Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Federalist Papers No. 48. These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other

From the New York Packet. Friday, February 1, 1788.

IT WAS shown in the last paper that the political apothegm there examined does not require that the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments should be wholly unconnected with each other. I shall undertake, in the next place, to show that unless these departments be so far connected and blended as to give to each a constitutional control over the others, the degree of separation which the maxim requires, as essential to a free government, can never in practice be duly maintained.
It is agreed on all sides, that the powers properly belonging to one of the departments ought not to be directly and completely administered by either of the other departments. It is equally evident, that none of them ought to possess, directly or indirectly, an overruling influence over the others, in the administration of their respective powers. It will not be denied, that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. After discriminating, therefore, in theory, the several classes of power, as they may in their nature be legislative, executive, or judiciary, the next and most difficult task is to provide some practical security for each, against the invasion of the others. What this security ought to be, is the great problem to be solved.
Will it be sufficient to mark, with precision, the boundaries of these departments, in the constitution of the government, and to trust to these parchment barriers against the encroaching spirit of power? This is the security which appears to have been principally relied on by the compilers of most of the American constitutions. But experience assures us, that the efficacy of the provision has been greatly overrated; and that some more adequate defense is indispensably necessary for the more feeble, against the more powerful, members of the government. The legislative department is everywhere extending the sphere of its activity, and drawing all power into its impetuous vortex.
The founders of our republics have so much merit for the wisdom which they have displayed, that no task can be less pleasing than that of pointing out the errors into which they have fallen. A respect for truth, however, obliges us to remark, that they seem never for a moment to have turned their eyes from the danger to liberty from the overgrown and all-grasping prerogative of an hereditary magistrate, supported and fortified by an hereditary branch of the legislative authority. They seem never to have recollected the danger from legislative usurpations, which, by assembling all power in the same hands, must lead to the same tyranny as is threatened by executive usurpations.
In a government where numerous and extensive prerogatives are placed in the hands of an hereditary monarch, the executive department is very justly regarded as the source of danger, and watched with all the jealousy which a zeal for liberty ought to inspire. In a democracy, where a multitude of people exercise in person the legislative functions, and are continually exposed, by their incapacity for regular deliberation and concerted measures, to the ambitious intrigues of their executive magistrates, tyranny may well be apprehended, on some favorable emergency, to start up in the same quarter. But in a representative republic, where the executive magistracy is carefully limited; both in the extent and the duration of its power; and where the legislative power is exercised by an assembly, which is inspired, by a supposed influence over the people, with an intrepid confidence in its own strength; which is sufficiently numerous to feel all the passions which actuate a multitude, yet not so numerous as to be incapable of pursuing the objects of its passions, by means which reason prescribes; it is against the enterprising ambition of this department that the people ought to indulge all their jealousy and exhaust all their precautions.
The legislative department derives a superiority in our governments from other circumstances. Its constitutional powers being at once more extensive, and less susceptible of precise limits, it can, with the greater facility, mask, under complicated and indirect measures, the encroachments which it makes on the co-ordinate departments. It is not unfrequently a question of real nicety in legislative bodies, whether the operation of a particular measure will, or will not, extend beyond the legislative sphere. On the other side, the executive power being restrained within a narrower compass, and being more simple in its nature, and the judiciary being described by landmarks still less uncertain, projects of usurpation by either of these departments would immediately betray and defeat themselves. Nor is this all: as the legislative department alone has access to the pockets of the people, and has in some constitutions full discretion, and in all a prevailing influence, over the pecuniary rewards of those who fill the other departments, a dependence is thus created in the latter, which gives still greater facility to encroachments of the former.
I have appealed to our own experience for the truth of what I advance on this subject. Were it necessary to verify this experience by particular proofs, they might be multiplied without end. I might find a witness in every citizen who has shared in, or been attentive to, the course of public administrations. I might collect vouchers in abundance from the records and archives of every State in the Union. But as a more concise, and at the same time equally satisfactory, evidence, I will refer to the example of two States, attested by two unexceptionable authorities.
