Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §2.2-602 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§2.2-602. Duties of agencies and their appointing authorities.

The heads of state agencies shall be the appointing authorities of the respective agencies, and shall establish and maintain within their agencies methods of administration relating to the establishment and maintenance of personnel standards on a merit basis that are approved by the Governor for the proper and efficient enforcement of the Virginia Personnel Act (§2.2-2900 et seq.). But the Governor shall exercise no authority with respect to the selection or tenure of office of any individual employed in accordance with such methods, except when the Governor is the appointing authority.

Appointing authorities may assign to the personnel officers or to other officers and employees of their agencies such personnel duties as they see fit.

Agencies shall establish and maintain rosters of their employees that shall set forth, as to each employee, the class title, pay and status and such other data as they may deem desirable to produce significant facts pertaining to personnel administration.

Agencies shall establish and maintain such promotion and employment lists, rated according to merit and fitness, as they deem desirable. Agencies may make use of the employment list kept by the Department of Human Resource Management in lieu of keeping employment lists for their agencies.

Agencies shall supply the Governor with any information he deems necessary for the performance of his duties in connection with the administration of Virginia Personnel Act (§2.2-2900 et seq.).

No agency other than the Virginia Port Authority shall adopt any regulation or workplace rule that prevents an officer or employee of such agency from storing at that agency's workplace a lawfully possessed firearm and ammunition in a locked private motor vehicle unless the adoption of such regulation or rule is expressly authorized by statute. Any such regulation or rule adopted prior to July 1, 2016, is invalid.