                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION (§ 30-222)

A. The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:

   1. Evaluate the impact of existing statutes and proposed legislation on
   unemployment compensation and the Unemployment Trust Fund;

   2. Assess the Commonwealth&#8217;s unemployment compensation programs and
   examine ways to enhance effectiveness;

   3. Monitor the current status and long-term projections for the Unemployment
   Trust Fund; and

   4. Report annually its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly
   and the Governor.

B. The Commission shall also be responsible for monitoring the Virginia
Employment Commission&#8217;s management of the Commonwealth&#8217;s
unemployment insurance system by monitoring the Virginia Employment
Commission&#8217;s following operations:

   1. Key performance metrics related to unemployment insurance backlogs;

   2. Efforts to identify, prevent, and recover incorrect unemployment insurance
   benefit payments, including fraudulent payments;

   3. Modernization of the unemployment insurance information technology system
   and subsequent efforts to improve functionality;

   4. Expenditures of state funds appropriated for unemployment insurance
   administration; and

   5. Implementation of recommendations from the 2021 Operations and Performance
   of the Virginia Employment Commission report by the Joint Legislative Audit
   and Review Commission.

C. The Commission shall periodically convene an advisory committee composed of
an employer representative, an employee representative, a labor economist, a
finance expert, a labor law expert, and any other stakeholders or subject matter
experts deemed appropriate by the Commission for the following purposes: (i) to
review UI benefits, replacement ratios, and recipiency rates; (ii) to identify
factors that affect UI benefits and recipiency, such as design of UI benefit
calculations or UI eligibility criteria; (iii) to assess the advantages and
disadvantages of potential changes to benefits; and (iv) to recommend to the
Commission options to change benefit levels when needed. This advisory committee
shall be established by December 1, 2022, and shall be convened at least every
five years thereafter.

HISTORY: 2003, c. 1038; 2022, cc. 716, 754; 2025, c. 592.