The first example is that of Virginia, a State which, as we have seen, has expressly declared in its constitution, that the three great departments ought not to be intermixed. The authority in support of it is Mr. Jefferson, who, besides his other advantages for remarking the operation of the government, was himself the chief magistrate of it. In order to convey fully the ideas with which his experience had impressed him on this subject, it will be necessary to quote a passage of some length from his very interesting Notes on the State of Virginia, p. 195. "All the powers of government, legislative, executive, and judiciary, result to the legislative body. The concentrating these in the same hands, is precisely the definition of despotic government. It will be no alleviation, that these powers will be exercised by a plurality of hands, and not by a single one. One hundred and seventy-three despots would surely be as oppressive as one. Let those who doubt it, turn their eyes on the republic of Venice. As little will it avail us, that they are chosen by ourselves. An ELECTIVE DESPOTISM was not the government we fought for; but one which should not only be founded on free principles, but in which the powers of government should be so divided and balanced among several bodies of magistracy, as that no one could transcend their legal limits, without being effectually checked and restrained by the others. For this reason, that convention which passed the ordinance of government, laid its foundation on this basis, that the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments should be separate and distinct, so that no person should exercise the powers of more than one of them at the same time. BUT NO BARRIER WAS PROVIDED BETWEEN THESE SEVERAL POWERS. The judiciary and the executive members were left dependent on the legislative for their subsistence in office, and some of them for their continuance in it. If, therefore, the legislature assumes executive and judiciary powers, no opposition is likely to be made; nor, if made, can be effectual; because in that case they may put their proceedings into the form of acts of Assembly, which will render them obligatory on the other branches. They have accordingly, IN MANY instances, DECIDED RIGHTS which should have been left to JUDICIARY CONTROVERSY, and THE DIRECTION OF THE EXECUTIVE, DURING THE WHOLE TIME OF THEIR SESSION, IS BECOMING HABITUAL AND FAMILIAR."
The other State which I shall take for an example is Pennsylvania; and the other authority, the Council of Censors, which assembled in the years 1783 and 1784. A part of the duty of this body, as marked out by the constitution, was "to inquire whether the constitution had been preserved inviolate in every part; and whether the legislative and executive branches of government had performed their duty as guardians of the people, or assumed to themselves, or exercised, other or greater powers than they are entitled to by the constitution." In the execution of this trust, the council were necessarily led to a comparison of both the legislative and executive proceedings, with the constitutional powers of these departments; and from the facts enumerated, and to the truth of most of which both sides in the council subscribed, it appears that the constitution had been flagrantly violated by the legislature in a variety of important instances.
A great number of laws had been passed, violating, without any apparent necessity, the rule requiring that all bills of a public nature shall be previously printed for the consideration of the people; although this is one of the precautions chiefly relied on by the constitution against improper acts of legislature.
The constitutional trial by jury had been violated, and powers assumed which had not been delegated by the constitution.
Executive powers had been usurped.
The salaries of the judges, which the constitution expressly requires to be fixed, had been occasionally varied; and cases belonging to the judiciary department frequently drawn within legislative cognizance and determination.
Those who wish to see the several particulars falling under each of these heads, may consult the journals of the council, which are in print. Some of them, it will be found, may be imputable to peculiar circumstances connected with the war; but the greater part of them may be considered as the spontaneous shoots of an ill-constituted government.
It appears, also, that the executive department had not been innocent of frequent breaches of the constitution. There are three observations, however, which ought to be made on this head: FIRST, a great proportion of the instances were either immediately produced by the necessities of the war, or recommended by Congress or the commander-in-chief; SECOND, in most of the other instances, they conformed either to the declared or the known sentiments of the legislative department; THIRD, the executive department of Pennsylvania is distinguished from that of the other States by the number of members composing it. In this respect, it has as much affinity to a legislative assembly as to an executive council. And being at once exempt from the restraint of an individual responsibility for the acts of the body, and deriving confidence from mutual example and joint influence, unauthorized measures would, of course, be more freely hazarded, than where the executive department is administered by a single hand, or by a few hands.
The conclusion which I am warranted in drawing from these observations is, that a mere demarcation on parchment of the constitutional limits of the several departments, is not a sufficient guard against those encroachments which lead to a tyrannical concentration of all the powers of government in the same hands.

