The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission will meet Monday to hear staff present findings and recommendations of their review of Virginia’s adult guardian and conservator system.
Staff will also present an interim report on Virginia’s income tax progressivity, their annual update on state spending, and proposed policies and procedures for the newly assigned responsibility to conduct racial and ethnic impact statements for proposed criminal justice legislation.
The meeting will be held at 10 a.m. in the Shared Committee room in the Pocahontas Building (Room E007, Ground Floor, 900 E. Main St.) in Richmond and will be livestreamed at the Virginia House of Delegates’ livestreaming page.
The report and presentations will be uploaded to JLARC’s website (jlarc.virginia.gov/calendar.asp) following the meeting.
The studies cover the following topics:
Virginia’s Adult Guardian and Conservator System
Guardianship and conservatorship provide incapacitated adults a representative who legally makes decisions on their behalf. In guardianship, a court-appointed individual manages the personal affairs of adults who are incapacitated because of a disability or illness. In conservatorship, a court-appointed individual manages the financial affairs of an incapacitated adult.
In 2020, JLARC directed staff to conduct a review of Virginia’s guardianship and conservatorship system. The study resolution required staff to examine the court process to appoint guardians and conservators, oversight of guardians and conservators, the process for restoring rights to adults under guardianship or conservatorship, and Virginia’s laws to prevent the abuse or neglect of vulnerable adults.
Progressivity of Virginia’s individual income tax
The 2021 General Assembly directed JLARC to identify options to make Virginia’s individual income tax more progressive. Virginia’s income tax accounts for about 70 percent of all general fund revenue. This October presentation is an interim update; a final report will be released in early fall 2022.
State spending
JLARC produces an annual report on Virginia state spending over the previous 10-year period. The report identifies the largest and fastest-growing agencies and programs in the state budget and analyzes long-term changes in state spending. This year’s report focuses on state budget trends from FY12 to FY21 and identifies factors that appear to influence these trends.
Policies and procedures: Racial and ethnic impact statements
Legislation enacted during the 2021 session gives JLARC responsibility to review proposed criminal justice legislation to determine the potential impact on racial and ethnic disparities in the Commonwealth. The chairs of the House Courts of Justice Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee may each direct JLARC staff to conduct up to three of these reviews each year.
At its October meeting, JLARC staff will present proposed policies and procedures to implement this new responsibility.
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