Authority: Title 30, Chapters 7 and 8, Code of Virginia.
A. Out of the amounts for Performance Audits and Evaluation shall be paid the annual salary of the Director, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), $117,977 from July 1, 1998, to November 24, 1998, $117,977 $123,345 from November 25, 1998, to November 24, 1999, and $117,977 $131,054 from November 25, 1999, to June 30, 2000.
B. JLARC, upon request of the Department of Planning and Budget and approval of the Chairman, shall review and provide comments to the Department on its proposed use of performance measures in the State budget process. The Commission staff shall review the methodology and proposed uses of such performance measures and provide periodic status reports to the Commission.
C. Expenses associated with the oversight responsibility of the Virginia Retirement System by JLARC and the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees shall be reimbursed by the Virginia Retirement System upon documentation by the Director of JLARC of the expenses incurred.
D. JLARC shall study the local effect of the Virginia Independence Program (VIP) and the Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfare (VIEW) program to determine: (1) the status of a sample of families leaving the program before exhausting time limits for receiving assistance, and reasons for not remaining in the program; (2) the status and advancement of families leaving assistance; and (3) the status of a sample of families who have exhausted the time limits of eligibility for certain benefits and services. The study shall include information on the reliance of families on charitable organizations and other public programs. With appropriations provided from this Item, JLARC may contract with a university or other organizations for assistance in conducting the study. JLARC shall submit a study plan and interim report to the 1998 General Assembly and a final report to the 1999 General Assembly.
E. JLARC shall study the cost and benefit of reducing the tax rate, providing an employer tax credit, or similar financial incentives relating to payments into the Unemployment Trust Fund, established pursuant to § 60.2-500 et seq., Code of Virginia, in the case of employers hiring Virginia Initiative for Employment Not Welfare participants as specified in § 63.1-133.49 D 2, of the Code of Virginia.
F. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall study: (1) the implications of the Federal Communication Commission's requirement that Public Broadcasting Stations begin digital transmission of television programs in the year 2003, with special regard for programming implications and (2) the use of existing funding from the Commonwealth by Virginia stations receiving Community Service Grants from the Commonwealth. In conducting its study, the Commission may consult with Virginia Public Broadcasting Stations, the Virginia Public Telecommunications Board, and such other agencies or institutions as may seem appropriate.
G. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall examine the feasibility of converting the State Military Reservation (Camp Pendleton) in the City of Virginia Beach to a state park. The study shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the need for additional oceanfront access and state park recreation areas in southeastern Virginia; (ii) the impact on tenants at the facility; (iii) cost and benefits to the Virginia National Guard in relocating all remaining training functions to Fort Pickett; and (iv) environmental remediation issues. In conducting this study the Commission shall consult with the Department of Military Affairs, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the City of Virginia Beach, and Camp Pendleton tenants. A report on the findings of the study shall be presented to the 1999 Session of the General Assembly.
H. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall conduct an evaluation of the Department of Health Professions, the Board of Health Professions, and the health regulatory boards. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to: (i) a follow-up of the Commission's 1982 and 1983 study recommendations related to the health regulatory boards; (ii) an assessment of the working and organizational relationships between the boards, the department staff, and the Board of Health Professions in the licensing and regulation of health professions; (iii) an examination of the efficacy, fairness and propriety with which the various statutes, duties, functions, and activities involved in the licensing and regulation of health professions are being performed and discharged; and (iv) an assessment of the Department's staffing and automated systems needed for current and future operations. The Department of Health Professions and the health regulatory boards shall cooperate fully with the Commission and shall provide all information requested by the Commission and its staff. The boards shall also provide the Commission's staff with full access to all disciplinary or other proceedings of the boards, including executive sessions, and to all disciplinary files and records of the boards or the Department of Health Professions. The Commission shall make an interim report to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than January 1, 1999, and a final report no later than January 1, 2000.
I. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall study the State Air Medevac System to ensure the continuation of an excellent and efficient statewide emergency medical evacuation services system. The study shall include, but not be limited to, the availability of air medical evacuation services, administrative protocols of service providers, the need for statewide alternatives and options, and the mission, operations, coordination and funding of public and private air medevac programs.
J. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall conduct a review of need-based financial aid programs of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The study shall (i) review the policies and implementation strategies for financial aid programs in other states; (ii) present alternative policies and administrative structures for carrying out financial aid programs in Virginia; and (iii) provide alternatives for a simplified, equitable financial aid program for students and parents. The objective of the study is the development of a financial aid system that is both fair to students and complementary to the Commonwealth's tuition policy. In addition, the Commission shall review merit scholarship and incentive scholarship plans, examine the purposes and measurable objectives of such scholarships and make recommendations regarding their application in Virginia. The Commission shall make its recommendations to the Joint Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding Policies, as established in Item 1 of this act, by December 15, 1999.
K. Out of this appropriation, funds are provided to expand the technical support staff of the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, in order to assist with legislative fiscal impact analysis when an impact statement is referred from the Chairman of a standing committee of the House or Senate, and to conduct oversight of the expenditure forecasting process. Pursuant to existing statutory authority, all agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide access to information necessary to accomplish these duties.
L. Pursuant to House Joint Resolution 137 from the 1998 Regular Session, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall examine (i) cross-cutting or client-based issues within the Health and Human Resources Secretariat and (ii) the organization, management and performance of the Department of Health, including a review of the Department's monitoring of health maintenance organizations. The review of cross-cutting or client-based issues shall address study resolutions directed to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission by the 1999 General Assembly that relate to services provided by agencies of the Health and Human Resources Secretariat. As resources are available, the review of cross-cutting or client-based issues shall also include issues that are relevant to multiple agencies in the secretariat, such as potential overlap or duplication of services. The Commission shall complete its work and submit its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than the 2001 Session.
M. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall conduct an annual follow-up review, beginning in fiscal year 2000, of the labor market experiences and welfare participation rates for welfare recipients, using the sample of individuals that was selected in 1998 for its study of welfare reform. This review shall include an analysis of the participant wage files maintained by the Virginia Employment Commission, and the welfare benefit files and VIEW program files maintained by the Department of Social Services.
N. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall conduct a comprehensive study of the fiscal impact of the operations of the ports of Virginia which are owned by the Commonwealth on the local governments where the ports operate. The purpose of the study shall be to determine whether adequate compensation from the Commonwealth is provided to those localities considering the loss of taxes or other revenues that would otherwise inure to them from the properties were the properties not owned by the Commonwealth.
O. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission shall conduct a review of grievance hearings, in particular the utilization of hearing officers, and report its findings to the General Assembly by December 1, 1999.