3.2-3102 - Membership; terms; vacancies; compensation and expenses; chairman; chairman's executive summary.
§ 3.2-3102. Membership; terms; vacancies; compensation and expenses;chairman; chairman's executive summary.
A. The Commission shall be composed of 31 members as follows:
1. Six members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker of theHouse of Delegates;
2. Four members of the Senate appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules;
3. The Secretary of Commerce and Trade or his designee;
4. The Secretary of Finance or his designee;
5. The Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry or his designee;
6. Three nonlegislative citizen members who shall be active flue-curedtobacco producers appointed by the Governor. Of the active flue-cured tobaccoproducers, two shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of six personsprovided by the members of the General Assembly appointed to the Commission;
7. Three nonlegislative citizen members who shall be active burley tobaccoproducers appointed by the Governor. Of the active burley tobacco producers,one member shall be appointed by the Governor from a list of three personsprovided by the members of the General Assembly appointed to the Commission;
8. One nonlegislative citizen member who shall be a representative of theVirginia Farm Bureau Federation appointed by the Governor from a list of atleast three persons provided by Virginia Farm Bureau Federation; and
9. Eleven members shall be nonlegislative citizens appointed by the Governor.Of the 11 nonlegislative citizen members, three shall be appointed by theGovernor from a list of nine provided by the members of the General Assemblyappointed to the Commission.
With the exception of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade or his designee,the Secretary of Finance or his designee and the Secretary of Agriculture andForestry or his designee, all members of the Commission shall reside in theSouthside and Southwest regions of the Commonwealth and shall be subject toconfirmation by the General Assembly. To the extent feasible, appointmentsrepresenting the Southside and Southwest regions shall be proportional to thetobacco quota production of each region.
Except as otherwise provided herein, all appointments shall be for terms offour years each. Legislative members, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade,the Secretary of Finance, and the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry orhis designee shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nononlegislative citizen member shall be eligible to serve more than twosuccessive four-year terms. After expiration of a term of three years orless, two additional four-year terms may be served by such member ifappointed thereto. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expirationof a term, shall be made for the unexpired terms. Any appointment to fill avacancy shall be made in the same manner as the original appointment. Theremainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shallnot constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility forreappointment.
The initial appointments of the active flue-cured tobacco producers, theactive burley tobacco producers, and other nonlegislative citizen membersshall be as follows: one active flue-cured tobacco producer, one activeburley tobacco producer and four nonlegislative citizen members shall beappointed for terms of two years; one active flue-cured tobacco producer, oneactive burley tobacco producer and four nonlegislative citizen members shallbe appointed for terms of three years; and one active flue-cured tobaccoproducer, one active burley tobacco producer and three nonlegislative citizenmembers shall be appointed for terms of four years. Thereafter allappointments shall be for terms of four years.
B. The Commission shall appoint from its membership a chairman and avice-chairman, both of whom shall serve in such capacities at the pleasure ofthe Commission. The chairman, or in his absence, the vice-chairman, shallpreside at all meetings of the Commission. The meetings of the Commissionshall be held on the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of themembers so request. A majority of members of the Commission serving at anyone time shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
C. Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation asis set forth in § 30-19.12, and nonlegislative members shall receive suchcompensation for the performance of their duties as provided in § 2.2-2813.All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expensesincurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and2.2-2825. Such compensation and expenses shall be paid from the Fund.
D. Members and employees of the Commission shall be subject to the standardsof conduct set forth in the State and Local Government Conflict of InterestsAct (§ 2.2-3100 et seq.) and may be removed from office for misfeasance,malfeasance, nonfeasance, neglect of duty, or misconduct in the manner setforth therein.
E. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, members and employees of theCommission shall be subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom ofInformation Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
F. The chairman of the Commission shall submit to the Governor and theGeneral Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and workof the Commission no later than the first day of each regular session of theGeneral Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as provided in theprocedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for theprocessing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on theGeneral Assembly's website.
(1999, cc. 880, 962, § 9-382; 2000, c. 1067; 2001, cc. 807, 844, § 3.1-1108;2003, c. 885; 2005, c. 758; 2006, c. 45; 2008, c. 860.)