Virginia Law

The Commission on Wellness and Opportunity (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purpose of the Commission is to (i) establish a vision for health and wellness standards in Virginia by (a) examining various dimensions of health and wellness, including but not limited to physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social wellness, and (b) utilizing the comprehensive theoretical framework "the social determinants of health"; (ii) identify and define measurable opportunities and outcomes that build community competence around well-being; and (iii) make policy recommendations for improving the quality of life of the citizens of the Commonwealth.

2020, c. 1036.

A. The Commission shall consist of 23 members that include eight legislative members, five nonlegislative citizen members, and 10 ex officio members. Members shall be appointed as follows: 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; three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; three nonlegislative citizen members, at least one of whom shall have a background in community competence building and one of whom shall have a significant background in health and wellness within the private sector equivalent to that of ex officio members of the Commission, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; two nonlegislative citizen members, one of whom shall have a background in community competence building and one of whom shall have a significant background in health and wellness within the private sector equivalent to that of ex officio members of the Commission, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and the Secretaries of Health and Human Resources, Commerce and Trade, Agriculture and Forestry, Education, Public Safety and Homeland Security, Natural and Historic Resources, Transportation, and Labor, the Commissioner of Health, and the Executive Director of the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth, or their designees, to serve ex officio with nonvoting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the Commission and the respective Clerk, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth of Virginia for the purpose of attending meetings.

B. Legislative members and ex officio members of the Commission shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Nonlegislative citizen members shall be appointed for a term of two years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Legislative members and nonlegislative citizen members may be reappointed. However, no nonlegislative citizen member shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms. 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. 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, who shall be members of the General Assembly.

2020, c. 1036; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 401, 453.

The Commission shall meet at least quarterly. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. 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 House members or a majority of the Senate 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.

2020, c. 1036.

Legislative members of the Commission shall receive such compensation as provided in § 30-19.12, and nonlegislative citizen members shall receive such compensation for the performance of their duties as provided in § 2.2-2813. All members shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Compensation to members of the General Assembly for attendance at official meetings of the Commission shall be paid by the offices of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or Clerk of the Senate, as applicable. All other compensation and expenses shall be paid from existing appropriations to the Commission or, if unfunded, shall be approved by the Joint Rules Committee.

2020, c. 1036.

The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

1. Develop a comprehensive framework for defining what wellness means for Virginia that is based on the structural and social dimensions of wellness and the interrelationship of all aspects of the environment to individual and public wellness;

2. Identify priorities and actions necessary to realize the comprehensive framework for wellness;

3. Identify opportunities to address wellness deficiencies and inequities in the Commonwealth and develop policy recommendations to improve in a comprehensive manner the well-being of the citizens of the Commonwealth; and

4. Submit an annual report pursuant to § 30-382.

2020, c. 1036.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerk of the House of Delegates or the Office of the Clerk of the Senate as may be appropriate for 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.

2020, c. 1036.

The chairman shall submit to the General Assembly and the Governor 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.

2020, c. 1036.

This chapter shall expire on July 1, 2025.

2020, c. 1036.