{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/17.1-802.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/17.1-802.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/17.1-802.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/17.1-802.html"}],"law_id":60828,"edition_id":1,"section_id":60828,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-802","catch_line":"Membership; terms; compensation and expenses","history":"1994, Sp. Sess. II., cc. 1, 2, \u00a7 17-234; 1997, cc. 795, 883; 1998, cc. 226, 872; 2002, c. 79; 2004, c. 1000; 2005, c. 596; 2025, cc. 60, 64.","full_text":"A\n\nThe Commission shall be composed of 18 members as follows:1\n\nSix judges or justices, who may be judges of a circuit court who regularly hear criminal cases or judges or justices of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia;2\n\nOne person who is not an active member of the judiciary, to be appointed as Chairman by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia for a term of four years subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Chairman shall designate a vice-chairman from among the other members to serve a term commensurate with that of the Chairman;3\n\nThe Chairman of the House Committee for Courts of Justice or his designee who shall be a member of the committee and two persons to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates;4\n\nThe Chairman of the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice or his designee who shall be a member of the committee and one person to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules;5\n\nFour persons to be appointed by the Governor, at least one of whom shall be a representative of a crime victims’ organization or a victim of crime as defined in subsection B of § 19.2-11.01;6\n\nThe Attorney General of Virginia or his designee for a term commensurate with his term of office; and7\n\nThe executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his designee.\n\t\t\t\tAll members shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.B\n\nExcept for legislative members and gubernatorial appointments, appointments to the Commission made on and after January 1, 2001, shall be for terms of four years. Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Appointments to the Commission made by the Governor on and after January 1, 2006, shall be for terms of four years. Members initially appointed to the Commission prior to January 1, 1998, may serve no more than three consecutive terms. Members initially appointed on and after January 1, 1998, shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms except for the Attorney General who shall serve by virtue of his office. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy or the service of an initial term of three years or less shall not constitute a term in determining the member’s eligibility for reappointment.C\n\nLegislative members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided in § 30-19.12 and nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided in § 2.2-2813 and all members 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. Funding for the costs of compensation and expenses of the members shall be provided by the Virginia Sentencing Commission.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":222339,"text":"The Commission shall be composed of 18 members as follows:","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"A1"},"1":{"id":222340,"text":"Six judges or justices, who may be judges of a circuit court who regularly hear criminal cases or judges or justices of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"A1","prefix_anchor":"A1","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"A2"},"2":{"id":222341,"text":"One person who is not an active member of the judiciary, to be appointed as Chairman by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia for a term of four years subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Chairman shall designate a vice-chairman from among the other members to serve a term commensurate with that of the Chairman;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"A2","prefix_anchor":"A2","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A1","next_prefix":"A3"},"3":{"id":222342,"text":"The Chairman of the House Committee for Courts of Justice or his designee who shall be a member of the committee and two persons to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"A3","prefix_anchor":"A3","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A2","next_prefix":"A4"},"4":{"id":222343,"text":"The Chairman of the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice or his designee who shall be a member of the committee and one person to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","4"],"prefix":"4","entire_prefix":"A4","prefix_anchor":"A4","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A3","next_prefix":"A5"},"5":{"id":222344,"text":"Four persons to be appointed by the Governor, at least one of whom shall be a representative of a crime victims’ organization or a victim of crime as defined in subsection B of § 19.2-11.01;","type":"section","prefixes":["A","5"],"prefix":"5","entire_prefix":"A5","prefix_anchor":"A5","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A4","next_prefix":"A6"},"6":{"id":222345,"text":"The Attorney General of Virginia or his designee for a term commensurate with his term of office; and","type":"section","prefixes":["A","6"],"prefix":"6","entire_prefix":"A6","prefix_anchor":"A6","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A5","next_prefix":"A7"},"7":{"id":222346,"text":"The executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his designee.\n\t\t\t\tAll members shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.","type":"section","prefixes":["A","7"],"prefix":"7","entire_prefix":"A7","prefix_anchor":"A7","level":2,"prior_prefix":"A6","next_prefix":"B"},"8":{"id":222347,"text":"Except for legislative members and gubernatorial appointments, appointments to the Commission made on and after January 1, 2001, shall be for terms of four years. Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Appointments to the Commission made by the Governor on and after January 1, 2006, shall be for terms of four years. Members initially appointed to the Commission prior to January 1, 1998, may serve no more than three consecutive terms. Members initially appointed on and after January 1, 1998, shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms except for the Attorney General who shall serve by virtue of his office. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy or the service of an initial term of three years or less shall not constitute a term in determining the member’s eligibility for reappointment.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A7","next_prefix":"C"},"9":{"id":222348,"text":"Legislative members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided in § 30-19.12 and nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided in § 2.2-2813 and all members 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. Funding for the costs of compensation and expenses of the members shall be provided by the Virginia Sentencing Commission.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B"}},"ancestry":[{"id":12767,"edition_id":1,"name":"Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission","identifier":"8","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12766,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":164023,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12767,"identifier":"8","token":"17.1\/8","url":"\/17.1\/8\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12766,"edition_id":1,"name":"Courts of Record","identifier":"17.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:52","permalink":{"id":162799,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12766,"identifier":"17.1","token":"17.1","url":"\/17.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":67002,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-800","catch_line":"Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission created","url":"\/17.1-800\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-800","metadata":false},{"id":60673,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-801","catch_line":"Purpose","url":"\/17.1-801\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-801","metadata":false},{"id":60828,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-802","catch_line":"Membership; terms; compensation and expenses","url":"\/17.1-802\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-802","metadata":false},{"id":67896,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-803","catch_line":"Powers and duties","url":"\/17.1-803\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-803","metadata":false},{"id":53956,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-804","catch_line":"Meetings; staff support","url":"\/17.1-804\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-804","metadata":false},{"id":80246,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-805","catch_line":"Adoption of initial discretionary sentencing guideline midpoints","url":"\/17.1-805\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-805","metadata":false},{"id":62946,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-805.1","catch_line":"Discretionary sentencing guideline midpoints for certain defendants","url":"\/17.1-805.1\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-805.1","metadata":false},{"id":60194,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-806","catch_line":"Sentencing guidelines modifications; effective date","url":"\/17.1-806\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-806","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":60673,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-801","catch_line":"Purpose","url":"\/17.1-801\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-801","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":67896,"structure_id":12767,"section_number":"17.1-803","catch_line":"Powers and duties","url":"\/17.1-803\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-803","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/17.1-802\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 6 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1997, chapters 795<\/a> and 883<\/a>; in 1998, chapters 226<\/a> and 872<\/a>; in 2002, chapter 79<\/a>; in 2004, chapter 1000<\/a>; in 2005, chapter 596<\/a>; in 2025, chapters 60<\/a> and 64<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":56192,"section_number":"19.2-11.01","catch_line":"Crime victim and witness rights","order_by":null,"url":"\/19.2-11.01\/"},{"id":71377,"section_number":"2.2-2813","catch_line":"Definitions; compensation and expense payments from state funds for service on collegial bodies","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-2813\/"},{"id":73173,"section_number":"2.2-2825","catch_line":"Reimbursement for certain travel expenditures; restrictions on reimbursement","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-2825\/"},{"id":81066,"section_number":"30-19.12","catch_line":"Compensation of members of the General Assembly and certain commissions engaged in legislative services","order_by":null,"url":"\/30-19.12\/"}],"permalink":{"id":164033,"object_type":"law","relational_id":60828,"identifier":"17.1-802","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-802","url":"\/17.1-802\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/17.1-802\/","token":"17.1\/8\/17.1-802","dublin_core":{"Title":"Membership; terms; compensation and expenses","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 17.1-802","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> The Commission shall be composed of 18 members as follows: <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> Six judges<\/span> or justices, who may be judges<\/span> of a circuit<\/span> court<\/span> who regularly hear criminal cases or judges<\/span> or justices of the Supreme Court<\/span> or the Court<\/span> of Appeals<\/span>, to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court<\/span> of Virginia; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> One person who is not an active member of the judiciary, to be appointed as Chairman by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court<\/span> of Virginia for a term of four years subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Chairman shall designate a vice-chairman from among the other members to serve a term commensurate with that of the Chairman; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> The Chairman of the House Committee for Courts<\/span> of Justice or his designee who shall be a member of the committee and two persons to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

