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- Subject Index: Since 1995
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1999 SESSION
991439743Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 30-19.11, 30-19.12, 30-19.14, 30-19.15 and 51.1-124.3 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 30-19.12:1 as follows:
§ 30-19.11. Regular salaries of Speaker of House of Delegates and members of General Assembly.
The Speaker of the House of Delegates and other members of the General Assembly
shall each receive an annual salary as. The regular salary of the Speaker
shall be equal to the salary of the Lieutenant Governor. The regular salary of the other
members of the General Assembly shall be set forth in the general
appropriations act. Such salaries shall be payable not more often than biweekly.
No increase in regular salary shall take effect for the Speaker or for a
given member until after the end of the term for which he was elected.
§ 30-19.12. Additional salaries of members of General Assembly engaged in legislative services.
A. Subject to the provisions of subsections B through ED hereof, members of
all legislative committees, legislative commissions and councils established by
the General Assembly and all committees and subcommittees of any of the
foregoing shall receive compensation at such rate as provided for in § 2.1-20.3
any member of the General Assembly who is a member of a legislative committee, legislative
commission or council established by the General Assembly, or any committee or subcommittee of
any of the forgoing shall receive additional salary at a rate of $100 per day
for attending meetings of such group. Any other member of the General Assembly
whose attendance, in the opinion of the chairman of such a group, is required at a
sitting of such group shall also be entitled to compensation receive additional
salary at the same rate.
B. Legislative members shall not be entitled to compensation additional salary
pursuant to this section for any services performed on any day that the General Assembly is in
session.
C. Full-time employees of the Commonwealth or of any of its political
subdivisions shall not be entitled to compensation pursuant to this section.
D C. No person member shall receive pursuant to this section a total of more
than one day's compensation additional salary for services performed on any one
day. Whenever a member attends two or more meetings for which compensation
additional salary is authorized herein in a single day, such one day's
compensation salary shall be prorated from among the activities served.
E D. Compensation of Additional salary for members of the General Assembly
provided for in this section shall be paid by the offices of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or Clerk of the Senate as
appropriate and funds therefor transferred from the appropriate activity.
§ 30-19.12:1. Compensation for citizen members of certain bodies engaged in legislative services.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 2.1-20.3, citizens who are members of legislative committees, legislative commissions and councils established by the General Assembly and all committees and subcommittees of any of the forgoing shall receive compensation at a rate of $100 per day for attending such groups. Full-time employees of the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions shall not be entitled to compensation pursuant to this section. No person shall receive pursuant to this section a total of more than one day’s compensation for services performed for any one day. Whenever a person attends two or more meetings for which compensation is authorized herein in a single day, such one day’s compensation shall be prorated from among the activities served.
§ 30-19.14. Office expenses.
Each member of the General Assembly shall receive as reimbursement for office
expenses and supplies such sums as shall be set forth in the general
appropriation act an allowance in the amount of $750 per month. An additional
$250 for each month of each calendar year shall be paid to the Majority and Minority
Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate and to the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate.
§ 30-19.15. Mileage of members of the General Assembly, legislative committees, etc.
The members of the General Assembly and officers and employees of each house
thereof, and members of legislative committees which may sit during any recess
of the General Assembly, each who are traveling on official business of the
Commonwealth, shall be entitled to receive for their mileage such reimbursement
as prescribed in § 2.1-20.8 for every mile of necessary actual travel to and
from the place of meeting, to be computed according to the nearest principal highway route as shown on the
Official State Highway Map.
§ 51.1-124.3. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
"Abolished system" means the Virginia Retirement Act, §§ 51-30 through 51-111, repealed by Chapter 1 of the Acts of Assembly of 1952.
"Accumulated contributions" means the sum of all amounts deducted from the compensation of a member and credited to his individual account in the member's contribution account, all amounts the member may contribute to purchase creditable service, all member contributions contributed by the employer on behalf of the employee, on or after July 1, 1990, except those amounts contributed on behalf of members of the General Assembly who are otherwise retired under the provisions of this chapter, and all interest accruing to these funds. If a member is retired for disability from a cause which is compensable under the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act (§ 65.2-100 et seq.), dies in service prior to retirement, or requests a refund of contributions in accordance with § 51.1-161, "accumulated contributions" shall include all member contributions paid by the employer on behalf of the member on and after July 1, 1980, and all interest which would have accrued to these funds.
