Did Attorney General Bob McDonnell, as today's Washington Post asks, fail to warn Virginia legislators of possible constitutional problems with the cornerstone of last year's transportation bill -- the "regional authorities?" On February 29, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the General Assembly can not delegate its taxing authority to unelected bodies like the regional authorities. This Washington Post reports that this decision came as a surprise, even a shock, to many "stunned legislators."
...Some of them have privately questioned the actions of McDonnell, who is expected to run for governor next year, but only Democrats would speak publicly."They assured us it was kosher," Senate Majority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said. "They assured us it was constitutional."
Did the Attorney General's office review the transportation bill? Did they assure Dick Saslaw and other legislators that the bill was constitutional? Or, are they correct when they claim that they were "never given a chance to review the amendments before the legislature voted on them?" What IS the role of the Attorney General's office, anyway?
Here's the Attorney Generals' description of its role:
The Office of the Attorney General is the Commonwealth's law firm. Its clients are the Virginia state government and the state agencies, boards and commissions that compose that government.
In addition, the Attorney General's website lists the following "duties and powers":
*Provide legal advice and representation to the Governor and executive agencies, state boards and commissions, and institutions of higher education. The advice commonly includes help with personnel issues, contracts, purchasing, regulatory and real estate matters and the review of proposed legislation. The Office also represents those agencies in court.*Provide written legal advice in the form of official opinions to members of the General Assembly and government officials.
[...]
*Defend the constitutionality of state laws when they are challenged in court.
Given all that, how on earth did a law get passed by the General Assembly and signed by the governor without the Attorney General's office weighing in on its constitutionality? I mean, it's not like this was a close case, as the unanimous Supreme Court decision highlights. So, again, where was the Attorney General's office when all this was going down?
For his part, the Attorney General claims cluelessness/ignorance ("We didn't have a dialogue with the governor on those points") and also some sort of vendetta against him ("politically motivated, ludicrous" charges by those with "a political agenda to assign blame").
In contrast, Gov. Kaine's spokesman, Gordon Hickey, stresses that the Attorney General's office doesn't "need to be begged to look at bills." And Del. Kris Amundson chimes in, "For the attorney general to suggest that he was not involved in any way would be different from what I know to be the usual practice."
The bottom line here is that last year's "transportation monstrosity" was a total fiasco, and I'm not just saying this in 20/20 hindsight. AT THE TIME IT WAS BEING DEBATED, this and other blogs pointed out the bill's deficiencies in many ways. In contrast, Bob McDonnell's Attorney General's office appears to have been completely asleep at the wheel. And this guy wants to be governor? After this debacle? He must be kidding.
McDonnell not only didn't do his job, he told people in Richmond and Hampton Roads that he "negotiated" HB3202 between the Democrats and Republicans.
He should be impeached for malfeasance of office!
What sticks in my mind especially was the question of out-of-state people being exempt from abuser fees, and the Atty Gen specifically said it was okay.
Somewhere in the archives there should be traces of, shall we say, cross-fertilization between the Atty. Gen. office and both the legislature and the executive.