Bill Text: VA HB1415 | 2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Henrietta Lacks Commission; established.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2018-03-30 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0705) [HB1415 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2018-HB1415-Chaptered.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §2.2-2101 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 25 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 10, consisting of sections numbered 2.2-2537 through 2.2-2543, as follows:
§2.2-2101. Prohibition against service by legislators on boards, commissions, and councils within the executive branch; exceptions.
Members of the General Assembly shall be ineligible to serve on boards, commissions, and councils within the executive branch of state government who are responsible for administering programs established by the General Assembly. Such prohibition shall not extend to boards, commissions, and councils engaged solely in policy studies or commemorative activities. If any law directs the appointment of any member of the General Assembly to a board, commission, or council in the executive branch of state government that is responsible for administering programs established by the General Assembly, such portion of such law shall be void, and the Governor shall appoint another person from the Commonwealth at large to fill such a position.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to members of
the Board for Branch Pilots, who shall be appointed as provided for in §
54.1-901; to members of the Board of Trustees of the Southwest Virginia Higher
Education Center, who shall be appointed as provided for in §23.1-3126; to
members of the Board of Trustees of the Southern Virginia Higher Education
Center, who shall be appointed as provided for in §23.1-3121; to members of
the Board of Directors of the New College Institute, who shall be appointed as
provided for in §23.1-3112; to members of the Advisory Board on Teacher
Education and Licensure, who shall be appointed as provided for in §
22.1-305.2; to members of the Virginia Interagency Coordinating Council, who
shall be appointed as provided for in §2.2-5204; to members of the Board of
Veterans Services, who shall be appointed as provided for in §2.2-2452; to
members appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Roanoke Higher Education
Authority pursuant to §23.1-3117; to members of the Board of Trustees of the
Online Virginia Network Authority, who shall be appointed as provided in §
23.1-3136; to members of the Virginia Geographic Information Network Advisory
Board, who shall be appointed as provided for in §2.2-2423; to members of the
Standards of Learning Innovation Committee, who shall be appointed as provided
for in §22.1-253.13:10; to members of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia
School for the Deaf and the Blind, who shall be appointed as provided for in §
22.1-346.2; to members of the Substance Abuse Services Council, who shall be
appointed as provided for in §2.2-2696; to members of the Criminal Justice
Services Board, who shall be appointed as provided in §9.1-108; to members of
the State Executive Council for Children's Services, who shall be appointed as
provided in §2.2-2648; to members of the Virginia Board of Workforce
Development, who shall be appointed as provided for in §2.2-2471; to members
of the Volunteer Firefighters' and Rescue Squad Workers' Service Award Fund
Board, who shall be appointed as provided for in §51.1-1201; to members of the
Secure and Resilient Commonwealth Panel, who shall be appointed as provided for
in §2.2-222.3; to members of the Forensic Science Board, who shall be
appointed as provided for in §9.1-1109; to members of the Southwest Virginia
Cultural Heritage Foundation, who shall be appointed as provided in §2.2-2735;
or to members of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board, who shall be
appointed as provided in §2.2-2485; or to members of the Henrietta Lacks
Commission, who shall be appointed as provided in §2.2-2538.
§2.2-2537. Henrietta Lacks Commission; purpose.
The Henrietta Lacks Commission (the Commission) is established as an advisory commission in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to sustain the legacy of the life-changing contribution of Henrietta Lacks to medical science by advancing cancer research and treatment through the creation of a biomedical research and data center.
§2.2-2538. Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman and vice-chairman.
A. The Commission shall consist of nine members that include two legislative members, three nonlegislative citizen members, and four ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: (i) one member 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; (ii) one member of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and (iii) one nonlegislative citizen member who is a member of the extended family of Henrietta Lacks, one nonlegislative citizen member who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Henrietta Lacks Legacy Group, and one nonlegislative citizen member who is a member of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority to be appointed by the Governor. The mayor of the Town of South Boston, the chair of the Board of Supervisors of Halifax County, the Executive Director of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, and the Executive Director of the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority, or their designees, shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.
B. Legislative members and ex officio 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. Legislative members and nonlegislative citizen members may be reappointed. However, no nonlegislative citizen member 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. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
C. The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.
§2.2-2539. Quorum; meetings; voting on recommendations.
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 a majority of the members so request.
§2.2-2540. Compensation; expenses.
Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in §30-19.12. Nonlegislative citizen members shall not receive compensation. All members shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Compensation to members of the General Assembly for attendance at official meetings of the Commission shall be paid by the offices of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or Clerk of the Senate, as applicable. Reimbursement for the reasonable and necessary expenses of nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be paid by the Halifax County Industrial Development Authority.
§2.2-2541. Powers and duties of the Commission.
The Commission shall have the power and duty to:
1. Establish a public-private partnership to create the Henrietta Lacks Life Sciences Center as a cancer research and treatment center located in Halifax County and designed to (i) transform and accelerate cancer research and treatment through the use of biodata tools, (ii) provide tailored cancer treatment medicine to an underserved portion of rural Southside Virginia, and (iii) incubate new biotech businesses across the Southside Virginia region; and
2. 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.
§2.2-2542. Staffing; cooperation of agencies of state and local governments.
The Department of Health shall provide staff support to the Commission. Every department, division, board, bureau, commission, authority, or political subdivision of the Commonwealth shall cooperate with, and provide assistance to, the Commission, upon request.
§2.2-2543. Sunset.
This article shall expire on July 1, 2021.
