Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has deemed some state payments made to charities unconstitutional, and millions in funding for groups that work with needy residents could be in danger, the Washington Post reported.
Cuccinelli ruled in January that the state constitution does not allow Virginia to give money to private charities; the General Assembly had skirted that in the past by classifying charities as historical entities, for example.
After the opinion, the state froze payments to some charities, including $500,000 to the Virginia Association of Free Clinics and money to CHIP of Virginia, which serves low-income families and pregnant women. On Friday, the attorney general’s office told state officials that it has finished a review of some charities funded through the health department and that some payments were unconstitutional, according to the Post.
“The longer this situation goes on, the more critical it’s going to get for our specific clinics,” said Lou Markwith, executive director the free clinic association, from which the state has so far withheld $540,000. “We’re going to have to cut back services.”
Efforts are reportedly underway to find other ways to fund the groups, but Markwith and Lisa Specter-Dunway, president and chief executive of CHIP of Virginia, were apparently caught by surprise by the halted funds.
At [Gov. Bob] McDonnell’s request, the General Assembly last week inserted language into the state budget that would provide more flexibility for state agencies to contract with nonprofit groups in some instances if direct grants to the organizations are deemed unconstitutional.
But [McDonnell counselor Jason] Eige acknowledged the provision will not necessarily allow funding to flow in every case.
“There may still be some cases where they just can’t work that out, and maybe the organization would lose funding,” he said.
