§ 4-5.04 THIRD PARTY TRANSACTIONS

a. EMPLOYMENT OF ATTORNEYS:

1. All attorneys authorized by this act to be employed by any state agency and all attorneys compensated out of any moneys appropriated in this session of the General Assembly shall be appointed by the Attorney General and be in all respects subject to the provisions of Title 2.2, Chapter 5, Code of Virginia, to the extent not to conflict with Title 12.1, Chapter 4, Code of Virginia; provided, however, that if the Governor certifies the need for independent legal counsel for any Executive Department agency, such agency shall be free to act independently of the Office of the Attorney General in regard to selection, and provided, further, that compensation of such independent legal counsel shall be paid from the moneys appropriated to such Executive Department agency or from the moneys appropriated to the Office of the Attorney General.

2. This section does not apply to attorneys employed by state agencies in the Legislative Department, Judicial Department or Independent Agencies.

3. Reporting on employment of attorneys shall be in accordance with § 4-8.00, Reporting Requirements.

b. STUDIES AND CONSULTATIVE SERVICES REQUIRED BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY: No expenditure for payments on third party nongovernmental contracts for studies or consultative services shall be made out of any appropriation to the General Assembly or to any study group created by the General Assembly, nor shall any such expenditure for third party nongovernmental contracts be made by any Executive Department agency in response to a legislative request for a study, without the prior approval of two of the following persons: the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee; the Speaker of the House of Delegates; the President pro tempore of the Senate. All such expenditures shall be made only in accordance with the terms of a written contract approved as to form by the Attorney General.

c. USE OF CONSULTING SERVICES: All state agencies and institutions of higher education shall make a determination of "return on investment" as part of the criteria for awarding contracts for consulting services.