RICHMOND — Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s office said Wednesday that it will no longer allow work groups of governor’s commissions to meet without public notice if three or more members are present.
McDonnell’s lawyers acknowledged for the first time that private meetings of committees — called work groups by the governor’s office — violate state law if three or more members attend and discuss commission business.
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The decision came after The Washington Post reported Saturday that committees that are expected to make recommendations to the Governor’s Commission on Government Reform and Restructuring have been meeting out of public view and without input from Democrats for two months.
But on Wednesday, staffers said that happened only once and that they were unaware that it violated state law. Each of the five work groups have at least three commission members, but staffers said that all members did not usually show up for meetings.
Meanwhile, Del. David L. Englin (D-Alexandria) has asked Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II (R) to investigate whether McDonnell’s administration violated Virginia law when committees of the government reform panel held meetings without public notice.
“When a commission charged with increasing government transparency and accountability conducts its business in secret and in possible violation of the law, these are serious allegations,” Englin said in a letter. “The attorney general should be the chief watchdog on behalf of taxpayers and citizens, and I urge him to investigate these allegations to ensure the bipartisan transparency and accountability that Virginians expect and deserve.”
Cuccinelli spokesman Brian Gottstein did not respond to a message for comment.
Taylor Thornley, a spokeswoman for McDonnell, called Englin’s letter “a political stunt.”
“Governor McDonnell has created a number of commissions to allow the public to participate in the policy development process — an unprecedented step to open up the policymaking process. We are aware of the law and have been complying with it,” she said.
McDonnell counselor Jasen Eige said last week that the work groups are not subject to state law because they were formed by the governor, not the commission. But on Wednesday, he said he agreed with other legal experts, including those at the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, that if at least three members discuss commission business, the meeting should be public.
He said they will either ensure that fewer than three members are present or advertise the meetings as directed by Virginia’s open-meetings law — with notices posted in physical places, such as buildings on Capitol Square, and on the online Commonwealth Calendar.
McDonnell (R), who took office in January 2010, has created several blue-ribbon commissions, including one focused on jobs and headed by Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) and another on the military. Last week, he announced a new task force that would look for ways to diversify a state economy that relies heavily on federal contractors and the military.
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