PUBLIUS

Learn More About American History:  Visit Jamestown, Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg Living Museums in Virginia.

Governor McAuliffe Signs Executive Order Establishing The New Virginia Economy Strategic Plan and Steering Committee, (The Old One Broke?)

English: Main Terminal of at dusk in Virginia,...
English: Main Terminal of at dusk in Virginia, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today during his monthly appearance on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor,” Governor Terry McAuliffe signed Executive Order 26 establishing The New Virginia Economy Strategic Plan and Steering Committee. The executive order establishes the priorities that will form the foundation of the Governor’s economic development plan for the remainder of his term in office.

“This executive order reflects the approach that my administration and I will take to building a new Virginia economy during my term,” said Governor McAuliffe. “If we are going to compete in the global marketplace, now is the time to work together to balance our budget responsibly, protect and expand our world class infrastructure and education systems, and increase our efforts to bring innovative companies here to create jobs and help diversify our economy.”


NUMBER TWENTY SIX (2014)


ESTABLISHING THE NEW VIRGINIA ECONOMY
STRATEGIC PLAN AND STEERING COMMITTEE



Importance of the Taskforce

The Commonwealth of Virginia features vast natural and human resources that serve as the foundation of our economic strength. Our unparalleled educational system, highly educated workforce, competitive business climate, central mid-Atlantic location, and premium infrastructure have afforded Virginia years of recognition as a preeminent state for business and job growth.

            Virginia is well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities in various high-growth industries with high-wage employment, including healthcare, bio sciences, cyber security, and energy. According to the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the Commonwealth ranks among the nation’s best knowledge-based, globalized, entrepreneurial, IT-driven, and innovation-based economies. Moreover, Virginia has one of the largest higher educational systems and among the most educated populations in the nation. 

            Virginia is an international gateway to move people and products quickly and efficiently, with fourteen commercial airports, including Dulles International. We offer the third largest state-maintained transportation network with six major interstates, an extensive railroad system, and a technologically-advanced port, capable of handling Post Panamax vessels. With agriculture as our largest industry, the Commonwealth will use these assets as we seek to increase agriculture and forestry shipments worldwide and to become the East Coast capital for agricultural exports.

            While Virginia enjoys inherent advantages and assets, we are facing unique economic headwinds. Recent federal budget cuts, reductions in defense spending, and the impact of sequestration have presented pressing challenges for Virginia’s economy. In this season of federal contraction, we must balance public and private sector enterprise for fiscal resilience. This vital imperative can be achieved by enhancing our fundamentals and addressing our challenges as an opportunity. By recalibrating our fiscal pathway and focusing our efforts on diversified, sustainable, and prospering industry sectors, the Commonwealth will excel in the global marketplace strengthened by a New Virginia Economy.

Establishment of the Steering Committee

By virtue of the authority vested in me as Governor under Article V, Section 1 of the Constitution of Virginia, and Section 2.2-205 of the Code of Virginia, I hereby establish the Governor’s New Virginia Economy Steering Committee (Steering Committee). The purpose of this Steering Committee is to create a four-year strategic plan for economic development, in collaboration with the business community, local and state officials, and economic development professionals.

The Commonwealth must attract new jobs and investment, and cultivate the next generation of job creators and entrepreneurs. My administration’s four-year strategic plan will focus on: 1) enhancing our infrastructure, 2) diversifying and growing our strategic industry sectors, 3) solidifying and promoting our competitive business climate, 4) nurturing a sustainable entrepreneurial environment, and 5) equipping Virginia’s workforce with in-demand skill sets to meet current and future business needs. The plan will also recommend specific executive and legislative actions to achieve these goals.

Composition of the Steering Committee

The Secretary of Commerce and Trade will chair the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee will be composed of the Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, and Veterans and Defense Affairs, as well as the Secretaries of Administration, Education, Health and Human Resources, Natural Resources, Technology, and Transportation, as specified in Section 2.2-205 B of the Code of Virginia. The Steering Committee will engage representatives of relevant state agencies, local and regional economic development organizations and chambers of commerce, leaders in sectors significant to Virginia’s economy, and other organizations or individuals as designated by the Governor.

Strategic Plan Priorities:

The four-year strategic plan will address five economic development priorities:

1.      “Project Ready” Infrastructure – Virginia must ensure that our infrastructure assets and resources, such as healthcare, energy, housing, and broadband are ready to attract small, medium, and large scale projects throughout the Commonwealth and advance our competitive position locally, regionally, and globally.

2.      Diversified High-Growth Industries – Virginia must devote vital resources to strengthen thriving industries, while diversifying targeted high-growth industry sectors and expanding trading partnerships.

3.      Preeminent Business Climate – Virginia must ensure that tax, regulatory, and incentive policies sustain Virginia’s position as the best state to start, grow, and locate a business.

4.      Innovation and Entrepreneurs – Virginia must pursue policies and public-private partnerships that attract talent, promote business and social entrepreneurship, business development and investment, and encourage the creation and commercialization of new products and services.

5.      “Skills to Jobs” Workforce – Virginia must align higher education system priorities and resources to supply in-demand workers, transition veterans, and meet current and future employer needs, in the private and public sectors.

Staffing

Staff support for the Steering Committee will be provided by the Office of the Governor, the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, the various secretariats and their agencies represented on the Steering Committee, and other agencies as may be designated by the Governor. All executive branch agencies will cooperate fully with the Steering Committee and will render such assistance as may be requested by the Chair. The Secretary of Commerce and Trade will ensure coordination between the development of the New Virginia Economy Strategic Plan and the Workforce Initiative.