"Actuarial equivalent" means a benefit of equal value when computed upon the basis of actuarial tables adopted by the Board.
"Average final compensation" means the average annual creditable compensation of a member during his thirty-six highest consecutive months of creditable service or during the entire period of his creditable service if less than thirty-six months. If a member ceased employment prior to July 1, 1974, "average final compensation" means the average annual creditable compensation during the five highest consecutive years of creditable service.
"Beneficiary" means any person entitled to receive benefits under this chapter.
"Board" means the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System.
"Creditable compensation" means the full compensation payable annually to an
employee working full time in his covered position. In cases where compensation
includes maintenance or other perquisites, the Board shall fix the value of
that part of the compensation not paid in money. Remuneration received by
members of the General Assembly not otherwise retired under the provisions of
this chapter pursuant to §§ 30-19.11, and 30-19.12 and 30-19.14 shall be deemed
creditable compensation. In addition, for any member of the General Assembly,
creditable compensation shall include the full amount of salaries payable to
such member for working in covered positions, regardless of whether a
contractual salary is reduced and not paid to such member because of service in
the General Assembly.
"Creditable service" means prior service plus membership service for which credit is allowable.
"Employee" means any teacher, state employee, officer, or employee of a locality participating in the Retirement System.
"Employer" means the Commonwealth in the case of a state employee, the local public school board in the case of a teacher, or the political subdivision participating in the Retirement System.
"Joint Rules Committee" means those members of the House of Delegates and the Senate designated by the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules, respectively, to meet with each other and to act jointly on behalf of the Committee on Rules for each house.
"Local officer" means the treasurer, commissioner of the revenue, attorney for the Commonwealth, clerk of a circuit court, or sheriff of any county or city, or deputy or employee of any such officer.
"Medical Board" means the board of physicians as provided by this chapter.
"Member" means any person included in the membership of the Retirement System.
"Membership service" means service as an employee rendered while a contributing member of the Retirement System except as provided in this chapter.
"Normal retirement date" means a member's sixty-fifth birthday.
"Political subdivision" means any county, city, or town, any political entity, subdivision, branch, or unit of the Commonwealth, or any commission, public authority, or body corporate created by or under an act of the General Assembly specifying the powers, privileges, or authority capable of exercise by the commission, public authority, or body corporate.
"Primary social security benefit" means, with respect to any member, the primary insurance amount to which the member is entitled, for old age or disability, as the case may be, pursuant to the provisions of the federal Social Security Act as in effect at his date of retirement, under the provisions of this chapter except as otherwise specifically provided.
"Prior service" means service rendered prior to becoming a member of the Retirement System.
"Retirement allowance" means the retirement payments to which a member is entitled.
"Retirement System" means the Virginia Retirement System.
"Service" means service as an employee.
"State employee" means any person who is regularly employed full time on a salaried basis, whose tenure is not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in the service of, and whose compensation is payable, no more often than biweekly, in whole or in part, by the Commonwealth or any department, institution, or agency thereof. "State employee" shall include the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and members of the General Assembly but shall not include (i) any local officer, (ii) any employee of a political subdivision of the Commonwealth, (iii) individuals employed by the Department for the Visually Handicapped pursuant to § 63.1-73; (iv) any member of the State Police Officers' Retirement System, or (v) any member of the Judicial Retirement System.
"Teacher" means any person who is regularly employed full time on a salaried basis as a professional or clerical employee of a county, city, or other local public school board.
2 . That Item 1 of Chapter 464 of the 1998 Acts of the General Assembly is amended and reenacted as follows:
1. Enactment of Laws (78200)
a sum sufficient, estimated at............24,207,747....23,685,747
Committee Activities (78203).... 1,940,178....1,914,216
Legislative Sessions (78204)....22,267,569...21,771,531
Fund Sources:.General...........24,207,747...23,685,747
Authority: Article IV, Constitution of Virginia.
