18.2-271.2 - Commission on VASAP; purpose; membership; terms; meetings; staffing; compensation and expenses; chairman's executive summary. - Virginia Statutes

§ 18.2-271.2. Commission on VASAP; purpose; membership; terms; meetings;staffing; compensation and expenses; chairman's executive summary.

A. There is hereby established in the legislative branch of state governmentthe Commission on the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (VASAP). TheCommission shall administer and supervise the state system of local alcoholand safety action programs, develop and maintain operation and performancestandards for local alcohol and safety action programs, and allocate fundingto such programs. The Commission shall have a total membership of 15 membersthat shall consist of six legislative members and nine nonlegislative citizenmembers. Members shall be appointed as follows: four current or formermembers of the House Committee for Courts of Justice, to be appointed by theSpeaker of the House of Delegates; two members of the Senate Committee forCourts of Justice, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; threesitting or retired judges, one each from the circuit, general district andjuvenile and domestic relations district courts, who regularly hear or heardcases involving driving under the influence and are familiar with their localalcohol safety action programs, to be appointed by the Chairman of theCommittee on District Courts; two directors of local alcohol safety actionprograms, to be appointed by the legislative members of the Commission; onerepresentative from the law-enforcement profession, to be appointed by theSpeaker of the House and one nonlegislative citizen at large, to be appointedby the Senate Committee on Rules; one representative from the VirginiaDepartment of Motor Vehicles whose duties are substantially related tomatters to be addressed by the Commission to be appointed by the Commissionerof the Department of Motor Vehicles, and one representative from theDepartment of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services whose duties alsosubstantially involve such matters, to be appointed by the Commissioner ofBehavioral Health and Developmental Services. Legislative members shall serveterms coincident with their terms of office. In accordance with the staggeredterms previously established, nonlegislative citizen members shall servetwo-year terms. All members may be reappointed. Appointments to fillvacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be made for theunexpired terms. Any appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made in the samemanner as the original appointment.

B. The Commission shall meet at least four times each year at such places asit may from time to time designate. A majority of the members shallconstitute a quorum. The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairmanfrom among its membership.

The Commission shall be empowered to establish and ensure the maintenance ofminimum standards and criteria for program operations and performance,accounting, auditing, public information and administrative procedures forthe various local alcohol safety action programs and shall be responsible foroverseeing the administration of the statewide VASAP system. Such programsshall be certified by the Commission in accordance with procedures set forthin the Commission on VASAP Certification Manual. The Commission shall alsooversee program plans, operations and performance and a system for allocatingfunds to cover deficits that may occur in the budgets of local programs.

C. The Commission shall appoint and employ and, at its pleasure, remove anexecutive director and such other persons as it may deem necessary, anddetermine their duties and fix their salaries or compensation.

D. The Commission shall appoint a Virginia Alcohol Safety Action ProgramAdvisory Board to make recommendations to the Commission regarding its dutiesand administrative functions. The membership of such Board shall be appointedin the discretion of the Commission and include personnel from (i) localsafety action programs, (ii) the State Board of Behavioral Health andDevelopmental Services, community services boards, or behavioral healthauthorities and (iii) other community mental health services organizations.An assistant attorney general who provides counsel in matters relating todriving under the influence shall also be appointed to the Board.

E. Legislative members of the Commission shall receive compensation asprovided in § 30-19.12. Funding for the costs of compensation of legislativemembers shall be provided by the Commission. All members shall be reimbursedfor all reasonable and necessary expenses as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and2.2-2825 to be paid out of that portion of moneys paid in VASAP defendantentry fees which is forwarded to the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program.

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.

(1986, c. 580; 1988, cc. 781, 859, 888; 1990, cc. 1, 317; 1992, c. 560; 1993,c. 757; 2003, c. 885; 2005, c. 758; 2009, cc. 813, 840.)