The Steering Committee will provide a report to the Governor by no later than December 1, 2014, setting forth the Commonwealth’s proposed economic development strategic plan. The Steering Committee shall report annually to the Governor by no later than December 1 on progress toward achieving the goals established in the strategic plan.

Effective Date of the Executive Order

This Executive Order shall be effective upon its signing and shall remain in full force and effect until amended or rescinded by further executive order.

Given under my hand and under the Seal of the Commonwealth of Virginia this 27th day of August 2014.





Terence R. McAuliffe, Governor





Attest:             _______________________________________
                        Levar M. Stoney, Secretary of the Commonwealth



Governor McAuliffe and State Leaders Tout New Agricultural Resource Management Plan

The Harvesters
The Harvesters (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(WEYERS CAVE) – Governor Terry McAuliffe today joined Virginia agricultural and conservation leaders in endorsing and promoting the state’s new agricultural Resource Management Plan (RMP) program. The program encourages farmers to increase their use of conservation best management practices while providing the agricultural community quantifiable credit for the practices they already have in place.
“This voluntary program makes sense for farmers and for Virginia’s ongoing push to keep the Chesapeake and surrounding waters clean,” said Governor McAuliffe. “ My administration has worked closely with agricultural and conservation groups to develop a program that is a ‘win’ for all those involved by promoting best conservation practices, while also better tracking the programs that farmers already have in place. Building a new Virginia economy means growing key industries like agriculture while protecting the natural assets that are essential to Virginians’ health and quality of life. I want to thank the agricultural and conservation groups that have come together on this important new plan.”
The Governor touted the new program at Cave View Farm in Weyers Cave alongside First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe, Natural Resources Secretary Molly Ward, Agriculture and Forestry Secretary Todd Haymore. They were also joined by representatives from the Virginia Farm Bureau; the Virginia Agribusiness Council; the Virginia Dairymen’s Association; the Virginia Cattlemen Association; the Virginia Poultry Federation; the Chesapeake Bay Foundation; and the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts. 
Delegate Ed Scott (Madison) and Senator Emmett Hanger (Augusta), the Patrons of the legislation creating the program, and Delegate Steve Landes (Augusta) also joined the Governor in endorsing RMPs.
“The Resource Management Program will be a critical part of our efforts to protect and restore our rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay,” said Secretary Ward.  “I am pleased how the partnership between our natural resource agencies and the agricultural community is working to make this program a success.  Virginia’s waters and farms will both benefit.”
“Virginia growers have a reputation of producing some of the highest quality agricultural commodities in the world and they rely on healthy lands and clean water to do so,” said Secretary Haymore.  “They also have a reputation of being good stewards of these precious natural resources, so I expect that we’ll see our growers utilizing fully the RMP program and getting full credit for the conservation practices they are using now and will be using in the future.”
The program, which was approved in the 2011 General Assembly session, encourages farmers to have a private sector RMP developer create a plan for their farm or any portion of it. The plan will incorporate the property’s current stream buffer, soil conservation, nutrient management and stream exclusion practices and recommend other practices needed. Once the plan is approved and implemented, the property is deemed to be in compliance with state nutrient and sediment water quality standards. This certainty remains in place during the plan’s nine-year lifespan. Virginia is the nation’s fifth state, and the first in the Chesapeake Bay region, with an agricultural certainty program.
“The idea behind the RMP was to advance water quality improvement and at the same time provide farmers an opportunity for some regulatory assurance,” said Delegate Ed Scott (R-Culpeper), a patron of the legislation.  “We’ve got farmers who have put literally thousands of best management practices on the ground, through this process we’ll give them credit for those practices and help identify other practices available to make further progress on water quality goals.”
RMPs can assist farmers in becoming more efficient and profitable by helping them use fertilizers more wisely, increasing yields and improving livestock health, safety and productivity. The certainty afforded to farmers with an RMP plan will also provide them greater confidence as they plan for investments in their operations going forward.  Knowing that investments made now in protecting water quality will afford safe harbor over the nine year life of the plan will make it easier to invest in additional production activities, giving farms greater opportunities at revenue and profitability. 
“I am pleased to join in the roll out of this program after my colleagues and I in the General Assembly approved this program with support from the agricultural and environmental community,”said Delegate Steve Landes (R-Augusta).  “As we continue to promote the agriculture and forestry industries in Virginia, we know that a commitment to our conservation practices will reap economic benefits as well.”
In addition to encouraging farmers to implement practices to receive the certainty, the program willdocument practices in use, providing verified data to validate the agricultural sector’s level of conservation implementation. Better tracking of agricultural conservation practices through the use of resource management plans will also provide decision makers more accurate data when determining future funding needs for cost-share and other incentive programs.
“Resource management plans can provide many benefits to make our region’s farms more efficient and profitable while crediting our farmers for their stewardship of Virginia’s natural resources,” said Senator Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta County).  “Protecting our farms and our natural resources are one in the same, and Virginia benefits from having so many united public and private partners on this effort.”
Money is available through the Virginia Agricultural Cost Share program to fund both the development and implementation of RMPs and the practices needed to complete one. Farmers can work directly with RMP developers to apply for development of a plan on their property. DCR is currently working to expand the number of developers available to farmers and is accepting applications for certified resource management plan developers.
For more information on resource management plans, farm operators can contact their local soil and water conservation district or go to DCR’s website at www.dcr.virginia.gov and click on “Soil and Water.”