A. Out of the amounts for Legislative Sessions shall be paid:
1. The salaries of the Speaker of the House of Delegates and other members, and
personnel employed by each house; the mileage of members, officers and
employees, including salaries and mileage of members of legislative committees
sitting during recess; public printing and related expenses required by or for
the General Assembly; and the incidental expenses of the General Assembly (§§
14.1-17.1 30-19.4, and 30-19.14 through 14.1-23 30-10.20, inclusive, and §
30-19.4, Code of Virginia). The salary of the Speaker of the House of
Delegates shall be $36,321 per year. The salaries of other members of the House of
Delegates shall be $17,640 per year. The salaries of the members of the Senate shall
be $18,000 per year.
2. The annual salary of the Clerk of the House of Delegates, $106,766 from July 1, 1998, to November 24, 1998, $106,766 from November 25, 1998, to November 24, 1999, and $106,766 from November 25, 1999, to June 30, 2000.
3. The annual salary of the Clerk of the Senate, $104,518 from July 1, 1998, to November 24, 1998, $104,518 from November 25, 1998, to November 24, 1999, and $104,518 from November 25, 1999, to June 30, 2000.
4. Expenses of the Speaker of the House of Delegates not otherwise reimbursed, $16,200 each year, to be paid in equal monthly installments during the year.
5. In accordance with § 30-19.4, Code of Virginia and subject to all other conditions of that section except as otherwise provided in the following paragraphs:
a. $56,000 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more secretaries of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.
b. $84,000 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more administrative assistants of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.
c. $28,000 for the salary per calendar year for the compensation of each full-time secretary or administrative assistant of each member of the General Assembly. Salaries for part-time secretaries or administrative assistants shall be adjusted on a proportional basis. Salary increases granted shall be governed by the provisions of Item 546 of this act.
d. The per diem for each secretary or administrative assistant of each member of the General Assembly, including the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Such per diem shall equal 85 percent of the amount authorized per session day for General Assembly members in paragraph A 7, if such secretary or administrative assistant maintains a temporary residence during the legislative session or an extension thereof and if the establishment of such temporary residence results from the person's employment by the member. The per diem for a secretary or administrative assistant who is domiciled in the City of Richmond or whose domicile is within twenty miles of the Capitol shall equal thirty-five percent of the amount paid to a secretary or administrative assistant who maintains a temporary residence during such session. For purposes of this paragraph, (i) a session day shall include such days as shall be established by the Rules Committee of each respective house and (ii) a temporary residence is defined as a residence certified by the member served by the secretary or administrative assistant as occupied only by reason of employment during the legislative session or extension thereof. Notwithstanding the provisions of (i) of the preceding sentence, if the House from which the secretary or administrative assistant is paid is in adjournment during a regular or special session, he must show to the satisfaction of the Clerk that he worked each day during such adjournment for which such per diem is claimed.
e. A mileage allowance as provided in § 14.1-5 2.1-20.8, Code of Virginia, and
as certified by the member. Such mileage allowance shall be paid to a secretary or administrative
assistant for one round trip between the City of Richmond and such person's home each week during the
legislative session or an extension thereof when such person is maintaining a
temporary residence.
f. Per diem and mileage shall be paid only to a person who is paid compensation pursuant to § 30-19.4, Code of Virginia.
g. Not more than one person shall be paid per diem or mileage during a single weekly pay period for serving a member as secretary or administrative assistant during a legislative session or extension thereof.
h. No person, by virtue of concurrently serving more than one member, shall be paid mileage or per diem in excess of the daily rates specified in this Item.
i. $14,000 per calendar year additional allowance for secretaries or administrative assistants to the Majority and Minority Floor Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate and for secretaries or administrative assistants to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
6. Compensation to members of the General Assembly, pursuant to § 14.1-18
30-19.12, Code of Virginia, and subject to the limitations and conditions
stated therein, at a rate of $200 100 per day, or for any part thereof, for the
time actually engaged in the discharge of their duties. All other Citizen
members of any legislative committee, commission or council established by the General
Assembly, or a committee or subcommittee thereof shall receive compensation at the
rate of $50100 per day, or for any part thereof, pursuant § 30-19.12.
