22.1-358 - Form of Compact.
§ 22.1-358. Form of Compact.
The General Assembly hereby enacts, and the Commonwealth of Virginia herebyenters into, the Southern Regional Education Compact of 1950 with any and allstates legally joining therein according to its terms agreed to in SenateJoint Resolution 22 (1950), as amended by the House Joint Resolution No. 28(1956), in the form substantially as follows:
§ 1. Agreement.
In consideration of the mutual agreements, covenants and obligations assumedby the respective States who are parties to this compact (hereinafterreferred to as States), the States do hereby form a geographical district orregion consisting of the areas lying within the boundaries of the contractingStates which, for the purposes of this compact, shall constitute an area forregional education supported by public funds derived from taxation by theconstituent States and derived from other sources for the establishment,acquisition, operation and maintenance of regional educational schools andinstitutions for the benefit of citizens of the respective States residingwithin the region so established as may be determined from time to time inaccordance with the terms and provisions of this compact.
§ 2. Southern Regional Education Board established; membership; terms.
The States do further hereby establish and create a joint agency, which shallbe known as the Board of Control for Southern Regional Education (hereinafterreferred to as the Board). The members of the Board shall consist of theGovernor of each State, ex officio, and four additional citizens of eachState to be appointed by the Governor thereof, at least one of whom shall beselected from the field of education, and at least one of whom shall be amember of the Legislature of that State. The Governor shall continue as amember of the Board during his tenure of office as Governor of the State, butthe members of the Board appointed by the Governor shall hold office for aperiod of four years following the initial staggering of terms. Vacancies onthe Board caused by death, resignation, refusal or inability to serve, shallbe filled by appointment by the Governor for the unexpired portion of theterm.
§ 3. Officers and meetings.
The officers of the Board shall be a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary,a Treasurer, and such additional officers as may be created by the Board fromtime to time. The Board shall meet annually and officers shall be elected tohold office until the next annual meeting. The Board shall have the right toformulate and establish by-laws not inconsistent with the provisions of thiscompact to govern its own actions in the performance of the duties delegatedto it including the right to create and appoint an Executive Committee and aFinance Committee with such powers and authority as the Board may delegate tothem from time to time. The Board may, within its discretion, elect as itsChairman a person who is not a member of the Board, provided such personresides within a signatory State, and upon such election such person shallbecome a member of the Board with all the rights and privileges of suchmembership.
§ 4. Powers and duties.
It shall be the duty of the Board to submit plans and recommendations to theStates from time to time for their approval and adoption by appropriatelegislative action for the development, establishment, acquisition, operationand maintenance of educational schools and institutions within thegeographical limits of the regional area of the States, of such character andtype and for such educational purposes, professional, technological,scientific, literary, or otherwise, as they may deem and determine to beproper, necessary or advisable. Title to all such educational institutionswhen so established by appropriate legislative actions of the States and toall properties and facilities used in connection therewith shall be vested inthe Board as the agency of and for the use and benefit of the States and thecitizens thereof, and all such educational institutions shall be operated,maintained and financed in the manner herein set out, subject to anyprovisions or limitations which may be contained in the legislative acts ofthe States authorizing the creation, establishment and operation of sucheducational institutions.
In addition, the Board shall have the power to enter into such agreements orarrangements with any of the States and with educational institutions oragencies, as may be required in the judgment of the Board, to provideadequate services and facilities for the graduate, professional, andtechnical education for the benefit of the citizens of the respective Statesresiding within the region, and such additional and general power andauthority as may be vested in the Board from time to time by legislativeenactment of the States.
§ 5. Supplemental agreements.
Any two or more States who are parties of the compact shall have the right toenter into supplemental agreements providing for the establishment, financingand operation of regional educational institutions for the benefit ofcitizens residing within an area that constitutes a portion of the generalregion created, such institutions to be financed exclusively by such Statesand to be controlled exclusively by the members of the Board representingsuch States provided such agreement is submitted to and approved by the Boardprior to the establishment of such institutions.
§ 6. Funding.
Each State agrees that, when authorized by the legislature, it will from timeto time make available and pay over to the Board such funds as may berequired for the establishment, acquisition, operation and maintenance ofsuch regional educational institutions as may be authorized by the Statesunder the terms of this compact, the contribution of each State at all timesto be in the proportion that its population bears to the total combinedpopulation of the States who are parties as shown from time to time by themost recent official published report of the Bureau of the Census of theUnited States of America; or upon such other basis as may be agreed upon.
§ 7. Effective date.
This compact shall not take effect or be binding upon any State unless anduntil it shall be approved by proper legislative action of as many as six ormore of the States whose governors have subscribed to this compact within aperiod of 18 months from the subscribed date. When and if six or more Statesshall have given legislative approval to this compact within the 18-monthperiod, it shall be and become binding upon the six or more States 60 daysafter the date of legislative approval by the sixth State and the governorsof such six or more States shall name the members of the Board from theirStates, and the Board shall then meet on call of the governor of any Stateapproving this compact, at which time the Board shall elect officers, adoptbylaws, appoint committees and otherwise fully organize. Other States whosenames are subscribed to this compact shall thereafter become parties uponapproval of this compact by legislative action within two years from thesubscribed date, upon such conditions as may be agreed upon at the time.However, any State whose constitution may require amendment in order topermit legislative approval of the compact, shall become a party uponapproval of this compact by legislative action within seven years from thesubscribed date, upon such conditions as may be agreed upon at the time.
§ 8. Termination and withdrawal.
After becoming effective this compact shall thereafter continue untilterminated by unanimous action of the States. A State may withdraw from thiscompact if such withdrawal is approved by its legislature. Such withdrawalshall become effective two years after written notice to the Boardaccompanied by a certified copy of the requisite legislative action, but suchwithdrawal shall not relieve the withdrawing State from its obligationsaccruing up to the effective date of such withdrawal. Any State sowithdrawing shall ipso facto cease to have any claim to or ownership of anyof the property held or vested in the Board or to any of the funds of theBoard held under the terms of this compact.
§ 9. Defaulting states.
If any State shall at any time become in default in the performance of any ofits obligations assumed herein or with respect to any obligation imposed uponthe State as authorized by and in compliance with the terms and provisions ofthis compact, all rights, privileges and benefits of such defaulting State,its members on the Board and its citizens shall ipso facto be and becomesuspended from and after the date of such default. Unless such default shallbe remedied and made good within a period of one year immediately followingthe date of such default this compact may be terminated with respect to suchdefaulting State by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the members ofthe Board (exclusive of the members representing the State in default), fromand after which time such State shall cease to be a party to this compact andshall have no further claim to or ownership of any of the property held by orvested in the Board or to any of the funds of the Board held under the termsof this compact, but such termination shall in no manner release suchdefaulting State from any accrued obligation or otherwise affect this compactor the rights, duties, privileges or obligations of the remaining States.
(2004, c. 1000.)