Legislators will introduce a Joint Resolution today requesting an opinion of the Delaware Supreme Court on actions recently taken by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee and the Attorney General to spend the Bank of America/Citibank settlement monies.
“While there were some questions about the actual appropriations, and the result isn’t always pretty, that is not the fundamental question at hand here,” said Senate Minority Whip Greg Lavelle (R-Sharpley). “We have grave concerns about the process used to distribute the money and believe that it was unconstitutional. The JFC distributed money without an Act of the General Assembly, and that sets a terrible precedent for the future.”
The Joint Finance Committee approved settlement funds held by the Attorney General to be spent on a number of initiatives in the communities affected by the mortgage crisis. When asked whether their action was constitutional, the JFC cited the Attorney General’s opinion claiming constitutionality.
The resolution, sponsored by 22 members of the General Assembly, asks four questions of the Justices:
– Does the term “treasury” contained in § 6(a), Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution include money paid to the State in settlement of a complaint filed in a civil action by the State?
– Does § 6(a), Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution forbid settlement money paid to the State from being dispersed without being appropriated by an Act of the General Assembly?
– Does the Attorney General have the authority to disperse the settlement money referenced in this Resolution without an Act of the General Assembly?
– Does a vote by the Joint Finance Committee meet the requirement for an “Act of the General Assembly” under § 6(a), Article VIII of the Delaware Constitution?
The following legislators have signed on as cosponsors, in addition to Senators Lavelle and Simpson and Representatives Short and Hudson: Senators Bonini, Lopez, Richardson, Pettyjohn, Hocker, Simpson and Lawson; Representatives Wilson, Gray, Briggs King, Outten, Collins, Dukes, Spiegelman, Kenton, Miro, Ramone, Smyk and Kowalko.
Last year, the legislature, including Lavelle, voted in favor of a compromise in the last session that took other mortgage settlement money and used the funds to balance the state budget. The last-minute move has been met growing criticism outside of the legislative and triggered a lawsuit on its legality.
The move also left Denn without the funds he had requested previously. The AG returned in this session in an effort to regain the money, a move that was approved by the committee without the matter going to the full House and Senate.
The latest request may face an uphill battle, due to the Democratic majority in both houses.
The one Democrat who joined the effort, state Rep. John Kowalko, a Democrat from Newark and perhaps the most liberal member of the General Assembly, has been a fierce critic of the Markell administration and has long been on the outs with fellow Democrats on various issues.
The dual role of the Attorney General in making legal opinions and representing the state in legal cases involving state employees and others, has long been criticized, with some outside the General Assembly calling for the formation of the post of inspector general. So far, that idea has not gained any traction inside Legislative Hall.
