CPPP urges Abbott to rule against Perry

Scott McCown of the Center for Public Policy Priorities has sent a letter (PDF) to AG Greg Abbott urging him to rule that Governor Perry has overstepped his bounds with his recent executive order on the HPV vaccine. It's a scanned image, so I'll just transcribe this one brief bit to give you the gist of it:

The governor is wrong for two reasons. First, when the legislature gives authority to an executive officer, unless the legislature provides otherwise, the governor cannot compel the executive officer to exercise that authority in a particular way. Second, even when the governor has power over an executive officer, the governor cannot order that executive officer to proceed in a way contrary to the law.

I have cheered Perry's decision because I believe the benefits of the HPV vaccine are clear. But much as I'd like to see this order carried out, I can't ignore the mounting evidence that even when acting for good, Perry is acting in a way that exceeds the constitutional bounds of his office. There's the 65% rule, about which many of the anti-HPV vaccine complainers have been shamefully silent, there's Perry's public university power grab, and who knows what else in the coming years. We've already got a President who doesn't respect the Constitution. We don't need a Governor with the same problem.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 14, 2007 to Show Business for Ugly People