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Governor signs reform bills Date published: 4/16/2010
BY CHELYEN DAVIS RICHMOND --Gov. Bob McDonnell yesterday ceremonially signed government-reform bills, which he said will help streamline government and possibly lead to a special session on government reform later in the year.McDonnell had promised in his campaign last year to seek out ways to make government more efficient. He is putting together a task force on the issue--members of that group will be announced soon, he said. Bills signed yesterday included ones to conduct performance audits of major state agencies, as well as one that prohibits the governor or his political action committees from receiving political donations from companies that are simultaneously lobbying for large government procurement contracts with the state. A bill requiring an audit of the Virginia Department of Transportation is one that Republicans have been trying to pass for years. McDonnell said the bill will "go a long way toward improving the confidence of our citizens in VDOT." He said the agency is already conducting an internal financial audit. Other major agencies, including those under the Department of Education, health and human services areas, and public safety, will also undergo performance audits to find efficiencies and cost savings. That bill was sponsored by Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William. "A government that has metrics on it, has performance measures, is a better government," Lingamfelter said. McDonnell also signed a bill that says he and his PACs can't accept contributions from companies during procurement processes involving contracts of $5 million or more, so that there's no conflict of interests. He said that bill will "remove even the taint of any appearance of impropriety." McDonnell said the state doesn't do many $5 million and up contracts, "but they're the high profile ones." Earlier this year, McDonnell had issued an executive order to create a task force to study government operations and areas of potential reform. That would probably include a look at whether the state should privatize its liquor operations. McDonnell said yesterday that the members of the task force will be announced next week. Their job will be to "scrub virtually every aspect of state government," and hopefully provide him with a package of proposals that he can then ask the legislature to turn into law, possibly in a special session. "I'm going to be cracking the whip now that I've got the tools." The General Assembly will reconvene for one day next Wednesday to address the 122 bills that McDonnell amended, including changes he has proposed to the state budget. McDonnell said he has talked with lawmakers about those amendments, including budget negotiators, and hopes they'll accept most of his changes. He said he didn't veto any legislation because he worked with lawmakers during the session. "If there were bills that were bad, we either helped to get them amended or helped to get them dispatched," McDonnell said. Chelyen Davis: 540/368-5028
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