General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2003>General Assembly

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General Assembly

Passed

P HB1506

Capitol Hostesses. Changes the name of the Capitol Hostesses to the Capitol Tour Guides. The new name is intended to be gender neutral and inclusive of current staff.
Patron - Callahan

P HB1563

Capitol Police. Authorizes the Legislative Support Commission to assign the jurisdiction of any property of the Commonwealth to the Capitol Police. The jurisdiction of the Capitol Police is also clarified to include all property leased by the Commonwealth.
Patron - Callahan

P HB2471

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. Authorizes the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission to seek, receive, and expend gifts, grants, donations, bequests, and other funds in connection with its duties as directed by the Joint Rules Committee. This bill also establishes the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fund into which gifts, grants, donations, and other funds obtained by the Commission will be deposited to provide financial support for its work, including private funds to support the King Living History and Public Policy Center, which is also established by this bill. The Commission is required by law to establish a memorial to Dr. King in the Commonwealth, which the Center fulfills. The Center, among other things, will (i) perform public policy analysis and scholarly inquiry and writing; (ii) acquire and preserve records, oral histories, and memorabilia documenting Dr. King's relationship with and impact on the Commonwealth; (iii) make the programs, activities, and resources of the Center available to public and private schools and the public; and (iv) provide support for undergraduate and graduate study at the participating public and private institutions of higher education that comprise the Center. In addition, the bill contains several technical amendments that conform the statute to the new legislative guidelines adopted by the Joint Rules Committee, and an emergency clause to allow the Commission to receive and expend pending donations and contributions. This bill is a recommendation of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission and is identical to SB 827.
Patron - Crittenden

P HB2507

Journals and documents of the Senate and House of Delegates. Removes the requirement for the binding of the Senate and House of Delegates documents. The bill also requires that persons eligible to receive copies of the House and Senate Journals must submit a written request for them. The number of copies of the Journals reserved for the Division of Legislative Automated Systems and The Library of Virginia has been changed to reflect the current practice and other controlling laws.
Patron - Griffith

P HB2515

General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act; disclosure form. Requires disclosure by General Assembly members of certain relationships with lobbyists. The bill provides that such disclosure (i) does not constitute a waiver of the attorney-client or other privilege for third parties, (ii) require a waiver of any attorney-client or other privilege for a third party, or (iii) is not necessary for nonfinancial indirect associations.
Patron - McDonnell

P HB2654

Ethics Advisory Panel. Provides that the Division of Legislative Services may assist the Panel during its preliminary investigation stage to save the need for outside counsel. Clarifies that the Panel must advise the complainant, if the complaint is disposed of during the preliminary investigatory stage.
Patron - Drake

P HB2666

Report of the Auditor of Public Accounts. Requires the Auditor of Public Accounts to report annually on all audits and oversight responsibilities performed for the most recently ended fiscal year to a joint meeting of the Senate Finance, House Finance and House Appropriations Committees on the same day that the Governor presents the Executive Budget to the General Assembly or at the direction of the respective chairman during an earlier scheduled committee meeting.
Patron - Welch

P HR28

Compensation of members of the House of Delegates. Provides for a voluntary reduction of 15 percent in compensation for members of the House of Delegates when attending interim meetings between adjournment sine die of the 2003 Regular Session of the General Assembly and the convening of the 2004 Regular Session.
Patron - Callahan

P HR39

Standards of conduct; House Rules 23 and 24. Directs the House Rules Committee to develop amendments for House Rules 23 and 24 relating to the standards of conduct of members of the House of Delegates. The amendments shall address the establishment and enforcement of a code of conduct for members of the House of Delegates, including procedures for the filing, investigation, and disposition of complaints of alleged violations of the code of conduct.
Patron - Drake

