Can Virginia's Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund be used to buy a new office building for the Workers' Compensation Commission?

Plain-English summary

In April 2013, Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli answered three questions from the Workers' Compensation Commission's executive director about its administration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund (CICF). The Commission was thinking about consolidating its scattered Richmond offices, plus the offices of the Director of CICF and her staff, into a single new building, and wanted to know whether CICF money could pay for the building, whether new legislation could fix that if not, and whether the Commission had to stay inside the City of Richmond.

The AG drew a sharp line on the spending question. § 19.2-368.18(D) limits CICF money to "the costs and expenses necessary for the administration of this chapter and for the payment of claims pursuant to this chapter." "This chapter" is Chapter 21.1 of Title 19.2, which covers only the Fund, the claims process, and victim notice. Buying a headquarters for the Commission as a whole would benefit far more than the Fund, so it would exceed the statute's narrow purpose grant. The Commission's offices are governed by a separate statute, § 65.2-204, which routes its salaries and expenses through the regular state treasury, not the Fund.

The AG saw no constitutional obstacle to the General Assembly later authorizing CICF spending on office space if it chose to; the limit was statutory, not constitutional.

On the location question, the AG noted that the 2013 General Assembly had already amended § 65.2-204 to replace "City of Richmond" with "Commonwealth." Effective July 1, 2013, the Commission could maintain its offices anywhere inside Virginia.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Background and statutory framework

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund pays awards to victims of violent crime in Virginia. Its administration was placed with the Workers' Compensation Commission under § 19.2-368.3, with daily operations run by the Director of CICF under the Executive Director's supervision and the Commissioners acting as the governing board of the Fund. § 19.2-368.3:1(A) requires the Commission to employ a crime victims' ombudsman and adequate staff to handle claims and protect victim rights, and the ombudsman reports directly to the Commission.

The Fund is fed by a portion of court costs assessed under §§ 17.1-275.1, .2, .3, .4, .7, .8, and .9 and subsections B or C of § 16.1-69.48.1, plus general appropriations. § 19.2-368.18(D) restricts spending of Fund money to administering Chapter 21.1 and paying claims; subsection (E) requires deposits and appropriations to be immediately available for paying claims, making claims the priority use. Office space for the Commission as a whole is funded under § 65.2-204(C), which directs that "[a]ll salaries and expenses of the Commission shall be audited and paid out of the state treasury in the manner prescribed for similar expenses in other departments or branches of state government." § 65.2-204(A), at the time of the opinion, required Commission offices to be "in the Capitol or in some other suitable building in the City of Richmond"; the 2013 General Assembly struck "City of Richmond" and inserted "Commonwealth" effective July 1, 2013.

Common questions

Q: Could CICF money be used to renovate or lease office space for the Workers' Compensation Commission generally?
A: Per this opinion, no. CICF money was restricted to the Fund's own administration and claims payments. Office facilities for the Commission as a whole had to come from the general appropriation channel in § 65.2-204(C), not the Fund.

Q: Could the Fund pay for office space limited to the Director of CICF and her staff?
A: The opinion did not flatly forbid that narrower use, but it concluded the Commission could not use the Fund to buy a building intended to house the Commission's headquarters together with the CICF director's offices. The mixed-use purpose was the problem.

Q: Was there a constitutional barrier to letting the Fund pay for office space?
A: No. The AG said the General Assembly could pass legislation expressly authorizing CICF spending on office space without running into constitutional trouble. The limit was statutory wording, not anything in the Virginia Constitution.

Q: Where could the Commission be located?
A: At the time of the opinion, § 65.2-204(A) required the Commission to be in the Capitol or some other suitable Richmond building. The 2013 General Assembly amended that to "Commonwealth" effective July 1, 2013, allowing the Commission to locate its offices anywhere in Virginia.

Q: What kinds of costs did the AG see as legitimate CICF expenses?
A: Costs tied to receiving, investigating, evaluating, and deciding victim compensation claims, plus the mandate to give the public adequate notice of the Fund's existence. Anything tied to the Commission's broader workers' compensation responsibilities was outside the Fund's lane.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2013/11-101_McGill.pdf

Original opinion text

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General

April 12, 2013

Ms. Evelyn McGill
Executive Director
Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission
1000 DMV Drive
Richmond, Virginia 23220

900 East Main Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-786-2071
FAX 804-786-1991
Virginia Relay Services
800-828-1120
7-1-1

Dear Ms. McGill:

I am responding to your request for an official opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia. Your predecessor, John A. Budesky, the former Executive Director of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission, originally requested this opinion. The opinion request was not withdrawn subsequent to your assuming the position of Executive Director, therefore, I will refer to you as the requestor.

Issues Presented

You inquire whether, under current law, the Workers' Compensation Commission (the "Commission") may utilize funds in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund ("CICF" or "Fund") to purchase a new office building in which to house the headquarters of the Commission and the offices of Director of CICF and her staff. You further ask whether, if the Commission is not so empowered, there is any constitutional or other legal impediment to the introduction of legislation that would so empower the Commission. Finally, you ask whether the Commission is prohibited from housing its records and transacting its official business in an office building outside of the City of Richmond, Virginia.

