Former Gov. Bob McDonnell must lose his state pension under legislation that he himself signed

[n2doc]

RICHMOND – Former Gov. Bob McDonnell must lose his state pension under legislation that he himself signed into law, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said in an opinion released Friday.

The law's intent was always clear: Government officials convicted of a felony for misconduct in office would lose their state pensions. It passed after former Newport News Del. Phil Hamilton was indicted in 2011.

But there was a potential catch in McDonnell's case: The law leaves it to the employer to determine that the misconduct occurred after the law passed, and to inform the Virginia Retirement System.

Who, some wondered, employs a former governor?

Gov. Terry McAuliffe asked Herring to weigh in, and Herring's office determined that it's the sitting governor, whom the Virginia General Assembly has previously identified as the "chief personnel officer of the Commonwealth."

Now McAuliffe will inform McDonnell, grant him a hearing required by law and move to cancel his pension, spokesman Brian Coy said. The formal notice will come within a few days, Coy said.

more

http://www.dailypress.com/news/politics/dp-nws-mcdonnell-pension-20150731-story.html

[Recursion]

1. I'd love to see McDonnell discomforted, but I *really* dislike these laws

Pensions belong to the pensioner, period. They are not "the state's" money to determine what to do with.

[pipoman]

3. I don't know

401k or retorement savings accounts I would agree...pensions, or an agreement that an employer will make periodic payments after retirement aren't the same. They often end up paying far more than the person earned while working. Personal retirement accounts with vested employer contributions not so much.

[Gore1FL]

4. It's still earned benefits. n/t

[ToxMarz]

5. If his crime was unrelated to the office he held I might agree.

Since his crime involved financial misconduct directly related to the office taxpayers would be required to fund a life long pension, I don't think he has "earned" it.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. Hoist by his own petard, as the phrase goes. nt