P SB827

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. Authorizes the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission to seek, receive, and expend gifts, grants, donations, bequests, and other funds in connection with its duties, as directed by the Joint Rules Committee. This bill establishes the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fund into which gifts, grants, donations, and other funds obtained by the Commission will be deposited to provide financial support for its work, including private funds to support the King Living History and Public Policy Center, which is also established by this bill. The Commission is required by law to establish a memorial to Dr. King in the Commonwealth, which the Center fulfills. The Center, among other things, will (i) perform public policy analysis and scholarly inquiry and writing; (ii) acquire and preserve records, oral histories, and memorabilia documenting Dr. King's relationship with and impact on the Commonwealth; (iii) make the programs, activities, and resources of the Center available to public and private schools and the public; and (iv) provide support for undergraduate and graduate study at the participating public and private institutions of higher education that comprise the Center. In addition, the bill contains several technical amendments that conform the statute to the new legislative guidelines adopted by the Joint Rules Committee, and an emergency clause to allow the Commission to receive and expend pending donations and contributions. This bill is a recommendation of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Commission. This bill is identical to HB 2471.
Patron - Marsh

P SB889

Commission on Unemployment Compensation. Codifies the study of unemployment compensation, which has existed by resolution since 1977. The Commission shall have eight members, three from the Senate and five from the House, and staffing shall be provided by the Division of Legislative Services. The Commission shall have the power and duty to (i) evaluate the impact of existing statutes and proposed legislation on unemployment compensation and the Unemployment Trust Fund, (ii) assess the Commonwealth's unemployment compensation programs and examine ways to enhance effectiveness, (iii) monitor the current status and long-term projections for the Unemployment Trust Fund, and (iv) report annually its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly.
Patron - Watkins

P SB1036

General Assembly; submission of reports and executive summaries. Establishes a recordkeeping system for reports required or requested by statute or resolution to be submitted to the legislative branch. For reports submitted only to the General Assembly, the Division of Legislative Automated Systems is designated as the recipient for the General Assembly. For reports submitted to specific persons or entities within the legislative branch, the reporting entity must submit a copy of the report to the Division. The reports to the Division must contain a separate executive summary and will be posted on the General Assembly's website.
Patron - Trumbo

P SB1253

Joint Commission on Health Care. Adds the responsibilities of the Joint Commission on Behavioral Health Care, which will sunset on July 1, 2003, to the Joint Commission on Health Care. To ensure continuity, the bill increases the membership of the Joint Commission on Health Care by two, adding one member of the House of Delegates and one member of the Senate who were previous members of the Joint Commission on Behavioral Health Care. The bill also provides for a special task force of the Commission to consider issues related to behavioral health care. Provisions relating to the membership, payment of the compensation and expenses, meetings, chairmanship, and reporting requirements have been modified to incorporate standardize language for legislative commissions as recommended in the legislative guidelines adopted by the Joint Rules Committee.
Patron - Martin

P SB1315

Clarifications for certain collegial bodies. Conforms certain collegial bodies on which legislative members serve to meet the legislative guidelines adopted by the Joint Rules Committees. These bodies include: the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, the Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits, the Virginia Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, the Council on Indians, the Virginia Military Advisory Council, Virginia War Memorial Foundation, the Southern States Energy Board, the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, the Virginia Land Conservation Board of Trustees, the Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program, the Child Support Guidelines Review Panel, the Education Commission of the States, the Western Virginia Public Education Consortium, the Virginia State Crime Commission, the Commission of Senate and Commission of House of Delegates on Interstate Cooperation, the Small Business Commission, the Legislative Transition Task Force and Consumer Advisory Board, the Virginia Office for Protection and Advocacy, the Virginia Roanoke River Basin Advisory Committee, the Roanoke River Basin Bi-State Commission, and the Tax Administration Delegation. The World Trade Alliance of the Blue Ridge is repealed due to inactivity. Obsolete cross references to the Virginia Chesapeake Bay Partnership Council and the Virginia Council on Coordinating Prevention are removed from the Code because these entities were abolished in 2001. This bill is a recommendation of the year-long study by the Subcommittee on Legislative Guidelines of the Joint Rules Committee.
Patron - Trumbo