Response

It is my opinion that the Commission is not authorized under current law to use funds in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund to purchase a new office building in which to house the headquarters of the Commission and the Director of CICF and her staff. It is my further opinion that there is no constitutional or other legal impediment to the introduction of future legislation that would enable the Commission to utilize the Fund for such purposes. Finally, it is my opinion that, effective July 1, 2013, the Commission is permitted to locate its headquarters outside the City of Richmond, provided the facility remains within the Commonwealth.

Background

The General Assembly, pursuant to general statutes and budgetary enactments, has placed the administration of the CICF with the Commission. Daily operations are managed by the Director of CICF, under the supervision of the Executive Director of the Commission, and the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commissioners serve as the governing board of the Fund. You relate that the Commission's headquarters are currently located in a facility in one part of the City of Richmond, while the offices of the Director of CICF, her staff, and two additional Commission offices are currently located at another address in the City of Richmond. You explain that the Commission is considering the relocation of its headquarters, four additional leased locations, and the offices of the Director of CICF and her staff into one office building suitable for their operations.

Applicable Law and Discussion

The administration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund is governed by Chapter 21.1 of Title 19.2 of the Code of Virginia, entitled "Compensating Victims of Crime." Specifically, § 19.2-368.3 charges the Commission with the specific "powers and duties in the administration of the provisions of this chapter[.]" In addition, pursuant to § 19.2-368.3:1(A), the Commission must "employ a crime victims' ombudsman and adequate staff to facilitate the prompt review and resolution of crime victim compensation claims and to assure that the crime victims' rights are safeguarded and protected during the claims process." The ombudsman "shall report directly to the Commission." Thus, I conclude that the General Assembly has placed with the Commission the responsibility to staff and administer the entirety of the Fund's programming.

You note that the General Assembly has appropriated amounts for the Fund's programming, and state that the Commission utilizes these appropriated funds for that purpose. In addition, § 19.2-368.18(B), in relevant part, designates that a portion of assessed court costs be deposited into the Fund, as follows:

Whenever the costs provided for in §§ 17.1-275.1, 17.1-275.2, 17.1-275.3, 17.1-275.4, 17.1-275.7, 17.1-275.8 or § 17.1-275.9 or subsections B or C of § 16.1-69.48.1 are assessed, a portion of the costs, as specified in those sections, shall be paid over to the Comptroller to be deposited into the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund.

Section 19.2-368.18 specifies how Fund monies may be spent. It provides that:

D. Sums available in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund shall be used for the purpose of payment of the costs and expenses necessary for the administration of this chapter and for the payment of claims pursuant to this chapter.

E. All revenues deposited into the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, and appropriated for the purposes of this chapter, shall be immediately available for the payment of claims.

When a statute is unambiguous on its face, it will be interpreted according to its plain language. Under the plain language of the statute, the Fund is to be used for one of two explicit purposes, the costs and expenses necessary "for the administration of this chapter," and the payment of criminal injury compensation claims. The payment of claims clearly takes precedence in priority, as funding placed into the fund must be made immediately available to pay such claims.

Although the Commission oversees the Fund and Fund deposits may be used for the administration of CICF programming, § 19.2-368.18(D) does not authorize the expenditure of Fund monies for the support of the Commission generally. Rather, the use of such money is strictly limited to "the administration of this chapter." This "chapter," Chapter 21.1 of Title 19.2, involves only the Fund and no other Commission responsibilities. The administration-related sections therein focus on the program for receiving, investigating, evaluating and determining claims for relief from the Fund, and a mandate to provide the public with adequate notice of the Fund's existence and availability. Thus, the "costs and expenses" that may be drawn from the Fund are limited to those relating to the operation of that specific programming.

Moreover, with respect to office facilities for the Commission, § 65.2-204(A) states that, "[t]he Commission shall be provided with adequate offices ... in which the records shall be kept and its official business transacted during regular business hours." Subsection (C) further provides that, "[a]ll salaries and expenses of the Commission shall be audited and paid out of the state treasury in the manner prescribed for similar expenses in other departments or branches of state government." These specific statutory provisions are controlling with respect to the source of funding for Commission expenses, and cannot be construed to authorize use of the Fund for the procurement of Commission office facilities.

Accordingly, I conclude that the Commission may not utilize the Fund for the purchase of a new office building in which to house the headquarters of the Commission and the Director of CICF and her staff. Should the Commission deem it appropriate to seek future legislation explicitly allowing it to utilize the Fund for such a purchase, I find no constitutional or other legal impediment to it doing so.

Relevant to your final inquiry, § 65.2-204(A) currently provides, in pertinent part, that the Commission's offices must be "in the Capitol or in some other suitable building in the City of Richmond[.]" During its 2013 Session, the General Assembly amended that statutory requirement. The amendment struck "City of Richmond" and inserted "Commonwealth" in its stead, and, thereby, will remove the restriction that the Commission maintain its operations within the City of Richmond. The amendment becomes effective July 1, 2013. I therefore conclude that, as of that date, the Commission lawfully may establish the location of its office facilities anywhere in the Commonwealth.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that the Commission is not authorized under current law to use funds in the Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund to purchase a new office building in which to house the headquarters of the Commission and the Director of CICF and her staff. It is my further opinion that there is no constitutional or other legal impediment to the introduction future legislation that would enable the Commission to utilize the Fund for such purposes. Finally, it is my opinion that, effective July 1, 2013, the Commission is permitted to locate its headquarters outside the City of Richmond, provided the facility remains within the Commonwealth.

With kindest regards, I am

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General