2.2-619 - Governor to report to the General Assembly.
§ 2.2-619. Governor to report to the General Assembly.
A. The Governor shall report to the General Assembly regarding the proposedimplementation of this section.
B. If any state program is authorized or mandated by a federal statute, nostate funds for the program shall be appropriated unless:
1. The state program is necessary to protect the public health, safety, andwelfare;
2. The state program is necessary to implement the federal statute;
3. The operation of the state program benefits the state by providing acost-effective implementation of the federal statute by the Commonwealth,local government, and business; or
4. The state program benefits the Commonwealth, local government, andbusiness by providing a cost-effective means to meet a higher public health,safety, and welfare standard established under state law.
C. Each agency making a budget request for state appropriations for a stateprogram authorized or mandated by federal statute shall include in its budgetrequest citations to the federal constitutional provisions and the stateconstitutional or statutory provisions that authorize the state program. TheGovernor shall review the budget request and determine whether additionalstate statutory authority is required in order to implement the state programand shall make recommendations to the General Assembly.
D. The General Assembly, after receiving a recommendation from the Governor,shall determine whether a state program is necessary and whether federalconstitutional authority and state constitutional or statutory authorityexist. The General Assembly shall review toward the interpretation of thefederal statute found in federal regulations, guidelines, or policies.Appropriation of state funds for a state program shall constitute the GeneralAssembly's determination that the state program is necessary and that federalconstitutional authority and state constitutional or statutory authorityexist. State appropriations may not be based solely on requirements found inregulations, guidelines, or policies of a federal agency.
E. Prior to recommending to the General Assembly any budget for an agencythat is charged with implementing federal mandates, the Governor shallrequest that the agency provide information to the Department of Planning andBudget regarding any monetary savings for the state and any reduction inregulatory burdens on the public and on local governments that could be orhave been achieved through the development of state policies that meet theintent of the federal statute but do not necessarily follow all applicablefederal regulations, guidelines, or policies. The agency shall also provideadvice to the Department of Planning and Budget regarding any changes in lawthat are necessary to provide the agency with the authority to implementstate policies in such a way as to create additional savings or greaterreductions in regulatory burdens. The Department of Planning and Budget shallreview and compile the information received from agencies pursuant to thissection and shall include recommendations in the executive budget.
F. For purposes of this section, "state program" shall not include anyportion of a program that is funded with nontax or nonfee revenue, or both,which state authorities are required to administer in a trusteeship orcustodial capacity and that are not subject to appropriation by the GeneralAssembly.
(1995, c. 604, § 2.1-799; 2001, c. 844.)