                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ECONOMIC CRISIS STRIKE FORCE (§ 2.2-205.1)

A. There is hereby established the Economic Crisis Strike Force (Strike Force)
for the purpose of serving as a working group to respond as needed to economic
disasters in Virginia communities by (i) immediately providing a single point of
contact for citizens in affected communities to assist with accessing available
government and private sector services and resources, (ii) assisting localities
in developing short-term and long-term strategies for addressing the economic
crisis, and (iii) identifying opportunities for workforce retraining, job
creation, and new investment.

B. The Strike Force shall be chaired by the Secretary of Commerce and Trade and
be deployed at the direction of the Governor. Membership shall include high
level representatives designated by the Secretaries of Education, Health and
Human Resources, and Labor and by the respective heads of the following
agencies: the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of
Education, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Department
of Labor and Industry, the Department of Medical Assistance Services, the
Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity, the Department of Social
Services, the Virginia Community College System, the Virginia Employment
Commission, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, and the Virginia
Tourism Authority. The Strike Force shall also include representatives from such
other agencies as may be designated by the Governor to meet the needs of a
particular affected community. In addition, the Governor may designate such
citizens as he deems appropriate to advise the Strike Force.

C. Staff support for the Strike Force shall be provided by the Office of the
Governor and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade. All agencies of the
Commonwealth shall assist the Strike Force upon request.

D. On or before December 1 of each year, the Strike Force shall report to the
Governor and the General Assembly on its activities.

E. For the purposes of this section, &#8220;economic disaster&#8221; means an
employment loss of at least five percent during the immediately preceding
six-month period, the closure or downsizing of a major regional employer in an
economically distressed area, a natural disaster or act of terrorism for which
the Governor has declared a state of emergency, or other economic crisis
situations, which in the opinion of the Governor adversely affect the welfare of
the citizens of the Commonwealth.

HISTORY: 2006, cc. 79, 80; 2013, c. 482; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 453.