Bill Text: VA HB451 | 2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Economic Opportunity for Virginians in Aspiring & Diverse Communities, Commission on; report.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2016-04-01 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0650) [HB451 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2016-HB451-Chaptered.html
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia: 1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Title 30 a chapter numbered 58, consisting of sections numbered 30-362 through 30-370, as follows: §30-362. Commission on Economic Opportunity for Virginians in Aspiring and Diverse Communities; purpose. The Commission on Economic Opportunity for Virginians in Aspiring and Diverse Communities (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to determine the need for and ways to achieve economic opportunities for aspiring and diverse communities and populations in the Commonwealth. §30-363. Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman and vice-chairman. The Commission shall consist of 13 members that include seven legislative members and six nonlegislative citizen members. Members shall be appointed as follows: four 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; three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; three nonlegislative citizen members with expertise in economics, education, and job creation, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and three nonlegislative citizen members with expertise in entrepreneurship, employment, and homeownership, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the Commission and the respective Clerk, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth for the purpose of attending meetings. Legislative 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. The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly. §30-364. 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 the majority of the members so request. No recommendation of the Commission shall be adopted if a majority of the House members or a majority of the Senate members appointed to the Commission (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Commission. §30-365. Compensation; expenses. Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in §30-19.12, and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive such compensation for the performance of their duties as provided in §2.2-2813. 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. All other compensation and expenses shall be paid from existing appropriations to the Commission or, if unfunded, shall be approved by the Joint Rules Committee. §30-366. Commission on Economic Opportunity for Virginians in Aspiring and Diverse Communities Fund. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Commission on Economic Opportunity for Virginians in Aspiring and Diverse Communities Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All moneys, gifts, grants, donations, bequests, or other funds from any source as may be received by the Commission for its work shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of enabling the Commission to perform its duties. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the chairman of the Commission. §30-367. Powers and duties of the Commission. The Commission shall have the following powers and duties: 1. Provide a demographic analysis of minorities residing in Virginia by locality and educational, employment, and economic status; 2. Determine the overall and minority population change since the 2010 United States decennial census in Virginia and project the minority population change for the decennial census in 2020 and 2030 to assess education, employment, housing, entrepreneurship, and job creation needs for minorities; 3. Evaluate whether a nexus exists between education, higher education, poverty, familial and disparate health status, unemployment, imprisonment, housing patterns, job skills training, access to technology, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunities among minorities; 4. Assess the impact of federal, state, and local fiscal and economic conditions and social policies on economic opportunities for minorities; 5. Identify state, local, and community organizations that provide or refer members of aspiring and diverse communities to job skills training, angel investments, and other economic opportunities; 6. Develop strategies and recommendations to increase and improve economic opportunities for members of aspiring and diverse communities in Virginia; 7. Collaborate with the Virginia Employment Commission, the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service of the University of Virginia, and other appropriate entities to facilitate the Commission's work and mission; 8. Solicit, accept, use, and dispose of gifts, grants, donations, bequests, or other funds received by the Commission for the purpose of aiding or facilitating its work; and 9. Perform such other duties, functions, and activities as may be necessary to facilitate and implement the objectives of this chapter. §30-368. Staffing. Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or the Office of the Clerk of the Senate as may be appropriate for the house in which the chairman of the Commission serves. The Division of Legislative Services shall provide legal, research, policy analysis, and other services as requested by the Commission. All state agencies shall provide technical assistance to the Commission, upon request. §30-369. Chairman's executive summary of activity and work of the Commission. The chairman shall submit to the General Assembly and the Governor 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 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. §30-370. Sunset. This chapter shall expire on July 1, 2019. |