P SB1343

Attendance of witnesses before and production of evidence to certain legislative bodies. Provides that the chief officer of the Virginia Capitol Police may serve process for compelling (i) witnesses for appearance before or (ii) documents to be produced to, the Senate or House of Delegates or committees or commissions thereof.
Patron - Stolle

P SR25

Senate Rules changes. Removes the requirement that engrossed legislation must be printed on separate color paper; corrects references to the obsolete Title 2.1; and requires the majority of each house on conference committees to approve the conference report before the Senate considers the report. Under the current Rules of the Senate, only a majority of the conferees is necessary to approve the conference report. The House of Delegates amended its Rules in 2002 to make this change.
Patron - Trumbo

Failed

F HB1707

Virginia Housing Development Authority Review Commission; report. Creates the Virginia Housing Development Authority Review Commission in the legislative branch of state government to conduct an annual review of the operations of the Virginia Housing Development Authority.
Patron - Purkey

F HB1947

Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission; term of appointment of director. Changes the term of the director of Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission from six years to two years.
Patron - Drake

F HB1959

General Assembly; consolidation of commissions. Consolidates the Joint Commission on Health Care, the Joint Commission on Behavioral Health Care, and the Virginia Commission on Youth into a new legislative commission titled the Commission on Youth, Family Services, and Health Care. The new legislative commission retains the responsibilities of each commission for a coordinated approach in the study of the delivery of youth, family services, and health care services to the citizens of the Commonwealth. Term limits of members have been removed and the act expires on July 1, 2007.
Patron - Hamilton

F HB2100

General Assembly; sexual harassment. Establishes a sexual harassment policy for the members of the General Assembly and legislative branch employees. The bill sets forth procedures for filing complaints, conducting investigations, and taking appropriate disciplinary actions.
Patron - Baskerville

F HB2134

General Assembly; office allowances. Changes the nonvouchered office expense allowance arrangement for members of the General Assembly to an accountable plan within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code regulations. Members are required to substantiate their business expenditures on a quarterly basis and return any amount in excess of the substantiated expenses. The bill also provides a separate office equipment allowance not to exceed $2,000 during a two-year period. Members are required to submit a voucher and accompanying receipts prior to receiving payment for equipment expenses. The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate, under the direction of their respective Rules Committee, are required to establish a policy in their houses regarding the transfer of office equipment purchased with the allowance to the Commonwealth when the equipment falls into disuse or the member leaves office.
Patron - Brink

F HB2201

General Assembly; office allowance. Converts the nonvouchered office allowance paid to members of the General Assembly into an accountable plan within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code regulations. Members will be required to substantiate their business expenses on a quarterly basis and return any amount in excess of the substantiated expenses.
Patron - Jones, S.C.

F HJ563

General Assembly; television coverage of legislative sessions. Endorses television coverage of the sessions of the House of Delegates and the Senate and its accessibility to public and private broadcasting interests for transmission to the citizens of the Commonwealth.
Patron - Petersen

F HJ639

Tax restructuring special session. Applies to the Governor to call a tax restructuring special session after adjournment of the 2003 Regular Session.
Patron - Crittenden

F HJ647

General Assembly; session coverage. Directs the Joint Rules Committee to adopt procedures governing live television coverage of the sessions of the House of Delegates and the Senate beginning with the 2004 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
Patron - Armstrong

F HR27

Complaints against members of the House of Delegates. Establishes a formal procedure for any citizen of the Commonwealth to bring a complaint against a member of the House of Delegates before the Committee on Privileges and Elections for conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House of Delegates. This is the standard of conduct members of the United States House of Representatives are held to by their respective body.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HR29

Code of Conduct for members of the House of Delegates. Amends the Rules of the House of Delegates to require the Clerk, under the direction of the Subcommittee on the Standards of Conduct, to publish and distribute a Code of Conduct for members of the House of Delegates. In drafting and revising the Code of Conduct, the chairman of the Rules Committee must designate at least two members and two nonmembers of the majority caucus to serve as ad hoc members of the subcommittee. The Code of Conduct shall reflect the laws and regulations of the Commonwealth governing the professional conduct of employers and employees.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F HR30

House Rules; spending limits in the Budget Bill. Restricts the standing committees from reporting any appropriation bill that increases state spending by more than inflation plus the percentage change in the state population in the prior calendar year. In the event that actual revenues exceed expenditures for any fiscal year, the committee can only report a bill that appropriates such excess for transportation and education.
Patron - Marshall, R.G.

