Virginia Law

The Commission on Unemployment Compensation (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to annually monitor and evaluate Virginia's unemployment compensation system relative to the economic health of the Commonwealth.

2003, c. 1038.

The Commission shall consist of eight legislative members. Members shall be appointed as follows: three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and five members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates.

Members of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Members may be reappointed. 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.

The Commission shall elect a chairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.

2003, c. 1038; 2004, c. 1000.

A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The Commission shall meet at least two times each year. The meetings of the Commission shall be held at the call of the chairman or whenever the majority of the members so request.

No recommendation of the Commission shall be adopted if a majority of the Senate members or a majority of the House members appointed to the Commission (i) vote against the recommendation and (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majority vote of the Commission.

2003, c. 1038; 2004, c. 1000.

Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in § 30-19.12. All members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in § 2.2-2813. However, all such compensation and expenses shall be paid from existing appropriations to the Commission or, if unfunded, shall be approved by the Joint Rules Committee.

2003, c. 1038.

A. The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Evaluate the impact of existing statutes and proposed legislation on unemployment compensation and the Unemployment Trust Fund;

2. Assess the Commonwealth's unemployment compensation programs and examine ways to enhance effectiveness;

3. Monitor the current status and long-term projections for the Unemployment Trust Fund; and

4. Report annually its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly and the Governor.

B. Within the Commission there shall be established a subcommittee on unemployment insurance (UI) that shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's management of the Commonwealth's unemployment insurance system. The subcommittee shall be responsible for monitoring the Virginia Employment Commission's following operations:

1. Key performance metrics related to unemployment insurance backlogs;

2. Efforts to identify, prevent, and recover incorrect unemployment insurance benefit payments, including fraudulent payments;

3. Modernization of the unemployment insurance information technology system and subsequent efforts to improve functionality;

4. Expenditures of state funds appropriated for unemployment insurance administration; and

5. Implementation of recommendations from the 2021 Operations and Performance of the Virginia Employment Commission report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission.

C. The subcommittee established in subsection B shall include (i) at least one employee stakeholder representative, (ii) at least one employer representative, (iii) at least one member of the Commission on Unemployment Compensation, and (iv) at least one member from each of the following committees: the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

D. The subcommittee established in subsection B shall meet at least once each quarter from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2025, and shall report at least annually, beginning on December 1, 2022, to the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Labor and Commerce, the Senate Committee on Commerce and Labor, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations.

E. The Commission shall periodically convene an advisory committee composed of an employer representative, an employee representative, a labor economist, a finance expert, a labor law expert, and any other stakeholders or subject matter experts deemed appropriate by the Commission for the following purposes: (i) to review UI benefits, replacement ratios, and recipiency rates; (ii) to identify factors that affect UI benefits and recipiency, such as design of UI benefit calculations or UI eligibility criteria; (iii) to assess the advantages and disadvantages of potential changes to benefits; and (iv) to recommend to the Commission options to change benefit levels when needed. This advisory committee shall be established by December 1, 2022, and shall be convened at least every five years thereafter.

2003, c. 1038; 2022, cc. 716, 754.

The Office of the Clerk of the Senate or the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates shall provide administrative staff support as may be appropriate in the house in which the chairman of the Commission serves. The Division of Legislative Services shall provide legal, research, policy analysis and other services as requested by the Commission. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Commission, upon request.

2003, c. 1038.

The chairman shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly an annual executive summary of the interim activity and work of the Commission no later than the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly. The executive summary shall be submitted 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.

2003, c. 1038.

Repealed by Acts 2006, cc. 389 and 476, cl. 1.