Chap. 50.—An ACT to permit the creation of regional planning commissions ; to pro-
vide for the appointment, duties and qualifications of their members; to provide
for their financing; and generally to provide for the furtherance of regional
planning. [S 68]

Approved February 22, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. Section 1. The governing body or bodies of any municipality or
county or of any group of municipalities or counties may cooperate in the
creation of a regional planning commission for any region agreed upon
with governing bodies of other counties and municipalities, or among
themselves as a group.

Section 2. The number and qualifications of the members of any such
regional planning commission, their terms, and method of appointment
or renewal shall be such as determined and agreed upon by the cooperat-
ing governing bodies except that at least one from each participating
county or municipality shall be a member of the planning board or com-
mission of the county or municipality from which he comes, if such
municipality or county has a planning commission.
_ Section 3. The proportion of the expenditures of the regional plan-
ning commission to be borne respectively by the municipalities and coun-
ties cooperating shall be such as determined and agreed upon by the co-
operating governing bodies who are authorized to appropriate to the
regional planning commission their respective shares of the expenditures
and to accept funds from public, semi-public or private individuals or
agencies in meeting the expenditures. Within the amounts thus agreed
upon and duly appropriated, any such regional planning commission is
empowered to expend the money so appropriated and to appoint such
employees and staff as it deems necessary for its work.

Section 4, Each regional planning commission shall elect a chair-
man whose term of office shall be for such period as the commission de-
termines but not less than one year nor more than four years and it may
create and fill such other offices as it decides upon. It shall adopt rules
for the transaction of business and shall keep a record of its resolutions,
proceedings and actions which shall at reasonable times be open to the
public.

Section 5. Any county or municipality may from time to time upon
request of the commission either assign or detail to the commission any
member of its staff or direct members of its staff to make for the com-
mission special surveys or studies or perform other services. All munici-
pal, county and other local public officials, upon request, shall furnish to
the commission within a reasonable time such available information as it
requires for its work.

Section 6. All members of the regional planning commission shall
serve as such without compensation, but they may be allowed necessary
traveling and other expenses while engaged in the work of or for the
commission.

Section 7. It shall be the duty of a regional planning commission to
make and adopt a regional plan for the physical, economic and social
development of the region, but the plan shall not be deemed an official
plan or part of the official plan of any municipality or county having a
planning commission unless adopted as such by the planning commission
of the municipality or county, 1f the municipality or county has a plan-
ning commission, and any adoption by a municipality or county must be
in the manner prescribed by law for municipalities and counties, respec-
tively, as to such a matter.

Section 8. A regional planning commission may adopt the regional
plan as a whole by a single resolution, or, as the work of making the
plan progresses, it may from time to time adopt any part or parts.

2. Anemergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.