0** (pass) · lower
- Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (21-Y 0-N) — **21–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Glenn R. Davis — primary (person)
- Dan I. Helmer — cosponsor (person)
- Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker — cosponsor (person)
- Jackie H. Glass — cosponsor (person)
- Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr. — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2022-01-20** Presented and ordered printed 22104344D `introduction`
- **2022-01-20** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-31** Assigned ACNR sub: Agriculture `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-31** Impact statement from DPB (HB1249)
- **2022-02-02** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2022-02-02** Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (10-Y 0-N)
- **2022-02-09** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2022-02-09** Reported from Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources with substitute (21-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2022-02-09** Committee substitute printed 22106365D-H1 `substitution`
- **2022-02-11** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2022-02-14** House committee, floor amendments and substitutes offered
- **2022-02-14** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2022-02-14** Committee substitute agreed to 22106365D-H1
- **2022-02-14** Amendments by Delegate Davis agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2022-02-14** Engrossed by House - committee substitute with amendments HB1249EH1
- **2022-02-14** Printed as engrossed 22106365D-EH1
- **2022-02-15** Read third time and passed House (100-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2022-02-15** VOTE: Passage (100-Y 0-N)
- **2022-02-16** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2022-02-16** Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources `referral-committee`
- **2022-02-17** Impact statement from DPB (HB1249EH1)
- **2022-03-01** Reported from Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources (15-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2022-03-03** Constitutional reading dispensed (39-Y 0-N)
- **2022-03-04** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2022-03-04** Passed Senate (39-Y 0-N) `passage`
- **2022-03-09** Enrolled
- **2022-03-09** Signed by Speaker
- **2022-03-10** Impact statement from DPB (HB1249ER)
- **2022-03-10** Signed by President
- **2022-03-22** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 22, 2022
- **2022-03-22** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 11, 2022
- **2022-04-11** Approved by Governor-Chapter 633 (effective 7/1/22) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/73cfa5be-ee83-4856-85a5-d600003f6084`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).