Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli ruled Monday that Gov. Bob McDonnell can legally spend $249 million in federal stimulus funding that targets schools.
The advisory opinion was written in response to a request from Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William, who asked whether the state could accept the funds without approval from the General Assembly. Marshall had asked McDonnell to reject the stimulus funding, which was approved by Congress to boost education funding.
To accept the funds, governors must guarantee that their state’s 2011 education funding levels remain at least as high as their 2009 levels and Marshall questioned whether the governor can enter into an agreement with the federal government that sets such minimum levels of spending.
Cuccinelli wrote that while the governor can not bind the legislature’s hands on budget matters, McDonnell is free to make a “political” effort to maintain the required funding level.
Read the entire opinion here http://www.vaag.com/OPINIONS/2010opns/10-082-Marshall.pdf> .
