To address the continuing threat of terrorism and to work with the federal Department of Homeland Security (created in 2002 following the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001), homeland security in Virginia in 2003 operated under executive order; a special assistant to the governor was designated as the state homeland security advisor.
Under the jurisdiction of the secretary of education are the Department of Education, which administers the public school system, and the State Council of Higher Education, which coordinates the programs of the state-controlled colleges and universities. The secretary of transportation oversees the Department of Transportation, Department of Transportation Safety, Department of Aviation, Virginia Port Authority, Department of Military Affairs (National Guard), Department of Motor Vehicles, and State Office of Emergency Services.
Within the purview of the secretary of human resources are the Department of Health, Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Department of Health Regulatory Boards, Department of Social Services, and Department of Rehabilitative Services, as well as special offices dealing with problems that affect women, children, the elderly, and the disabled. The departments of State Police, Corrections, Criminal Justice Services, Fire Programs, and Alcoholic Beverage Control are under the aegis of the secretary of public safety.
The secretary of commerce and resources oversees the departments of Housing and Community Development, Labor and Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Consumer Services, and Conservation and Recreation, as well as a profusion of boards, councils, offices, divisions, and commissions. The secretary of administration and finance exercises jurisdiction over budgeting, telecommunications, accounting, computer services, taxation, the state treasury, records, and personnel, as well as over the State Board of Elections. Regulatory functions are concentrated in the quasi-independent State Corporation Commission, consisting of three commissioners elected by the legislature to staggered six-year terms. The commission regulates all public utilities; licenses banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and small loan companies; enforces motor carrier and certain aviation laws and sets railroad rates; supervises the activities of insurance companies; and enforces laws governing securities and retail franchising. Natural resources are protected by the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Forestry, and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.