F SB777

Restriction on unfunded local mandates. Provides that no law shall be enacted by the General Assembly that results in an unfunded net additional expenditure, as defined in § 30-19.03:1, by any county, city, or town.
Patron - Blevins

F SB948

Local Taxpayer Protection Act. Provides that any new program or mandate requiring a net additional expenditure by any locality shall not become effective unless an annual appropriation is made from the general fund to affected localities by the General Assembly at its next Session, such appropriation being sufficient to fund such program or mandate. However, notwithstanding such requirement, a new program or mandate requiring a net additional expenditure shall become effective if the General Assembly (i) passes such legislation with an emergency clause and provides an estimated amount to fund such mandate or program in the current budget, or (ii) affirmatively votes by a four-fifths vote to pass such legislation without sufficient funding. This bill does not apply to legislation that impacts traditional or constitutionally required local government responsibilities and functions.
Patron - Houck

F SB1089

Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment. Establishes the Commission on the Future of Virginia's Environment as a permanent commission in the legislative branch. The purpose of the Commission is to continue to review, evaluate, and formulate recommendations concerning Virginia's environment and natural resources. The Commission will also monitor the implementation of its recommendations and create educational opportunities for the Commission's 15 legislative members to become familiar with environmental issues that may require legislative action.
Patron - Bolling

F SB1105

General Assembly; sexual harassment. Establishes a sexual harassment policy. The policy states that the General Assembly is committed to providing a work environment free from intimidation and coercion in any form, and sexual harassment is a form of intimidation and coercion and shall not be tolerated.
Patron - Whipple

F SB1268

General Assembly; office expense allowance. Changes the nonvouchered office expense allowance arrangement for members of the General Assembly to an accountable plan within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code regulations. Members will be required to substantiate their business expenses on a quarterly basis and return any amount in excess of the substantiated expenses.
Patron - Cuccinelli

F SB1287

General Assembly; sworn testimony before legislative committees. Permits legislative committees and other legislative bodies comprised of General Assembly members to require sworn oral or written testimony. A person testifying before a committee may execute the oath or affirmation by signing a statement of truthfulness at each committee meeting. Persons who anticipate providing testimony at multiple committee meetings during a calendar year may file a single sworn statement with either the Clerk of Senate or Clerk of the House who shall issue a testimony card that may be presented during committee meetings. Persons who may administer oaths and affirmations before the houses and committees has been revised to include the President pro tempore of the Senate and to remove committee clerks.
Patron - Wagner

F SB1352

Television or other electronic signals generated by the Senate of Virginia. Prohibits the use of certain video or audio signals generated by the Senate for political or commercial purposes, including campaigns for elective office and bond referenda. Specifically, the bill excludes certain nonprofit educational and public affairs programming pursuant to a written contract with the Senate and authorized unedited video feeds. A person who is convicted for a violation of these restrictions will be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Patron - Trumbo

F SJ323

Designating dates. Places a one-year moratorium on the consideration of legislation that designates special days, weeks, months, and years and directs the Joint Rules Committee to develop guidelines on the designation and continued observance of such dates in the future. Each year legislation is introduced to recognize special dates previously designated by the General Assembly in perpetuity or proclaimed by the Governor or designated by the General Assembly for other times. Multiple and conflicting designations make it difficult for citizens to coordinate their commemorative activities to coincide with the Commonwealth's official date.
Patron - Trumbo

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2003>General Assembly

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