FOI Blog

Elected officials often justify their decision to meet serially in groups of two based on the fact that they're only talking, they're not making a decision. They won't make the decision, they say, until the public meeting. The problem is: there's no bright line between the discussion and the decision. And without at least some…

I’ve written up a short primer for the Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors and School Board. The two have been at odds over a BOS member’s request for salary data and other records from the school board. The school board has said it will take 14 hours of staff time and cost around $700 to…

We’ve all known someone who has either been foolish enough or unlucky enough to have to move from the Commonwealth to one of the lesser 49 states.  Despite their misfortune, many of them nonetheless retain more than a passing interest in what happens in this great state.  Maybe their grandmother is a nursing home in…

[View the story “Virginia ethics tweets” on Storify]

In the sounds-to-good-to-be-true category, check out this story from Utah. State lawmkers in the Beehive State are about to let the public read their email. The Utah Legislature joins a small but growing list of governments expanding access to email and other forms of electronic communication.   Orange County, Fla., implemented a data retention and…

If you want to be transparent, then don't hide your plans.

This week I got yet another reason to love the Library of Virginia and, most especially, their dedicated records analysts. A very small cadre of helpful friendly folks handle records-management questions from every locality and state agency in the Commonwealth. How they accomplish as much as they do and still retain their sunny demeanor is…

Candidate interviews in public? Yes, it can be done! With the unexpected death of their chairman in September, the Pittsylvania Board of Supervisors was faced with the task of appointing a successor to fill out the remainder of the chair’s term. Time and time again, VCOG has seen local boards in similar circumstances — having…

Great article this month in the magazine Governing. It talks about public participation in government decision-making and the promises and drawbacks of technology. No longer limited to the "one meeting at one time and if you miss it, too bad," today's technology creates exciting new opportunities for the public to voice its opinion on issues.…

An item out of Sauk Village, Ill., caught my eye this morning. In it, the village clerk complains to NWI.com that the village has been inundated with FOIA requests — more than 100 this year and 18 on Aug. 27 — and there’s no “rhyme or reason” to this. “They’re making a sham of the…

Proposal to change meeting rules is a solution in search of a problem.

The Public’s Temporary Camouflage for “Hunting” Gov’t Accountability

Columnist Jonah Goldberg wrote last week in USA Today that civil libertarians are hypocrites when it comes to the NSA controversy on the one hand and the Affordable Health Care Act on the other. Specifically he says, Farhad Manjoo of online Slate magazine agrees. The “fundamental problem” with the NSA’s surveillance program is that it’s amassing…

by Jamison Shabanowitz, Laurence E. Richardson Legal Intern for 2013 If an email is sent to a recipient and is deleted before the recipient sees it, does it really exist?  AT&T’s new patent pending technology answers that question with an affirmative “no.” The U.S. Patent Office released details about the company’s patent for a self-deleting…

by Jamison Shabanowitz, Laurence E. Richardson Legal Intern for 2013 Earlier this month, the public learned of the communication between the Virginia Attorney General’s office and the lawyers representing two gas companies, EQT Production and CSX Gas, related to the battle over royalties for methane gas in Appalachian coal seams. Bristol’s Herald Courier has posted…

Tom Jackman article in today's Washington Post covers the simmering controversy over the flash-in-the-pan logo for Prince William County. Here's the breakdown: County staff unveils new county logo. Logo is said to have cost $750. Board of Supervisors hates it. Not just hates it, loathes it. Supervisors tell staff to throw the logo out. Suprvisor Pete…

What we gained. What we learned. And how government transparency is an ongoing conversation.

Anyone who looks at any Virginia newspaper or website has seen the articles by now recapping the in-person meeting of gubernatorial candidates Ken Cuccinelli (R) and Terry McAuliffe (D) at the annual fundraiser for the Virginia Public Access Project. Most of the headlines highlighted the candidates' clash over transparency. Cuccinelli said McAuliffe isn't transparent because…

Good piece today in the Daily Press about York County facing a $7 million tax refund bill if the owners of a defunct area refinery win their tax abatement appeal. The issue came to light because of an email obtained by a York County resident through a FOIA request. The resident forwarded it to the…

In my job, I get to hear from folks all over the state, usually when they've been denied a request for records. This week alone I've heard….. A request for a supervisor claiming his emails were exempt under the "thought process" exemption. A request for budget codes for salaries denied because "FOIA doesn't require that."…

Dear justices of the United States Supreme Court – Your ruling Monday did not surprise me. You said that it's OK for Virginia's FOIA to reject FOIA requests made by residents from other states. Virginia is for lovers, you said, but not for out-of-state FOIA requesters. Your ruling did not surprise me because there was…

A lot of ink has been spilled over the years about whether government can or should be run as a business. Whole political philosophies have developed in praise of or eschewing the notion. Personally, I don't know which side has it right, at least in terms of planning, management, budgeting, etc. But I do know…