Virginia § 30-348 - Commission on Civic Education; purpose; membership; terms

§ 30-348. Commission on Civic Education; purpose; membership; terms

The Commission on Civic Education (the Commission) is established in the legislative branch of state government. The purposes of the Commission are to (i) educate students on the importance of citizen involvement in a constitutional republic, (ii) promote the study of state and local government among the Commonwealth's citizenry, and (iii) enhance communication and collaboration among organizations in the Commonwealth that conduct civic education.

The Commission shall have a total membership of 17 members that shall consist of five legislative members and 12 nonlegislative citizen members. Members shall be appointed as follows: three 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; two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; six nonlegislative citizen members, two of whom shall be former or current government or civics teachers, one of whom shall be a representative of an organization involved in civic engagement, one of whom shall be a representative of an institution of political or civil engagement studies center, one of whom shall be a Department of Education social studies specialist, and one of whom shall have the qualifications or experience as determined by the Speaker, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; and six nonlegislative citizen members, two of whom shall be current or former social studies coordinators, one of whom shall be a representative of a voter outreach organization, one of whom shall be a member of the Virginia Press Association, one of whom shall be a professor of social studies education, and one of whom shall have the qualifications or experience as determined by the Senate Committee on Rules, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. Unless otherwise approved in writing by the chairman of the Commission, the Clerk of the House of Delegates, and the Clerk of the Senate, nonlegislative citizen members shall only be reimbursed for travel originating and ending within the Commonwealth for the purpose of attending meetings.

Legislative members 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.

2014, c. 562; 2017, cc. 145, 327; 2020, c. 1045.