A. The Virginia-Israel Advisory Board (the Board) is established as an advisory board in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Board is to advise the General Assembly on ways to improve economic and cultural links between the Commonwealth and the State of Israel, with a focus on the areas of commerce and trade, art and education, and general government.
B. The Board shall have a total membership of 31 members that shall consist of 29 citizen members and two ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: 10 citizen members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, who may be members of the House of Delegates or other state or local elected officials; 10 citizen members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, who may be members of the Senate or other state or local elected officials; five citizen members appointed by the Governor who represent business, industry, education, the arts, and government; the president, or his designee, of each of the four Jewish Community Federations serving the Richmond, Northern Virginia, Tidewater, and Peninsula regions, each of whom shall be a resident of the Commonwealth; and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the Secretary of Education, or their designees, who shall serve as ex officio voting members of the Board.
C. Nonlegislative citizen members shall serve for terms of four years. Legislative members and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and the Secretary of Education, or their designees, shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. Any member may be reappointed for successive terms.
D. The members of the Board shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman annually from among its membership. The Board shall meet at such times as it deems appropriate or on call of the chairman. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
E. Members shall receive no compensation for their services. However, all members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.
F. The Joint Rules Committee shall appoint an executive director to the Board. Funding for the costs of expenses of the members and the operations of the Board, including staffing needs, shall be from such funds as appropriated by the General Assembly.
G. The chairman of the Board shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Board no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly’s website.
2018, c. 697.