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 $36,321 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, $106,766 from July 1, 1998, to November 24, 1998, $106,766 $110,503 from November 25, 1998, to November 24, 1999, and $106,766 $114,923 from November 25, 1999, to June 30, 2000.

3. The annual salary of the Clerk of the Senate, $104,518 from July 1, 1998, to November 24, 1998, $104,518 $108,176 from November 25, 1998, to November 24, 1999, and $104,518 $112,503 from November 25, 1999, to June 30, 2000.

4. Expenses of the Speaker of the House of Delegates not otherwise reimbursed, $16,200 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. $56,000 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more secretaries of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

b. $84,000 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more administrative assistants of the Speaker of the House of Delegates.

c. $28,000 for the salary per calendar year for the compensation of each full-time secretary or administrative assistant of each member of the General Assembly. Salaries for part-time secretaries or administrative assistants shall be adjusted on a proportional basis. Salary increases granted shall be governed by the provisions of Item 546 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. $14,000 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 30-19.12, Code of Virginia, and subject to the limitations and conditions stated therein, at a rate of $200 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 $1,250 for each month of each calendar year. An additional $500 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 21 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. The joint subcommittee established in Item 1, paragraph E, of Chapter 912 of the 1996 Acts of Assembly, for the purpose of monitoring and examining issues related to tax-supported bonded indebtedness of the Commonwealth, shall continue its study during the interim. The subcommittee shall consist of four members of the House Appropriations Committee and four members of the Senate Finance Committee, each appointed by the respective chairmen. The joint subcommittee shall provide such report to the 1999 Session of the General Assembly as it may deem appropriate.

F. The House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee shall study the benefits provided to members of the State Police Officers Retirement System (SPORS). The study shall look at the employer provided benefit levels and how they compare to other states.

G. Given the Commonwealth's responsibilities for the purchase of health care services for employees of state government, Medicaid beneficiaries and children soon to be eligible under S-CHIP, and given the tremendous market effect that expenditures of such magnitude have on enrollees and the various health providers and health plans in each region of the Commonwealth, the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees are authorized to hire an outside consultant to assist in a study of the practices, policies and procedures through which health plans procure health services, in order to ensure that state health purchasing practices neither directly nor indirectly foster any anti-competitive disadvantages. Funds necessary to conduct such study shall be provided from the Joint Rules Committee of the House and Senate. Pursuant to § 2.1-20.1 C, Code of Virginia, the Joint Rules Committee may direct the Department of Personnel and Training to provide the necessary funds for that portion of the study relating to the State Employees Health Insurance Plan.

H. The Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees shall each appoint four members from their respective committees to a joint subcommittee to review public higher education funding policies and to make recommendations to their respective committees prior to the 1999 Session of the General Assembly. The objective of the review is to develop policies and formulas to provide the public institutions of higher education with an equitable funding methodology that: (a) recognizes differences in institutional mission; (b) provides incentives for achievement and productivity; (c) recognizes enrollment growth; and (d) establishes funding objectives in areas such as faculty salaries, financial aid, and the appropriate share of educational and general costs that should be borne by resident students. In addition, the review shall include the development of comparable cost data concerning the delivery of higher education through an analysis of the relationship of each public institution to its national peers. The public institutions of higher education and the staff of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia are directed to provide technical assistance, as required, to the joint subcommittee.