SB1278: Public Broadcasting Board; decreases membership by removing chairman of Council of Higher Education.

SENATE BILL NO. 1278
Offered January 10, 2007
Prefiled January 10, 2007
A BILL to amend and reenact § 2.2-2428 of the Code of Virginia, relating to the Virginia Public Broadcasting Board; membership.
Patron-- Whipple

Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 2.2-2428 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 2.2-2428. Virginia Public Broadcasting Board; membership; terms; chairman; compensation.

A. To achieve the public purposes set forth in § 2.2-2426, the Virginia Public Broadcasting Board (the "Board") is established as a policy board, within the meaning of § 2.2-2100, in the executive branch of state government. The Board shall be under the direction and supervision of the Secretary of Administration. The exercise by the Board of the powers conferred by this article shall be deemed and held to be the performance of essential governmental functions.

B. The Board shall consist of fifteen14 members. The Governor shall appoint eleven11 members, one from each congressional district of the Commonwealth, each of whom shall be confirmed by the affirmative vote of a majority of those voting in each house of the General Assembly. Three of the appointees shall have expertise in at least one of the areas of education, tourism, telecommunications, and economic development, and two shall be participating members of different public broadcasting stations in the Commonwealth. The president of the State Board of Education and the chairmen of the State Council of Higher Education, the State Board of Community Colleges, and the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or their designees, shall serve as Board members concurrent with their terms in office. No Board member shall be the chief executive officer or head of any state agency, a member of the General Assembly, or an officer, director, employee, or member of the board of directors of any public broadcasting station.

C. After the original appointments, all other appointments shall be for four-year terms. A member appointed to an initial term may serve one additional four-year term.

D. Vacancies for unexpired terms shall be filled by the Governor in the same manner as the original appointment. If the General Assembly refuses or fails to confirm any appointment, such person shall not be eligible for reappointment.

E. The Governor shall designate a Board member to serve as chairman, who shall preside over meetings of the Board, communicate on behalf of the Board to the outside entities interested in public broadcasting, and perform additional duties as may be set by resolution of the Board. Board members may elect a vice-chairman from their membership and appoint a secretary who need not be a member of the Board. The Board shall meet at the call of its chairman. A majority of the Board members shall constitute a quorum.

F. Board members shall be reimbursed for the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in discharge of their duties as provided in § 2.2-2823. Such reimbursements and other expenses of the Board shall be paid from funds that the Department of Planning and Budget shall annually withhold from appropriations to public broadcasting stations in an amount sufficient to defray the estimated reasonable and necessary expenses of the Board.