Title 2.2. Administration of Government
Chapter 24. Boards
Article 30. Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board.
§ 2.2-2499.5. Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board; purpose; membership; quorum; meetings.A. The Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board (the Board) is established as a policy board in the executive branch of state government. The purpose of the Board is to directly address the impact of economic disinvestment, violence, and historical overuse of criminal justice responses to community and individual needs by providing resources to support local design and control of community-based responses to such impacts.
B. The Board shall have a total membership of 20 members that shall consist of 13 nonlegislative citizen members and seven ex officio members. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed as follows: three to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, one of whom shall be a person who has been previously incarcerated or convicted of a marijuana-related crime, one of whom shall be an expert in the field of public health with experience in trauma-informed care, if possible, and one of whom shall be an expert in education with a focus on access to opportunities for youth in underserved communities; five to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates, one of whom shall be an expert on Virginia's foster care system, one of whom shall be an expert in workforce development, one of whom shall be a representative from one of Virginia's historically black colleges and universities, one of whom shall be a veteran, and one of whom shall be an entrepreneur with expertise in emerging industries or access to capital for small businesses; and five to be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, one of whom shall be a representative from the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission and four of whom shall be community-based providers or community development organization representatives who provide services to address the social determinants of health and promote community investment in communities adversely and disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibitions, including services such as workforce development, youth mentoring and educational services, job training and placement services, and reentry services. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be citizens of the Commonwealth and reflect the racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic diversity of the Commonwealth.
The Secretaries of Education, Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security, the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Chief Workforce Development Advisor, and the Attorney General or their designees shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. The Chief Executive Officer of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority or his designee shall serve ex officio without voting privileges.
Ex officio members of the Board shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. After the initial staggering of terms, nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of four years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed.
The Board shall be chaired by the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or his designee. The Board shall select a vice-chairman from among its membership. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The Board shall meet at least two times each year and shall meet at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 550, 551.
§ 2.2-2499.6. Compensation; expenses.Members shall receive no compensation for the performance of their duties but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 550, 551.
§ 2.2-2499.7. Powers and duties of the Board.The Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Board shall have the following powers and duties:
1. Support persons, families, and communities historically and disproportionately targeted and affected by drug enforcement;
2. Develop and implement scholarship programs and educational and vocational resources for historically marginalized persons, including persons in foster care, who have been adversely impacted by substance use individually, in their families, or in their communities.
3. Develop and implement a program to award grants to support workforce development programs, mentoring programs, job training and placement services, apprenticeships, and reentry services that serve persons and communities historically and disproportionately targeted by drug enforcement.
4. Administer the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund established pursuant to § 2.2-2499.8.
5. Collaborate with the Board of Directors of the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as necessary to implement programs and provide recommendations in line with the purpose of this article.
6. Submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly for publication as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports. The chairman shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Council no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted as a report document as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.
7. Perform such other activities and functions as the Governor and General Assembly may direct.
2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 550, 551.
§ 2.2-2499.8. Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund.There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Fund, referred to in this section as "the Fund." The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of:
1. Supporting persons, families, and communities historically and disproportionately targeted and affected by drug enforcement;
2. Providing scholarship opportunities and educational and vocational resources for historically marginalized persons, including persons in foster care, who have been adversely impacted by substance use individually, in their families, or in their communities;
3. Awarding grants to support workforce development, mentoring programs, job training and placement services, apprenticeships, and reentry services that serve persons and communities historically and disproportionately targeted by drug enforcement.
4. Contributing to the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission established pursuant to § 19.2-163.01; and
5. Contributing to the Virginia Cannabis Equity Business Loan Fund established pursuant to § 4.1-1501.
Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
