Authority: Discretionary Inclusion.

A. The amounts in this item represent appropriations transferred to the Secretary of Administration from the Virginia Public Broadcasting Board. The Director, Department of Planning and Budget, shall submit an operating plan for the reorganization to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees no later than July 1, 2003.

B. It is the intent of the General Assembly that legislation be introduced in the 2004 Session of the General Assembly amending the Code of Virginia to effect the reorganization contained in this Item.

C. Out of this appropriation shall be expended $2,990,820 the second year for community service grants to public television stations and $608,849 the second year for community service grants to public radio stations. Grants to public television stations shall be used to develop, acquire, produce and deliver programs and services which support preschool and adult education, disseminate information on governmental and public affairs issues, promote tourism and economic development within the Commonwealth, and inform, educate, and entertain families with program content which offers alternatives to commercialized television programming.

D. The funds for community service grants herein appropriated are to be administered by the Secretary of Administration in accordance with such rules and regulations as it may prescribe provided that: (1) the Secretary of Administration shall certify that recipients of the community service grants provided for in paragraph C of this Item are noncommercial radio and television stations that are owned and operated by entities which qualified to receive community service grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and whose offices and studios are located in the Commonwealth and (2) it shall carry out its purposes and functions and engage in its activities in ways that will most effectively assure the maximum freedom of the aforesaid noncommercial radio and television entities and systems from interference with, or control of, program content or other activities.

E. Community service grants to public television and public radio stations shall be paid in equal quarterly installments.

F. The Secretary of Administration shall monitor the progress of Virginia’s public television stations toward achieving the Federal Communications Commission’s new digital standard, and shall oversee the expenditure of state funds allocated and disbursed to these stations under the financing plan authorized by Item 89F of Chapter 1073, 2000 Acts of Assembly. The Secretary shall require public television stations to provide semiannual reports itemizing the expenditures of state funds for the digital conversion. The Secretary shall report annually by November 1 to the Governor and the chairmen of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee on the expenditure of state funds disbursed for the digital conversion and on the progress of Virginia public television stations toward achieving the Federal Communications Commission mandate.

G. Out of this appropriation shall be expended $2,746,631 the second year for elementary and secondary instructional telecommunications payments and related services as provided by the Master Plan for Public Telecommunications, and $157,075 for the provision of radio reading services for the benefit of print-disabled individuals.

H. The Secretary of Administration is authorized to enter into contract with, and to allocate and disburse state funds to, public broadcasting stations and private nonprofit organizations to provide radio reading services for the benefit of print-disabled individuals. “Radio reading services" means the acquisition, production, and distribution by nonprofit organizations or by public broadcasting stations of noncommercial educational, instructional, informational, or cultural audio programs which may be transmitted by means of electronic communication for the benefit of print-disabled individuals, and any related equipment, materials, and services provided for the benefit of such individuals.