Bill Text: VA HB1823 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Lynching Sites Memorialization, Virginia Commission on; established, report, sunset.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2025-02-04 - Left in Appropriations [HB1823 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2025-HB1823-Introduced.html
2025 SESSION
INTRODUCED
25101173D
HOUSE BILL NO. 1823
Offered January 8, 2025
Prefiled January 6, 2025
A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-2101 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 25 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 14, consisting of sections numbered 2.2-2565 through 2.2-2570, relating to Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization established; report.
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Patron—Reid
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Committee Referral Pending
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 2.2-2101 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Chapter 25 of Title 2.2 an article numbered 14, consisting of sections numbered 2.2-2565 through 2.2-2570, 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 Information Technology Advisory Council, who shall be appointed as provided for in § 2.2-2699.5; 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 Virginia Addiction Recovery 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; to members of the Virginia Growth and Opportunity Board, who shall be appointed as provided in § 2.2-2485; to members of the Henrietta Lacks Commission, who shall be appointed as provided in § 2.2-2538; or to members of the Commission to Study Slavery and Subsequent De Jure and De Facto Racial and Economic Discrimination Against African Americans, who shall be appointed as provided in § 2.2-2552; or to members of the Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization, who shall be appointed as provided in § 2.2-2566.
Article 14.
Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization.
§ 2.2-2565. The Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization; purpose.
The Virginia Commission on Lynching Sites Memorialization (the Commission) is established as an advisory commission in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to acknowledge the history of racial violence in Virginia through the placement of historical markers at the sites of lynchings.
§ 2.2-2566. Membership; terms; quorum; meetings.
The Commission shall have a total membership of 15 members that shall consist of six legislative members, six nonlegislative citizen members, and three ex officio 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; two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and six nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Director of the Department of Historic Resources, or his designee, the Commissioner of Highways, or his designee, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his designee, all of whom shall serve ex officio. Of the six nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor, two shall be descendants of a victim of lynching or have experience working on Black History projects, two shall be members of or represent a civil rights organization, and two shall be history professors from a Virginia historically black college or university, selected from a list of nominees submitted by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.
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 four years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed.
The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The Commission shall meet no more than four times each year. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.
§ 2.2-2567. Compensation; expenses; staff support.
A. 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 all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for the costs of compensation and expenses of the members shall be provided by the Department of Historic Resources.
B. The Department of Historic Resources, in cooperation with the Library of Virginia, shall provide staff support to the Commission. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission, upon request.
§ 2.2-2568. Powers and duties of the Commission.
The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
1. Conduct research on historical lynchings that occurred within Virginia from 1607 through the present, using historical records, newspapers, academic studies, oral histories, and other resources as may be appropriate, in order to create a comprehensive registry of lynching sites within Virginia.
2. Seek out and engage descendants or relatives of lynching victims in the memorialization process to ensure victims are respectfully and sensitively identified and remembered.
3. Identify the precise or approximate geographic location where a lynching occurred and work with the Department of Historic Resources to designate such locations as historic landmarks pursuant to § 10.1-2206.1 and place historical markers at or near the identified site.
4. Ensure the content of such historical markers placed by the Department of Historic Resources provides an accurate and respectful account of the lynching event, including the historical context and broader racial significance.
5. Collaborate with the Department of Education to develop educational materials and programs to promote public awareness of the history of racial violence and lynching in Virginia.
6. Collaborate with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission to host public forums, commemorations, and unveilings of historical markers in order to engage communities in dialogue about the legacies of lynching and to promote racial healing.
7. 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. Such report shall include the number and location of sites identified and markers placed by the Commission. The chairman 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.
§ 2.2-2569. Funding and partnerships.
In addition to any funds appropriated to the Commission, the Commission shall seek funding from private donors, including corporations, and apply for federal grants designated for racial reconciliation or historical preservation projects to support its operation and the placement of historical markers.
The Commission is authorized to enter into partnerships with private organizations, foundations, or other entities to secure funding for the design, construction, and installation of historical markers. Regardless of the source of funding, historical markers erected by the Commission shall be approved by the Department of Historic Resources as provided in § 10.1-2209.
§ 2.2-2570. Sunset.
This article shall expire on July 1, 2028.
