§ 4-5.03 SERVICES AND CLIENTS

a. CHANGED COST FACTORS:

1. No state agency, or its governing body, shall alter factors (e.g., qualification level for receipt of payment or service) which may increase the number of eligible recipients for its authorized services or payments, or alter factors which may increase the unit cost of benefit payments within its authorized services, unless the General Assembly has made an appropriation for the cost of such change.

2.  State agencies shall submit any proposed modifications in rates to be charged by internal service funds, pursuant to §§ 2.2-803, 2.2-1011, and 2.2-2013, Code of Virginia, that impact on agency expenditures to the Department of Planning and Budget for review prior to approval by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.  In its review, the Department of Planning and Budget shall determine whether the requested rate modifications are consistent with budget assumptions and report its findings to the Commission prior to the approval of the rate request.

b. NEW SERVICES:

1. No state agency shall begin any new service that will call for future additional property, plant or equipment or that will require an increase in subsequent general or nongeneral fund operating expenses without first obtaining the authorization of the General Assembly.

2. Pursuant to the policies and procedures of the State Council of Higher Education regarding approval of academic programs and the concomitant enrollment, no state institution of higher education shall operate any academic program with funds in this act unless approved by the Council and included in the Executive Budget, or approved by the General Assembly. The Council may grant exemptions to this policy in exceptional circumstances.

3. Reporting on all new services shall be in accordance with § 4-8.00, Reporting Requirements.

c. OFF-CAMPUS SITES OF INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION:

No moneys appropriated by this act shall be used for off-campus sites unless as provided for in this section.

1. A public college or university seeking to create, establish, or operate an off-campus instructional site, funded directly or indirectly from the general fund or with revenue from tuition and mandatory educational and general fees generated from credit course offerings, shall first refer the matter to the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia for its consideration and approval. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia may provide institutions with conditional approval to operate the site for up to one year, after which time the college or university must receive approval from the Governor and General Assembly, through legislation or appropriation, to continue operating the site.

2. For the colleges of the Virginia Community College System, the State Board for Community Colleges shall be responsible for approving off-campus locations. Sites governed by this requirement are those at any locations not contiguous to the main campus of the institution, including locations outside Virginia.

3. a) The provisions of this language shall not apply to credit offerings on the site of a public or private entity if the offerings are supported entirely with private, local, or federal funds or revenue from tuition and mandatory educational and general fees generated entirely by course offerings at the site.

b) Offerings at previously approved off-campus locations shall also not be subject to these provisions.

c) Further, the provisions of this language do not govern the establishment and operations of campus sites with a primary function of carrying out grant and contract research where direct and indirect costs from such research are covered through external funding sources. Such locations may offer limited graduate education as appropriate to support the research mission of the site.

d) Nothing in this language shall prohibit an institution from offering non-credit continuing education programs at sites away from the main campus of a college or university.

4. The State Council of Higher Education shall establish guidelines to implement this provision.

d. PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

1. In accordance with § 2.2-1501, Code of Virginia, the Department of Planning and Budget shall develop a programmatic budget and accounting structure for all new programs and activities to ensure that it provides the appropriate financial and performance measures to determine if programs achieve desired results and outcomes. The Department of Accounts shall provide assistance as requested by the Department of Planning and Budget. The Department of Planning and Budget shall provide this information each year when the Governor submits the budget in accordance with § 2.2-1509, Code of Virginia, to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations, House Finance, and Senate Finance Committees.

2.a) Within thirty days of the enactment of this act, the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, shall submit in writing to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees a list of the new initiatives for which appropriations are provided in this act.

b) Not later than ninety days after the end of the first year of the biennium, the Director, Department of Planning and Budget, shall prepare a report on the performance of each new initiative contained in the list, to be submitted to the Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees. The report shall compare the actual results, including expenditures, of the initiative with the anticipated results and the appropriation for the initiative. This information shall be used to determine whether the initiative should be extended beyond the beginning period. In the preparation of this report, all state agencies shall provide assistance as requested by the Department of Planning and Budget.