Authority: Article IV, Constitution of Virginia.

A. Out of the amounts for Legislative Sessions shall be paid:

1. The salaries of the Speaker of the House of Delegates and other members, and personnel employed by each house; the mileage of members, officers and employees, including salaries and mileage of members of legislative committees sitting during recess; public printing and related expenses required by or for the General Assembly; and the incidental expenses of the General Assembly (§§ 14.1-17.1 through 14.1-23, inclusive, and § 30-19.4, Code of Virginia). The salary of the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall be $32,000 per year. The salaries of other members of the House of Delegates shall be $17,640 per year. The salaries of the members of the Senate shall be $18,000 per year.

2. The annual salary of the Clerk of the House of Delegates, $98,380 from July 1, 1996, to November 30, 1996, $102,660 from December 1, 1996, to November 30, 1997, and $104,713 from December 1, 1997, to June 30, 1998.

3. The annual salary of the Clerk of the Senate, $96,309 from July 1, 1996, to November 30, 1996, $100,498 from December 1, 1996, to November 30, 1997, and $102,508 from December 1, 1997, to June 30, 1998.

4. Expenses of the Speaker of the House of Delegates not otherwise reimbursed, $13,200 each year, to be paid in equal monthly installments during the year.

5. In accordance with § 30-19.4, Code of Virginia and subject to all other conditions of that section except as otherwise provided in the following paragraphs:

a. $38,045 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more secretaries of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

b. $59,315 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more administrative assistants of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

c. $18,500 for the salary per calendar year for the compensation of the secretary or administrative assistant of each member of the General Assembly. Salary increases granted shall be governed by the provisions of Item 528 of this act.

d. The per diem for each secretary or administrative assistant of each member of the General Assembly, including the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Such per diem shall equal 85 percent of the amount authorized per session day for General Assembly members in paragraph A.7., if such secretary or administrative assistant maintains a temporary residence during the legislative session or an extension thereof and if the establishment of such temporary residence results from the person's employment by the member. The per diem for a secretary or administrative assistant who is domiciled in the City of Richmond or whose domicile is within twenty miles of the Capitol shall equal thirty-five percent of the amount paid to a secretary or administrative assistant who maintains a temporary residence during such session. For purposes of this paragraph, (i) a session day shall include such days as shall be established by the Rules Committee of each respective house and (ii) a temporary residence is defined as a residence certified by the member served by the secretary or administrative assistant as occupied only by reason of employment during the legislative session or extension thereof. Notwithstanding the provisions of (i) of the preceding sentence, if the House from which the secretary or administrative assistant is paid is in adjournment during a regular or special session, he must show to the satisfaction of the Clerk that he worked each day during such adjournment for which such per diem is claimed.

e. A mileage allowance as provided in § 14.1-5, Code of Virginia, and as certified by the member. Such mileage allowance shall be paid to a secretary or administrative assistant for one round trip between the City of Richmond and such person's home each week during the legislative session or an extension thereof when such person is maintaining a temporary residence.

f. Per diem and mileage shall be paid only to a person who is paid compensation pursuant to § 30-19.4, Code of Virginia.

g. Not more than one person shall be paid per diem or mileage during a single weekly pay period for serving a member as secretary or administrative assistant during a legislative session or extension thereof.

h. No person, by virtue of concurrently serving more than one member, shall be paid mileage or per diem in excess of the daily rates specified in this item.

i. $9,260 per calendar year additional allowance for secretaries or administrative assistants to the Majority and Minority Floor Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate and for secretaries or administrative assistants to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

6. Compensation to members of the General Assembly, pursuant to § 14.1-18, Code of Virginia, and subject to the limitations and conditions stated therein, at a rate of $100 per day, or for any part thereof, for the time actually engaged in the discharge of their duties. All other members of any legislative committee, commission or council established by the General Assembly, or a committee or subcommittee thereof shall receive compensation at the rate of $50 per day, or for any part thereof.

7. Allowances for expenses of members of the General Assembly, either (a) an amount not exceeding $75 per day for expenses which are vouchered, or (b) an amount equaling the maximum daily amount permitted by the Internal Revenue Service.

8. Reimbursement for office expenses and supplies of members of the General Assembly, in the amount of $750 for each month of each calendar year. An additional $250 for each month of each calendar year shall be paid to the Majority and Minority Floor Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate and to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

B. A secretary or administrative assistant of a member of the General Assembly regularly employed on a twelve (12) consecutive month salary basis receiving state annual compensation of $10,000 or more pursuant to Paragraph A.5 of this item prior to January 1, 1997, and/or thereafter receiving 60 percent or more of the salary allotted pursuant to paragraph A.5, may, for the purposes of §§ 51.1-101 and 51.1-152, Code of Virginia, be deemed a "state employee" and as such will be eligible for participation in the Virginia Retirement System, the group life insurance plan and the state health insurance plan.

C. Out of this appropriation the Clerk of the House of Delegates shall pay the routine maintenance and operating expenses of the General Assembly Building as apportioned to the Senate, House of Delegates, Division of Legislative Services, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission or other legislative agencies. The funds appropriated to each agency in the Legislative Department for routine maintenance and operating expenses during the current biennium shall be transferred to the account established for this purpose.

D. Out of this appropriation shall be transferred to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor such sums as may be required to pay for unbudgeted expenses resulting from any extensions of sessions or from special sessions, or from any legislative actions which have the effect of increasing allowances for the Speaker and/or members of the General Assembly and their staffs and which have not been otherwise included in the appropriation to the Lieutenant Governor. An amount of $10,000 per year shall be transferred from Item 19 of this act, to reflect equivalent compensation allowances as were authorized by the 1994 General Assembly. The Lieutenant Governor shall report such increases to the Speaker of the House and the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

E. A Joint Subcommittee composed of four members of the House Appropriations Committee and four members of the Senate Finance Committee, appointed by the respective chairmen, shall meet to consider matters involving bonded debt of the Commonwealth, its agents and instrumentalities. The Joint Subcommittee shall examine the totality of the Commonwealth's bonded indebtedness, the current and future impact of debt service or related liabilities on the state budget, the role of rating agency evaluations of Commonwealth bonded debt, and the impact of such ratings on the value of outstanding debt and the interest costs paid on future bond issues. The Debt Capacity Advisory Committee, established pursuant to §9-6.25:1, Code of Virginia, shall meet with the Joint Subcommittee, as the Joint Subcommittee may request, to provide information on the Commonwealth's debt capacity and related issues. The Joint Subcommittee shall provide such reports as it deems appropriate to the 1997 Session of the General Assembly.

F. A study committee composed of four members of the House of Delegates appointed by the Speaker, and three members of the Senate, appointed by the Committee on Privileges and Elections, shall study the appropriate disposition of the stock distributed to the Commonwealth as a policyholder pursuant to a conversion of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia, doing business as Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, from a mutual insurance company to a stock corporation. The study committee shall appoint an advisory committee consisting of representatives from the state and state-supported medical schools and such other organizations as it deems appropriate. The study committee shall develop recommendations for the appropriate disposition of the stock, with the objective of promoting and fostering ongoing support of medical and bio-medical research. The study committee shall report its recommendations to the General Assembly no later than December 20, 1996.