GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 1059, which would needlessly impose harmful restrictions on the ability of the Commonwealth to secure specialized legal services and prosecute its cases.

The cases in which the Office of the Attorney General is involved are varied in both scale and complexity. In today’s legal environment, specialization is often required to represent the people of Virginia in a broad spectrum of cases. The engagement of outside counsel in complex, large, or specialized legal matters can help ensure that Virginians’ rights and interests are vigorously advanced in court. This bill would unnecessarily hamstring the Attorney General from securing the quality of legal assistance he may, on occasion, need to advance those rights and interests. Further, the bill would interfere with the Office of the Attorney General’s ability to secure sufficient representation for certain employees of the Commonwealth, including law enforcement.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.