Current Headlines

From the Coalfield Progress, Aug. 16, 2013   R.J. ROSE Contributing Writer COEBURN — Councilman Jeff Kiser alleged during Monday's regular session that Mayor Jess Powers and two other councilmen held an unannounced meeting in July that did not conform to Virginia's open meeting law. Powers' defense was that he was acting not as a…

Read the full text of the court’s opinion. SCOTUS Blog: Virginia went to the Supreme Court with one argument, and only one, for its policy of limiting access to state public records to people who live in Virginia.  That did not seem to work well at the argument in February, but that is not the test…

In a unanimous decision handed down April 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Virginia FOIA provision that limits its use to Virginia citizens only is constitutional. Read the opinion here. Or view a round-up of articles and editorials.

A round-up of stories and editorials about open government in celebration of Sunshine Week 2013

Virginian-Pilot article starts, “Government transparency is a popular phrase with politicians, even if their actions don’t always match the rhetoric.Consider this: While legislators at the General Assembly ostensibly did the people’s business this winter in Richmond, many of their bills effectively restricted the right to obtain government records. The Assembly approved several bills to peel away…

As a nonprofit organization, we face many challenges — and one of them is money. We welcome donations from individuals and organizations. Your contribution will help us to sustain and expand our services to the public. We have been designated as a tax-exempt organization (tax ID #54-1810687) and we seek tax-deductible dues, gifts and active…

FOIA – amendments to the act itself that are still pending HB 1524 (Villanueva) – For over eight years, FOIA has exempted certain parks and rec records of children signing up for programs. The exemption has an opt-out provision that triggers the exemption. This is consistent with FOIA policy that everything is presumed open unless…

A friend of the court brief has been filed on behalf of VCOG and several state and national open government groups urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that Virginia FOIA's provision limiting the law's use to citizens of the Commonwealth is unconstitutional. The 4th Circuit said Virginia's provision was OK, while a 3rd Circuit…

At long last, the City of Hampton has completed its internal investigation of the Hampton Police Division's undercover cigarette trafficking operation. The results of the investigation were reported Thursday in a written summary of findings. City Manager Mary Bunting also issued a statement "to Hampton residents," in which she reviews the City's actions over the…

A state senator whose legislation set the stage for thousands of vital records in Virginia to be shaken loose; a citizens-group leader whose three-year battle over a wrongly withheld contract led to only the second known FOIA fee assessment; and a college newspaper whose FOIA-based reporting galvanized a campus community to put pressure on a…

….So says the head of UVA’s council on foundations in an article on the Daily Progress’ website. He says FOIA needs to be changed to allow freer conversations among members of a public body without triggering FOIA’s rules governing open public meetings. Read the VCOG Blog‘s take on this.

Open government advocacy groups, including VCOG and the National Freedom of Information Coalition, are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to rule unconstitutional those provisions of state public disclosure laws that allow only states’ own residents access rights to public records. “Virginia’s law fails to realize that people’s interest in localities and states does not end…

A Giles County judge Friday morning fined the town of Glen Lyn and the town’s manager for willfully withholding a public document that a watchdog group had requested through the Freedom of Information Act. Giles County General District Court Judge Gino Williams ordered the town of Glen Lyn and Howard Spencer, the town’s manager, to…

During his three-hour sojourn through the Peninsula on July 13, President Barack Obama’s motorcade traveled with escorts from state and city police and passed down roads blocked by the city Public Works Division to a gymnasium prepared by Hampton City Schools. Since the president’s trip, the Daily Press has requested documents outlining the costs associated with…

The Daily Press takes several local governments on the Peninsula to task for not operating as transparently as they could: Serving on a board is not about being liked. It’s a public trust, providing oversight of the entity in question and making sure it runs properly.

HearSay with Cathy Lewis podcast: In a country-wide investigation into each state’s vulnerability to corruption, Virginia ranked in the bottom four. The State Integrity Investigation, a joint project by The Center for Public Integrity and Public Radio International, cited issues such as “public access to information,” “lobbying disclosure,” and “judicial accountability” as a few of…

Virginia received an “F” from the State Integrity Investigation for their susceptibility to corruption. The study, conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, looked at the existence and implementation of several laws, including Virginia’s FOIA, which in itself received an F. In a column, I argue that things aren’t quite as dire as they sound;…