Bill Text: VA HB1066 | 2024 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: History of Uprooting of Black Communities by Public Inst. of Higher Ed., Com. to Study; established.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-02-13 - Left in Appropriations [HB1066 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB1066-Prefiled.html
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 67, consisting of sections numbered 30-430 through 30-437, as follows:
§30-430. Commission to Study the History of the Uprooting of Black Communities by Public Institutions of Higher Education in the Commonwealth; definitions; purpose.
A. As used in this chapter, "public institution of higher education" has the same meaning as provided in §23.1-100.
B. The Commission to Study the History of the Uprooting of Black Communities by Public Institutions of Higher Education in the Commonwealth (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to study and determine (i) whether any public institution of higher education has purchased, expropriated, or otherwise taken possession of property owned by any individual or entity within the boundaries of a community in which a majority of the residents are Black in order to establish or expand the institution's campus and (ii) whether and what form of compensation or relief would be appropriate for any individual described in clause (i) or any of his lineal descendants.
§30-431. Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman and vice-chairman.
The Commission shall consist of 19 members that include 10 legislative members, 7 nonlegislative citizen members, and 2 ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: six 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; four members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; four nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; three nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and the Secretary of Education and the Director of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia or their designees to serve ex officio with voting privileges. 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 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.
The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership, who shall be members of the General Assembly.
§30-432. 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.
§30-433. 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.
§30-434. Powers and duties of the Commission.
The Commission shall have the following duties:
1. Consult with each public institution of higher education to determine whether the institution has purchased, expropriated, or otherwise taken possession of property owned by any individual within the boundaries of a community in which a majority of the residents are Black in order to establish or expand the institution's campus;
2. Research whether acquisitions similar to those described in subdivision 1 have occurred in other states;
3. Analyze, in conjunction with the relevant public institution of higher education and such other stakeholders as it deems appropriate, whether and what form of compensation or relief would be appropriate for any individual described in subdivision 1 or any of his lineal descendants; and
4. Consult with such experts as it deems appropriate to assist it in carrying out its duties as set forth in this section.
§30-435. 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.
§30-436. 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.
§30-437. Sunset.
This chapter shall expire on July 1, 2027.
2. That, for its first year of existence, if the Commission to Study the History of the Uprooting of Black Communities by Public Institutions of Higher Education in the Commonwealth (the Commission) is not funded by a separate appropriation in the appropriation act, the Commission may be funded from the operating budgets of the Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate upon the approval of the Joint Rules Committee. If the Commission is not funded by a separate appropriation in the appropriation act for any year thereafter, this act shall expire on July 1 of the fiscal year in which the Commission fails to receive such funding.
