Hamilton, delegate under federal probe, resigns

RICHMOND — Delegate Philip Hamilton, a 22-year legislator dogged by a federal investigation and defeated in a re-election bid earlier this month, resigned Monday.

Hamilton's resignation from the House of Delegates was effective at midnight, according to a two-sentence letter he sent to House Clerk Bruce F. Jamerson. The letter did not address his reasons for leaving.

Telephone messages and e-mails were left Monday for Hamilton and his legislative aide. In a brief written statement to reporters, however, Hamilton wrote: "At the request of my family, the time has come for me to explore new opportunities in my life."

He represented Newport News in the House since 1988 and narrowly lost his bid for a 12th term on Nov. 3 to Democrat Robin Abbott. Her two-year term begins in January.

Hamilton, the top Republican on the budget-writing Appropriations Committee, is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation. A House ethics panel was also convened to investigate his actions.

The federal probe focuses on allegations that he arranged a $40,000-a-year job for himself at Old Dominion University as he steered hundreds of thousands of dollars in appropriations to the Norfolk school. Federal authorities subpoenaed records at ODU and at Newport News public schools, where Hamilton works part-time.

The resignation, however, likely ends the legislative inquiry into whether he improperly used his powerful position to land himself a job. Virginia law limits the investigative authority of House or Senate ethics panels to members of either chamber.

"I think the investigation is over," said G. Paul Nardo, a senior adviser to House Speaker William J. Howell.

Howell, R-Stafford, called for the ethics inquiry in August after e-mails between Hamilton and ODU officials were published in news reports. Because the ethics panel's proceedings are secret, it was not clear how far the probe had advanced.

Hamilton had been heir-apparent to chair the Appropriations Committee, now headed by Virginia's longest-serving lawmaker, Del. Lacey Putney, 81, a conservative independent from Bedford who was just re-elected to a 25th term.

Hamilton was also chairman of the Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee in the House, and in that role became the General Assembly's most forceful and knowledgeable advocate for the mentally ill and mentally disabled.

Legislators in both parties considered him the resident expert on community-based mental health programs. His influence was illustrated this year when he negotiated an sharp increase in appropriations for more community-based care, even as a poor economy forced legislators and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to trim billions of dollars from the state budget.

Both major committee vacancies will be filled on the opening day of the 2010 General Assembly on Jan. 13, Howell said.