Bill Text: VA HB839 | 2024 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: American Revolution 250 Commission; amends membership and staffing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-04-04 - Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0400) [HB839 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HB839-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§30-422 and 30-426 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§30-422. (Expires July 1, 2032) Membership; terms; vacancies; chairman and vice-chairman.
A. The Commission shall have a total membership of 27 at least 26
members that shall consist of five legislative members, 17 16 nonlegislative citizen
members, and at least five ex officio
members. Members shall be appointed as follows:
1. Two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules;
2. Three 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;
3. One representative from each of the lead commemoration partners: the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, the primary state agency; the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the primary nonstate agency; and Gunston Hall, the primary representative of Virginia's historic homes and related sites;
4. One representative from the American Battlefield Trust, the secretariat of the United States
Semiquincentennial Commission, and one representative from
the Virginia Bar Association;
5. Six members appointed by the Governor from a list of 10 provided by the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation; and
6. Six members appointed by the Governor from a list of 10 provided by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.
7. The chairman and vice-chairman of the Commission may appoint up to four members who are directors of historic homes, historic sites, or National Park Service sites in Virginia. Such members shall serve as ex officio members with voting privileges.
8. The chairman and vice-chairman of the Commission may appoint former legislative members of the Commission who have retired or resigned from the General Assembly. Such members shall serve as ex officio members with voting privileges.
The Secretary of Education, the Librarian of Virginia, the Director of the Department of Historic Resources, the Executive Director of Virginia Humanities, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Tourism Authority, or their designees, shall serve as ex officio members with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.
B. The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.
C. Legislative members of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for the duration of the Commission's activities. Appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.
§30-426. (Expires July 1, 2032) Staffing.
The Commission may appoint and employ and, at its pleasure, remove an executive director and such other persons as it deems necessary to assist it in carrying out its duties as set forth in this chapter. The Commission may determine the duties of such staff and fix their salaries or compensation within the amounts appropriated thereof. If funds are not appropriated for staffing, the Joint Rules Committee shall determine the staffing support for the Commission.
Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office
of the Clerk of the Senate or the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates
as may be appropriate for the house in which the chairman of the Commission
serves. The Division of Legislative Services shall serve as
fiscal agent and provide legal services as requested by the
Commission. All agencies and political subdivisions of the Commonwealth shall
provide assistance to the Commission, upon request.
