Authority: Article IV, Constitution of Virginia.

A. Out of this appropriation, the House of Delegates is funded $17,422,669 the first year and $17,422,199 the second year from the general fund. The Senate is funded $9,338,564 the first year and $9,338,376 the second year from the general fund.

B. 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 (§§ 30-19.11 through 30-19.20, 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, $123,953 from July 1, 2004, to November 24, 2004, $127,672 from November 25, 2004, to November 24, 2005, and $133,290 from November 25, 2005, to June 30, 2006.

3. The annual salary of the Clerk of the Senate, $121,342 from July 1, 2004, to November 24, 2004, $124,982 from November 25, 2004, to November 24, 2005, and $130,481 from November 25, 2005, to June 30, 2006.

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. $61,683 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more secretaries of the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Salary increases shall be governed by the provisions of Item 505 of this act.

b. $92,526 per calendar year for the compensation of one or more legislative assistants of the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Salary increases shall be governed by the provisions of Item 505 of this act.

c. $30,842 per calendar year for the compensation of legislative  assistants of each member of the General Assembly. Salary increases granted shall be governed by the provisions of Item 505 of this act.

d. The per diem for each legislative assistant of each member of the General Assembly, including the Speaker of the House of Delegates. Such per diem shall equal the amount authorized per session day for General Assembly members in paragraph B 7, if such legislative 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 legislative 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 legislative 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 legislative 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 legislative 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 § 2.2-2823 A, Code of Virginia, and as certified by the member. Such mileage allowance shall be paid to a legislative 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 legislative 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. $15,000 per calendar year additional allowance for secretaries or legislative assistants to the Majority and Minority Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate and for secretaries or legislative assistants to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Salary increases shall be governed by the provisions of Item 505 of this act.

6. Compensation to members of the General Assembly, pursuant to § 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. The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate are authorized to provide reimbursements to legislative commissions for per diem payments made for studies requested by the chairmen of standing committees of the respective bodies.

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. Allowance 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 Leaders of the House of Delegates and the Senate and to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

C. A legislative assistant of a member of the General Assembly regularly employed on a twelve (12) consecutive month salary basis receiving 60 percent or more of the salary allotted pursuant to paragraph A 5, may, for the purposes of §§ 51.1-124.3 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, the VRS short and long term disability plans, and the state health insurance plan. Upon approval by the Joint Rules Committee, legislative assistants shall be eligible to participate in the short and long-term disability plans sponsored by the Virginia Retirement System pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 51.1, Code of Virginia. Such legislative assistants shall not receive sick leave and family and personal leave benefits under this plan. Short-term disability benefits shall be payable from the Legislative Reversion Clearing Account.

D. 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.

E. An amount of up to $10,000 per year shall be transferred from Item 24 of this act, to reflect equivalent compensation allowances for the Lieutenant Governor 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.

F.1. 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. 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.

2. The Joint Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding Policies shall conduct an assessment of the adequacy of the current educational and general funding levels for Virginia's public institutions of higher education. The assessment shall be used to develop guidelines against which to measure funding requests for higher education. The assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the following components:

a) Updated student-to-faculty ratios based on current practice or industry norms.

b) Consideration of support staff needs and the changing requirements of support staff due to technology and privatization of services previously performed by the institutions.

c) Costs of instruction, such as equipment, utilities, facilities maintenance, and other nonpersonal services expenses.

d) Recognition of the individual mission of the institution, student characteristics, location, or other factors that may influence the costs of instruction.

e) Benchmarking of the funding guidelines against a group of peer institutions, or other appropriate comparator group, to assess the validity of the guidelines.

f) Means by which measures of institutional performance can be assessed and incorporated into funding and policy guidelines for higher education.

3. The Joint Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding Policies shall develop a more precise methodology for determining funding needs at Virginia's public institutions of higher education related to enrollment growth. The methodology should take into consideration that support staff and operations may need to be expanded when enrollment growth reaches certain levels.

4. The Joint Subcommittee may seek support from the staff of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees, the public institutions of higher education, or other higher education or state agency representatives, as requested by the Joint Subcommittee. At its discretion, the Joint Subcommittee may contract for consulting services.

5. The Joint Subcommittee is hereby continued to provide direction and oversight of higher education funding policies. The Joint Subcommittee shall review and articulate policies and funding methodologies on: (a) the appropriate share of educational and general costs that should be borne by students; (b) student financial aid; (c) undergraduate medical education funding; (d) the mix of full-time and part-time faculty; (e) the mix of in-state and out-of-state students as it relates to tuition policy; and (f) the viability of statewide articulation agreements between four-year and two-year public institutions.

6. a. It is the objective of the General Assembly that funding for Virginia's public colleges and universities shall be based primarily on the funding guidelines outlined in the November, 2001 report of the Joint Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding Policies.

b. Based on the findings and recommendations of its November, 2001 report, the Joint Subcommittee shall coordinate with the State Council of Higher Education, the Secretary of Education, and the Department of Planning and Budget in incorporating the higher education funding guidelines into the development of budget recommendations.

c. As part of its responsibilities to ensure the fair and equitable distribution and use of public funds among the public institutions of higher education, the State Council of Higher Education shall incorporate the funding guidelines established by the Joint Subcommittee into its budget recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly.