Attorney General’s statement regarding Legislative Council approval of construction within the Capitol Area

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Janet T. Mills issued the following statement regarding the statutory requirement for the Legislative Council to approve construction of state buildings within the Capitol Area, which includes the Riverview campus and a proposed new forensic facility:

“There certainly is no new interpretation on the part of the Attorney General’s Office. The fact that the administration has ignored the plain language of the statute in the past does not excuse their ignoring the rightful oversight of the legislative branch in major projects of this sort that have potentially great financial implications to the taxpayers. The Attorney General’s Office learned about the plan to initiate this new construction in the Capitol Planning Area only after the department announced it to the press. We quickly reminded the Bureau of General Services and the Department of Health and Human Services of this statute.”

5 MRS �304 states that no construction projects for the development of state buildings may be initiated in the Capitol Area without the approval of the Legislative Council, the Bureau of General Services and the Capitol Area Planning Commission.

Link to Statute: http://legislature.maine.gov/legis/statutes/5/title5sec304.html