A bill recently put forward by State Del. Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker would require restaurant employees to be trained on celiac disease awareness and safety, complementing existing food safety guidelines, as reported by the Virginia State House.
The measure, filed as HB380 on Jan. 14, 2026, in the 2026 regular session, carries the description: “Celiac disease; training materials for restaurant personnel.”
This summary analyzes the official bill language and may clarify provisions as needed.
The legislation calls for the state health commissioner to add celiac disease awareness and safety subjects to the standard written training provided to restaurant personnel. The revised materials would address food safety, food allergy awareness and prevention, celiac disease awareness and safety, communicable disease prevention, symptom identification, personal hygiene, and potential hazards during food preparation. The bill maintains the commissioner’s ability to supply trainers for teaching safe food handling.
Rep. Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker (Democrat-5th District), Rep. Delores L. McQuinn (Democrat-81st District) and Rep. Jeion A. Ward (Democrat-87th District) are named as sponsors of the bill.
To date in this session, Bennett-Parker has introduced 12 additional bills.
Bennett-Parker earned her BA from Cornell University in 2007.
Bennett-Parker, a Democrat, was elected to Virginia’s State Senate in 2026, representing the 39th House District after succeeding former state senator Adam Ebbin.
In Virginia, the process for enacting legislation starts with a bill’s introduction in either legislative chamber. The proposal moves to committee review for debate and potential revision. If passed by committee, it advances to full chamber discussion and voting in both the House and Senate. Bills approved in both chambers are forwarded to the governor, who may enact the bill, block it with a veto, or permit it to become law without a signature. Regular sessions for the Virginia General Assembly begin the second Monday in January. Hundreds of bills are introduced annually, with only a subset ultimately enacted.
| Legislative Session | Patron(s) | Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Delores L. McQuinn, and Jeion A. Ward | HB380 | 01/14/2026 | Celiac disease; training materials for restaurant personnel. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Adele Y. McClure, Atoosa R. Reaser, Briana D. Sewell, Debra D. Gardner, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Garrett McGuire, Gretchen M Bulova, Jackie H. Glass, Karen Keys-Gamarra, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Kimberly Pope Adams, Laura Jane Cohen, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Lily V. Franklin, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Margaret A. Franklin, Mark C. Downey, Marty Martinez, May Nivar, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., and Rozia A. Henson, Jr. | HB4 | 01/14/2026 | Affordable housing; preservation, definitions, civil penalty. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Barbara A. Favola, Dan I. Helmer, Holly M. Seibold, Irene Shin, Jessica L. Anderson, Kathy K.L. Tran, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Marty Martinez, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Rae Cousins, and Rozia A. Henson, Jr. | HB93 | 01/14/2026 | Firearms; transfers to another person from a prohibited person. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB94 | 01/14/2026 | Vehicle registration fees; disabled veterans. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Adele Y. McClure, Amy J. Laufer, Atoosa R. Reaser, Charlie Schmidt, Debra D. Gardner, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Elizabeth R. Guzman, Garrett McGuire, Gretchen M Bulova, Jackie H. Glass, Jessica L. Anderson, Joshua G. Cole, Karen Keys-Gamarra, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Kimberly Pope Adams, Laura Jane Cohen, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Margaret A. Franklin, Mark C. Downey, Marty Martinez, May Nivar, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., Rozia A. Henson, Jr., Stacey Annie Carroll, and Virgil Thornton | HB95 | 01/14/2026 | Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Laura Jane Cohen, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Shelly A. Simonds, Adele Y. McClure, Amy J. Laufer, Atoosa R. Reaser, Debra D. Gardner, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Garrett McGuire, Gretchen M Bulova, Jackie H. Glass, Jessica L. Anderson, Joshua E. Thomas, Karen Keys-Gamarra, Karen R. “Kacey” Carnegie, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Leslie Chambers Mehta, Lily V. Franklin, Margaret A. Franklin, Mark C. Downey, Marty Martinez, May Nivar, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Nadarius E. Clark, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., Rozia A. Henson, Jr., Stacey Annie Carroll, Virgil Thornton, and Vivian E. Watts | HB96 | 01/14/2026 | School breakfast; availability at no cost to students. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Betsy B. Carr, Alfonso H. Lopez, Elizabeth R. Guzman, and Paul E. Krizek | HB377 | 01/14/2026 | Uniform Statewide Building Code; amendments, energy efficiency and conservation. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB379 | 01/14/2026 | Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; application, notice, deposit, fee. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker and Marcia S. “Cia” Price | HB381 | 01/14/2026 | Investigation or autopsy of dead bodies; notification of retention of whole organ. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB382 | 01/14/2026 | School board chairmen and vice-chairmen; additional annual salary. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB383 | 01/14/2026 | SCHEV; exemption of certain courses and programs of instruction from certification requirement. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB385 | 01/14/2026 | Alcoholic beverage control; operation of government stores, tastings. |
| 2026 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Alfonso H. Lopez, and Jackie H. Glass | HB975 | 01/14/2026 | Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio, report. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB2653 | 01/14/2025 | Qualified equity and subordinated debt investments tax credit; sunset. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Shelly A. Simonds, Adele Y. McClure, Alex Q. Askew, Alfonso H. Lopez, Atoosa R. Reaser, Betsy B. Carr, Bonita G. Anthony, C.E. Cliff Hayes, Jr., Candi Mundon King, Charniele L. Herring, Dan I. Helmer, Debra D. Gardner, Delores L. McQuinn, Destiny LeVere Bolling, Holly M. Seibold, Irene Shin, Jackie H. Glass, Kathy K.L. Tran, Katrina Callsen, Kelly K. Convirs-Fowler, Laura Jane Cohen, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Mark D. Sickles, Marty Martinez, Michael B. Feggans, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, Patrick A. Hope, Paul E. Krizek, Rae Cousins, Richard C. “Rip” Sullivan, Jr., and Vivian E. Watts | HB1973 | 01/13/2025 | Affordable housing; preservation, definitions, civil penalty. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1993 | 01/13/2025 | Public school buses; display of advertising, hiring of school bus drivers. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1994 | 01/13/2025 | Alcoholic beverage control; requirements for restaurant retail licensees. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1995 | 01/13/2025 | SCHEV; evaluating certain activities/programs of private & out-of-state postsecondary institutions. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker | HB1996 | 01/13/2025 | Planning and zoning; second public hearing notice. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker and Irene Shin | HB2104 | 01/13/2025 | Seizure rescue meds.; administration by certain school employees, possession by certain students. |
| 2025 | Elizabeth B. Bennett-Parker, Irene Shin, Marcia S. “Cia” Price, Michelle Lopes Maldonado, and Nadarius E. Clark | HB1960 | 01/08/2025 | Firearm transfers to another person from a prohibited person. |