7. Allowances for expenses of members of the General Assembly, either (a) an amount not exceeding $75 per day for expenses which are vouchered, or (b) an amount equaling the maximum daily amount permitted by the Internal Revenue Service.
8. Reimbursement for office expenses and supplies of members of the General
Assembly, in the amount of $1,250 750 for each month of each calendar year. An
additional $ 500 250 for each month of each calendar year shall be paid to the
Majority and Minority Floor Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate
and to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
B. A secretary or administrative assistant of a member of the General Assembly regularly employed on a twelve (12) consecutive month salary basis receiving state annual compensation of $10,000 or more pursuant to paragraph A 5 of this Item prior to January 1, 1997, and/or thereafter receiving 60 percent or more of the salary allotted pursuant to paragraph A 5, may, for the purposes of §§ 51.1-101 and 51.1-152, Code of Virginia, be deemed a "state employee" and as such will be eligible for participation in the Virginia Retirement System, the group life insurance plan and the state health insurance plan.
C. Out of this appropriation the Clerk of the House of Delegates shall pay the routine maintenance and operating expenses of the General Assembly Building as apportioned to the Senate, House of Delegates, Division of Legislative Services, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission or other legislative agencies. The funds appropriated to each agency in the Legislative Department for routine maintenance and operating expenses during the current biennium shall be transferred to the account established for this purpose.
D. Out of this appropriation shall be transferred to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor such sums as may be required to pay for unbudgeted expenses resulting from any extensions of sessions or from special sessions, or from any legislative actions which have the effect of increasing allowances for the Speaker and/or members of the General Assembly and their staffs and which have not been otherwise included in the appropriation to the Lieutenant Governor. An amount of $10,000 per year shall be transferred from Item 21 of this act, to reflect equivalent compensation allowances as were authorized by the 1994 General Assembly. The Lieutenant Governor shall report such increases to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
E. The joint subcommittee established in Item 1, paragraph E, of Chapter 912 of the 1996 Acts of Assembly, for the purpose of monitoring and examining issues related to tax-supported bonded indebtedness of the Commonwealth, shall continue its study during the interim. The subcommittee shall consist of four members of the House Appropriations Committee and four members of the Senate Finance Committee, each appointed by the respective chairmen. The joint subcommittee shall provide such report to the 1999 Session of the General Assembly as it may deem appropriate.
F. The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee shall study the benefits provided to members of the State Police Officers Retirement System (SPORS). The study shall look at the employer provided benefit levels and how they compare to other states.
G. Given the Commonwealth's responsibilities for the purchase of health care services for employees of state government, Medicaid beneficiaries and children soon to be eligible under S-CHIP, and given the tremendous market effect that expenditures of such magnitude have on enrollees and the various health providers and health plans in each region of the Commonwealth, the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees are authorized to hire an outside consultant to assist in a study of the practices, policies and procedures through which health plans procure health services, in order to ensure that state health purchasing practices neither directly nor indirectly foster any anti-competitive disadvantages. Funds necessary to conduct such study shall be provided from the Joint Rules Committee of the House and Senate. Pursuant to § 2.1-20.1 C, Code of Virginia, the Joint Rules Committee may direct the Department of Personnel and Training to provide the necessary funds for that portion of the study relating to the State Employees Health Insurance Plan.
H. The Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees shall each appoint four members from their respective committees to a joint subcommittee to review public higher education funding policies and to make recommendations to their respective committees prior to the 1999 Session of the General Assembly. The objective of the review is to develop policies and formulas to provide the public institutions of higher education with an equitable funding methodology that: (a) recognizes differences in institutional mission; (b) provides incentives for achievement and productivity; (c) recognizes enrollment growth; and (d) establishes funding objectives in areas such as faculty salaries, financial aid, and the appropriate share of educational and general costs that should be borne by resident students. In addition, the review shall include the development of comparable cost data concerning the delivery of higher education through an analysis of the relationship of each public institution to its national peers. The public institutions of higher education and the staff of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia are directed to provide technical assistance, as required, to the joint subcommittee.
3. That §§ 30-19.16 and 30-19.17 of the Code of Virginia are repealed.
4. That an emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.