4.<\/span> The Chairman of the Senate Committee for Courts<\/span> of Justice or his designee who shall be a member of the committee and one person to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

5.<\/span> Four persons to be appointed by the Governor, at least one of whom shall be a representative of a crime<\/span> victims’ organization or a victim of crime<\/span> as defined in subsection B of § 19.2-11.01<\/a>; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

6.<\/span> The Attorney General<\/span> of Virginia or his designee for a term commensurate with his term of office; and <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

7.<\/span> The executive director of the Virginia Indigent<\/span> Defense Commission or his designee.\n\t\t\t\tAll members shall be citizens of the Commonwealth. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Except for legislative members and gubernatorial appointments, appointments to the Commission made on and after January 1, 2001, shall be for terms of four years. Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Appointments to the Commission made by the Governor on and after January 1, 2006, shall be for terms of four years. Members initially appointed to the Commission prior to January 1, 1998, may serve no more than three consecutive terms. Members initially appointed on and after January 1, 1998, shall not be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms except for the Attorney General<\/span> who shall serve by virtue of his office. Vacancies occurring other than by expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy or the service of an initial term of three years or less shall not constitute a term in determining the member’s eligibility for reappointment. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> Legislative members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided in § 30-19.12<\/a> and nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided in § 2.2-2813<\/a> and all members shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813<\/a> and 2.2-2825<\/a>. Funding for the costs of compensation and expenses of the members shall be provided by the Virginia Sentencing Commission. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nMEMBERSHIP; TERMS; COMPENSATION AND EXPENSES (\u00a7 17.1-802)\n\nA. The Commission shall be composed of 18 members as follows:\n\n 1. Six judges or justices, who may be judges of a circuit court who regularly\n hear criminal cases or judges or justices of the Supreme Court or the Court of\n Appeals, to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of\n Virginia;\n\n 2. One person who is not an active member of the judiciary, to be appointed as\n Chairman by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia for a term of\n four years subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Chairman shall\n designate a vice-chairman from among the other members to serve a term\n commensurate with that of the Chairman;\n\n 3. The Chairman of the House Committee for Courts of Justice or his designee\n who shall be a member of the committee and two persons to be appointed by the\n Speaker of the House of Delegates;\n\n 4. The Chairman of the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice or his designee\n who shall be a member of the committee and one person to be appointed by the\n Senate Committee on Rules;\n\n 5. Four persons to be appointed by the Governor, at least one of whom shall be\n a representative of a crime victims’ organization or a victim of crime\n as defined in subsection B of § 19.2-11.01;\n\n 6. The Attorney General of Virginia or his designee for a term commensurate\n with his term of office; and\n\n 7. The executive director of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission or his\n designee.\n \t\t\t\tAll members shall be citizens of the Commonwealth.\n\nB. Except for legislative members and gubernatorial appointments, appointments\nto the Commission made on and after January 1, 2001, shall be for terms of four\nyears. Legislative members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of\noffice. Appointments to the Commission made by the Governor on and after January\n1, 2006, shall be for terms of four years. Members initially appointed to the\nCommission prior to January 1, 1998, may serve no more than three consecutive\nterms. Members initially appointed on and after January 1, 1998, shall not be\neligible to serve more than two consecutive terms except for the Attorney\nGeneral who shall serve by virtue of his office. Vacancies occurring other than\nby expiration of a term shall be filled for the unexpired term. Vacancies shall\nbe filled in the same manner as the original appointments. The remainder of any\nterm to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy or the service of an\ninitial term of three years or less shall not constitute a term in determining\nthe member’s eligibility for reappointment.\n\nC. Legislative members of the Commission shall receive compensation as provided\nin § 30-19.12 and nonlegislative citizen members of the Commission shall\nreceive compensation as provided in § 2.2-2813 and all members shall be\nreimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance\nof their duties as provided in §§ 2.2-2813 and 2.2-2825. Funding for\nthe costs of compensation and expenses of the members shall be provided by the\nVirginia Sentencing Commission.\n\nHISTORY: 1994, Sp. Sess. II., cc. 1, 2, \u00a7 17-234; 1997, cc. 795, 883; 1998, cc.\n226, 872; 2002, c. 79; 2004, c. 1000; 2005, c. 596; 2025, cc. 60, 64.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}