§5A-1-4. Council of finance and administration.

(a) The council of finance and administration is hereby created and shall be composed of eleven members, five of whom shall serve ex officio and six of whom shall be appointed as herein provided. The ex officio members shall be the secretary of the Department of Administration, the secretary of revenue, the Attorney General or his or her designee, the state Treasurer or his or her designee and the State Auditor or his or her designee; such designees being authorized voting ones. From the membership of the Legislature, the President of the Senate shall appoint three senators as members of the council, not more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party, and the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall appoint three delegates as members of the council, not more than two of whom shall be members of the same political party. Members of the council appointed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall serve at the will and pleasure of the officer making their appointment. The secretary of administration shall serve as chairman of the council. Meetings of the council shall be upon call of the chairman or a majority of the members thereof. It shall be the duty of the chairman to call no less than four meetings in each fiscal year, one in each quarter, or more often as necessary, and all meetings shall be open to the public. All meetings of the council shall be held at the capitol building in a suitable committee room which shall be made available by the Legislature for such purpose: Provided, That the second quarterly meeting in each fiscal year shall be held in November and shall be a joint meeting with the Joint Committee on Government and Finance of the Legislature called jointly by the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Delegates and secretary of administration.

(b) The council shall serve the Department of Administration and the director of the budget in an advisory capacity for purposes of reviewing the performance of the administrative and fiscal procedures of the state, including the oversight of all federal funds, and shall have the following duties:

(1) To advise with the director of the budget in respect to matters of budgetary intent and efficiency, including the budget bill and budget document detail and format;

(2) To advise with the secretary and the director of the budget concerning studies of government and administration concerning fiscal policy as it considers appropriate;

(3) To advise with the secretary and the director of the budget in the preparation of studies designed to provide long-term capital planning and finance for state institutions and agencies; and

(4) To advise with the secretary and the director of the budget in respect to the application for, and receipt and expenditure of, anticipated or unanticipated federal funds.

(c) The appointed, nonex officio members of the council shall be entitled to receive compensation and reimbursement for expenses in connection with performance of their duties, during interim periods, if not otherwise receiving the same for identical periods, as is authorized by the applicable sections of article two-a, chapter four of the code in respect to performance of duties either within the state or, if necessary, out of state. Compensation and expenses shall be incurred and paid only after approval by the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.