Virginia Law

A. The Senate Ethics Advisory Panel and the House Ethics Advisory Panel are established in the legislative branch of state government. The provisions of §§ 30-112 through 30-119 shall be applicable to each panel.

B. The Senate Ethics Advisory Panel shall be composed of five nonlegislative citizen members: three of whom shall be former members of the Senate; and two of whom shall be citizens of the Commonwealth at large who have not previously held such office. All members of the Panel shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. No member shall engage in activities requiring him to register as a lobbyist under § 2.2-422 during his tenure on the Panel.

The members shall be nominated by the Committee on Rules of the Senate and confirmed by the Senate by a majority vote of (i) the members present of the majority party and (ii) the members present of the minority party. After initial appointments, all appointments shall be for terms of four years each except for unexpired terms. Nominations shall be made so as to assure bipartisan representation on the Panel.

C. The House Ethics Advisory Panel shall be composed of five nonlegislative citizen members: one of whom shall be a retired justice or judge of a court of record; two of whom shall be former members of the House of Delegates; and two of whom shall be citizens of the Commonwealth at large, at least one of whom shall not have previously held such office. All members of the Panel shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. No member shall engage in activities requiring him to register as a lobbyist under § 2.2-422 during his tenure on the Panel.

The members shall be nominated by the Speaker of the House of Delegates and confirmed by the House of Delegates by a majority vote of (i) the members present of the majority party and (ii) the members present of the minority party. After initial appointments, all appointments shall be for terms of four years each except for unexpired terms. Nominations shall be made so as to assure bipartisan representation on the Panel.

D. Each panel shall elect its own chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.

E. No member shall serve more than three successive four-year terms. Vacancies shall be filled only for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment.

F. Three members shall constitute a quorum on each panel. A vacancy shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all powers of the Panel. Meetings of each panel shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.

G. The members of each panel, while serving on the business of the Panel, are performing legislative duties and shall be entitled to the compensation and reimbursement of expenses to which members of the General Assembly are entitled when performing legislative duties pursuant to §§ 2.2-2813, 2.2-2825, and 30-19.12. Funding for the cost of compensation and expenses of the members of the Senate Ethics Advisory Panel shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the Senate and the funding for the cost of compensation and expenses of the House Ethics Advisory Panel shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates.

1987, Sp. Sess., c. 1, §§ 2.1-639.42, 2.1-639.43, 2.1-639.44, 2.1-639.51; 1992, c. 443; 2001, c. 844; 2004, c. 1000; 2010, c. 876; 2014, cc. 792, 804.