Virginia Agriculture and Conservation Leaders Applaud Virginia’s New Resource Management Plan

The seals of the Commonwealth of Virginia
The seals of the Commonwealth of Virginia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Leaders from the agriculture and environmental communities across the Commonwealth released the following statements today following the Governor’s visit to Weyers Cave to tout the Commonwealth’s new Resource Management Plan. Governor McAuliffe attended the event today and witnessed some of the best practices at work in the farming community. The Resource Management Plan will help build a new Virginia economy by expanding best practices on Virginia farms that make operations more efficient and cost effective while reducing impacts on Virginia waters, including the Chesapeake Bay.


Wayne Pryor, president, Virginia Farm Bureau:

“The RMP program is an opportunity for all Virginia farmers, regardless of the scale of their operations or the commodities they produce, to voluntarily consult with certified professionals on the entire scale of conservation BMPs they could employ; to develop a customized plan; and to enter into a nine-year agreement that is subject to compliance review. Those plans and agreements will assure them that, for the life of the agreements, they are in compliance with state and local water quality standards. The Virginia Farm Bureau applauds Governor McAuliffe for his leadership and support for this important program.”


Katie Frazier, president, Virginia Agribusiness Council:

“The Virginia Agribusiness Council applauds the launch of Resource Management Plans as a voluntary mechanism to achieve both water quality goals and provide farmers with regulatory certainty. Since the General Assembly approved the program in 2011 with our support, we have been anxiously awaiting the implementation of this exciting new approach to conservation. The Council looks forward to continuing to work with the Governor, DCR, DEQ, VDACS, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts as the RMP program fully launches in late 2014.”


William C. Baker, president, Chesapeake Bay Foundation:

“The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) has long supported farm conservation practices like those called for by Virginia’s Resource Management Plan Program, especially fencing livestock out of local streams and rivers. We support Governor McAuliffe’s call for farmers across Virginia to embrace these conservation practices by participating in the RMP program. That would mean cleaner water, more productive farms, a healthier Bay, and a more robust economy.”    


William C. “Sparky” Crossman, president, Virginia Grain Producers Association:

“The Virginia Grain Producers Association supports these plans not only because of their direct benefit to our farmers and the environment, but because participation in the program is voluntary and the program is flexible. It gives the farmer the ability to select the mix of practices best suited to their farm in order to meet necessary standards. The RMP program is critical to ensuring our farms can feed a growing population while keeping the promises we made to protect and restore our local environment and the Chesapeake Bay.”


Eric Paulson, president, Virginia State Dairymen’s Association:

"The Virginia State Dairymen's Association commends the Governor on signing the Resource Management Plan (RMP) into law. This program will provide farmers with another tool to track and implement conservation practices with a level of certainty. This voluntary program will allow farmers to account for the many conservation practices they have already implemented on their farm. "

Kendall Tyree, executive director, Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts:

"The potential value of the RMP program to water quality is significant, in which we expect Virginia's Soil and Water Conservation Districts to play a vital role. We applaud the Governor for his effort and continued support of voluntary conservation efforts.”

           
Jason Carter, executive director, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association:
"The Virginia Cattlemen's Association membership is certainly supportive of sound environmental management to ensure preservation of the resources so vital to our businesses and industry.  We are appreciative of the Governor's desire to maintain, and add to, a suite of voluntary and cost shared best management conservation practice options for our producers to choose from within the management of their cattle operations."


Hobey Bauhan, president, Virginia Poultry Federation:

“Poultry farmers have a proven commitment to conservation practices for improving water quality.  While a state regulatory program already governs poultry litter management, many poultry farms have other farming activities which could be covered under a voluntary Resource Management Plan.  I commend the Governor for his leadership on this program and encourage farmers to take a close look at participating.”

Please Re elect US Senator Mark Warner so he can finish the job.
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