10103415D Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That §§ 32.1-122.7 and 32.1-122.21 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding sections numbered 32.1-122.7:1 and 32.1-122.7:2 as follows: §32.1-122.7. Virginia Workforce Development Authority; purpose. A. B. The
mission of the
32.1-122.7:1. Board of Directors of the Virginia Workforce Development Authority. The Virginia Workforce Development Authority shall be governed by a Board of Directors. The Board shall consist of 13 members to be appointed as follows: two 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; one member of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; seven nonlegislative citizen members, three of whom shall be representatives of health professional educational or training programs, three of whom shall be health professionals or employers or representatives of health professionals, and one of whom shall to be a representative of community health, to be appointed by the Governor; and the Commissioner of Health, or his designee, the Chancellor of the Virginia Community College System or his designee, and the Director of the Department of Health Professions or his designee, shall serve as ex officio members with voting privileges. Members appointed by the Governor shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Legislative members and state government officials shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. All appointments of nonlegislative citizen members shall be for two-year terms following the initial staggering of terms. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Legislative and citizen members may be reappointed; however, no citizen member shall serve more than two 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 term limit. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The Board shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman annually from among its legislative members. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The Board of Directors shall report biennially on the activities and recommendations of the Authority to the Secretary of Health and Human Resources, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the State Board of Health, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Governor and the General Assembly. In any reporting period where state general funds are appropriated to the Authority, the report shall include a detailed summary of how state general funds were expended. The accounts and records of the Authority showing the receipt and disbursement of funds from whatever source derived shall be in a form prescribed by the Auditor of Public Accounts. The Auditor of Public Accounts, or his legally authorized representative, shall annually examine the accounts of the Authority. §32.1-122.7:2. Powers and duties of the Virginia Workforce Development Authority; exemptions. A. The Authority is authorized to serve as the incorporated consortium of allopathic and osteopathic medical schools in Virginia as required by federal statute to qualify for the receipt of Area Health Education Centers programs, legislatively mandated under the Public Health Service Act as amended, Title VII, Section 751, and 42 U.S.C. 294a; and to administer federal, state, and local programs as needed to carry out its public purpose and objectives. The Authority is further authorized to exercise independently the powers conferred by this section in furtherance of its corporate and public purposes, to benefit citizens and such other persons who might be served by the Authority. B. The Authority is authorized to monitor, collect, and track data pertaining to health care delivery, training, and education from Virginia education institutions and other entities as needed to carry out its public purpose and objectives in areas where such data efforts do not already exist. C. The Authority shall have the authority to assess policies, engage in policy development, and make policy recommendations. D. The Authority shall have the authority to apply for and accept federal, state and local public and private grants, loans, appropriations, and donations; hire and compensate staff, including an Executive Director; rent, lease, buy, own, acquire, and dispose of property, real or personal; participate in joint ventures, including to make contracts and other agreements with public and private entities in order to carry out its public purpose and objectives; and make bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs. E. The Authority shall be exempt from the provisions of Chapter 29 (§2.2-2900 et seq.) and Chapter 43 (§2.2-4300 et seq.) of Title 2.2. F. The exercise of powers granted by this article and the undertaking of activities in the furtherance of the purpose of the Authority constitute the performance of essential governmental functions. Therefore, the Authority shall be exempt from any tax or assessment upon any project or property acquired or used by the Authority under the provisions of this article or upon the income therefrom, including sales and use taxes on tangible personal property used in the operation of the Authority. This exemption shall not extend to persons conducting business for which local or state taxes would otherwise be required. §32.1-122.21. Health Workforce Advisory Committee. The Commissioner shall establish a Health Workforce Advisory
Committee to advise him on all aspects of the Department's health workforce
duties and responsibilities identified in this article. The Health Workforce
Advisory Committee shall include representatives of (i) each of the
Commonwealth's academic health centers; (ii) the 2. That the initial terms of the nonlegislative citizen members of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Workforce Development Authority shall be staggered as follows: four members shall be appointed for terms of two years and three members shall be appointed for terms of one year. 3. That upon the initial appointment of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Workforce Development Authority, §32.1-122.21 of the Code of Virginia is repealed. |