Virginia HB 1385: Higher educational institutions, public; membership of governing boards.

Bill Text

2026 SESSION

INTRODUCED

26105297D

HOUSE BILL NO. 1385

Offered January 21, 2026

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-105, 2.2-507, and 2.2-2519 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 23.1-102.2, relating to gubernatorial appointments; confirmation process; Virginia Commission on Higher Education Board Appointments; legal counsel for public institutions of higher education.

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Patrons—Franklin, L.V. and Carr

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Referred to Committee on Education

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 2.2-105, 2.2-507, and 2.2-2519 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 23.1-102.2 as follows:

§ 2.2-105. Appointments to office; effect of refusal to confirm by the General Assembly.

No person appointed to any office by the Governor, whose appointment is subject to confirmation by the General Assembly, shall enter upon, or continue in, office after the General Assembly has refused to confirm his appointment. Nor shall such person be eligible for reappointment during the recess of the General Assembly to fill the vacancy caused by the refusal to confirm. Whenever the House or Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections or a subcommittee thereof, or other standing committee made responsible for confirming gubernatorial appointments by the rules of the applicable house, votes to reject an appointment by the Governor by a majority vote in accordance with the rules of its house, such rejection shall be deemed a refusal of the General Assembly to confirm such appointment for purposes of Article V, Section 11 of the Constitution of Virginia and this section.

§ 2.2-507. Legal service in civil matters.

A. All legal service in civil matters for the Commonwealth, the Governor, and every state department, institution, division, commission, board, bureau, agency, entity, official, court, or judge, including the conduct of all civil litigation in which any of them are interested, shall be rendered and performed by the Attorney General, except as provided in this chapter and except for any litigation concerning a justice or judge initiated by the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission. No regular counsel shall be employed for or by the Governor or any state department, institution, division, commission, board, bureau, agency, entity, or official. The Attorney General may represent personally or through one or more of his assistants any number of state departments, institutions, divisions, commissions, boards, bureaus, agencies, entities, officials, courts, or judges that are parties to the same transaction or that are parties in the same civil or administrative proceeding and may represent multiple interests within the same department, institution, division, commission, board, bureau, agency, or entity. The soil and water conservation district directors or districts may request legal advice from local, public, or private sources; however, upon request of the soil and water conservation district directors or districts, the Attorney General shall provide legal service in civil matters for such district directors or districts. The governing board of each public institution of higher education shall be responsible for all decisions relating to the employment of legal counsel for such institution, provided, however, that the Attorney General shall provide legal service for a public institution of higher education only (i) upon the request of the governing board, as defined in § 23.1-100, of such institution or (ii) in accordance with the provisions of subsection E of § 23.1-102.2. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the Attorney General from, upon timely application, intervening as a separate party on behalf of the Commonwealth in any matter, subject to a showing that the Commonwealth has a separate and independent interest in the matter.

B. The Attorney General may represent personally or through one of his assistants any of the following persons who are made defendant in any civil action for damages arising out of any matter connected with their official duties:

1. Members, agents, or employees of the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority;

2. Agents inspecting or investigators appointed by the State Corporation Commission;

3. Agents, investigators, or auditors employed by the Department of Taxation;

4. Members, agents, or employees of the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the State Board of Health, the State Department of Health, the Department of General Services, the State Board of Social Services, the Department of Social Services, the State Board of Local and Regional Jails, the Department of Corrections, the State Board of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Virginia Parole Board, or the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services