Governor Vetoes Competitive Bidding Bill for Attorneys

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed a bill this week dealing with competitive bidding for outside counsel to serve as assistant attorneys general. The governor said the bill appears to cede state office and agency decision-making to the attorney general, but expressed support for the bill’s intention to establish competitive bidding and qualification requirements for hiring private legal counsel to represent state agencies as plaintiffs. Tomblin says that the state agency should have control, not the attorney general.