Transparency News 1/22/15
State and Local Stories
Yesterday, the House Courts of Justice committee moved Del. Pogge’s bill that allows a court to invalidate actions taken at a meeting where certain notice procedures weren’t followed (HB1646) to the General Laws Committee, where other FOIA bills are heard.
The committee’s civil law subcommittee reported (passed & sent to full committee) two bills on our list: allowing the State Department of Historical Resources to access local clerks’ land records online database without having to pay the subscription fee (HB1875); and allowing the posting of notices on clerk websites (HB1780).
The bill on the use of drones (HB2077) was carried over in the committee’s criminal law subcommittee for more work on the language.
The administration of then-Gov. Bob McDonnell put “political and media” considerations ahead of transportation decisions in pushing construction of a proposed $1.5 billion toll expressway along U.S. 460 at the end of his term, according to current Secretary of Transportation Aubrey L. Layne Jr. Layne, who was a member of the Commonwealth Transportation Board and chairman of the funding corporation that sold bonds for the project, told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that the McDonnell administration did not tell him and other board members about problems with getting a federal permit for the project until the end of September 2013. By then, the state was forced to reopen the 5-year-old federal record of decision on the projected environmental impact of the highway proposal and conduct a new environmental study. That study determined the road would destroy 618 acres of wetlands and cost $1.8 billion to complete. Layne said the administration previously had estimated 100 acres would be affected.
Times-Dispatch
Sen. Emmett Hanger is among other members of the General Assembly who have filed bills tied to natural gas infrastructure projects after months of widespread rumpus about the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a separate but similar natural gas project that would impact property owners in West Virginia as well as in Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties. Each project would transport natural gas from West Virginia at high pressure in a 42-inch diameter buried pipeline. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is already involved in reviewing the proposed projects. If FERC ultimately grants the certificate necessary for construction to proceed, the pipeline companies will have access to eminent domain to buy rights-of-way if negotiations with property owners fail to identify an acceptable purchase price. Del. Dickie Bell, R-Staunton, and Hanger have introduced legislation in the House of Delegates and Senate that would make utilities subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act for any activity for which they exercise the power of eminent domain. In an email, Bell said he introduced the bill because he believes the use of eminent domain by utilities instead of government ought to be open to public review. “While this legislation doesn’t prevent the utility companies from utilizing eminent domain, it is a step to ensure that the process is more transparent,” Bell said.
Roanoke Times
For Chris Hively, the second time was a charm. On Wednesday during a special Culpeper Town Council meeting, Hively, who turned down the town manager’s job 18 months ago, was offered the position again. This time, he took it. Well, sort of. Hively lives outside the town limits and has no plans to move. Culpeper’s town charter does not require the town manager to live in the town when he is hired, but he must move there at some point during his tenure. The obvious solution, of course, would be to change the charter, and that is what the Town Council also voted to do Wednesday. The charter change will go before this session of the Virginia General Assembly and a public hearing on the matter has been scheduled for Feb. 10 during the next regularly scheduled Town Council meeting.
Free Lance-Star
A rule that has on multiple occasions left individuals angry and frustrated was amended Tuesday evening, potentially giving citizens a greater voice before the Smyth County Board of Supervisors. When it came to the Rules of Procedure, County Attorney Michelle Clayton proposed several changes -- some to clarify rules and remove conflicting language. A more significant change came regarding citizens’ time. Previously, the supervisors’ rules stated that a citizen could not speak on an issue that was already on the meeting’s agenda. On numerous occasions, citizens left angry because they were prohibited from sharing their position and information on a subject. Clayton noted that no constitutional requirement exists for the supervisors to give the public a time to speak and that some counties and cities don’t. However, she proposed that the rule be changed “to permit citizens to address the Board on items that are on the agenda unless there was a public hearing on the issue prior to the meeting.” Several of the supervisors voiced their support for the amendment. Supervisor Rick Blevins noted that there had been numerous times when someone wanted to speak but couldn’t. The rule change was approved unanimously. In another change, the supervisor also approved a recommendation to adjust the fee schedule for copies of documents or discs requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The new fees are 10 cents for each black-and-white copy, 20 cents for each color copy, and $5 per disc. Virginia’s FOIA does allow additional charges to be assessed when providing the requested information takes an extensive amount of time. FOIA doesn’t allow governments to impose charges in excess of actual costs. The supervisors also approved adding the following statement: “The failure of the Board to strictly comply with Roberts Rules of Order shall not invalidate any action of the Board.”
Herald Courier
George Mason University allows employees to buy airline tickets above and beyond $5,000, the state’s transaction limit. The University of Virginia allows workers to spend up to $500 a night on hotel rooms at conferences. It’s those sorts of anomalies that could factor into the big tab Virginia’s public universities have for travel expenses — a tab of more than $128 million in fiscal year 2013, according to the first stage of a statewide audit of all travel-related expenses for Virginia agencies and public universities. That’s about double the bill of all other state agencies combined — $69 million. With one of the largest student populations and a robust athletic program, Virginia Tech — officially Virginia Polytechnic University —outspent the others in travel in 2013 with a $42 million tab. That’s followed by Virginia Commonwealth University at $32 million and GMU at $12 million. State auditors said it isn’t surprising universities spend so much on travel, whether it’s for conferences or athletic teams. One of Virginia Tech’s biggest expenses was $600,000 for chartered airline services for away football games.
Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau
Eight days after offering the public the first of any kind of official explanation for officer-involved shooting of Springfield resident John Geer, the Board of Supervisors took another step. Though they didn’t share any further information on the case, chairman Sharon Bulova and the panel returned from an extended closed session on Jan. 13 with a motion with the potential to affect government transparency. Pat Herrity (R-Springfield) was the first of all the supervisors to weigh in on the motion. “I reluctantly support the motion,” he said. “I think it’s too little too late. The actual motion gives no policy direction on transparency, though I believe that’s the intent. “There’s no provision to engage our citizens in the process,” he continued. “This to me smells of outsourcing policy-making. I hope that’s not the intent. I believe we need to engage our citizens, engage our staff and have a transparency conversation on this topic.” Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville) didn’t read the motion as an attempt to exclude the public, nor as too little too late. But, he conceded, “there is a perception in the public that police should not be advising us on police disclosure procedures. I think that’s legitimate.”
Fairfax Times
The Appomattox Town Council this year plans to meet once a month this year as opposed to traditionally meeting twice a month. Under council’s recently established meeting schedule, council will not hold workshop meetings like it did in years past.
Times-Virginian
The state Senate has unanimously passed a bill that would make extorting individuals by publishing their arrest records and photos online a Class 1 misdemeanor. Senators voted 40–0 Tuesday in favor of the measure and sent it to the House for consideration. Senate Bill 720, sponsored by Sen. David Marsden, D–Fairfax, would make it illegal for a company to post arrest reports and mugshots online and then charge a fee to take down the records. The websites involved often cite the First Amendment as well as open-records laws to defend their business activities. Arrest records are public information, but Marsden said they are being misused by certain websites to shake down people for money. He cited an online publication called Mugshots.com, which charges $399 to remove a person’s arrest photo from its website.
Free Lance-Star
Members of the General Assembly raised $9.5 million in itemized cash contributions in 2014, of which60 percent came from lobbyists representing the business community, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The review of the off-year legislative donations by VPAP, a nonpartisan group dedicated to transparency in politics, looks at 128 of the 140 current lawmakers. The rest had a special election sometime between late 2013 and early 2015. It defines business lobbyists as “clients, law firms and individual lobbyists who represent companies and business trade associations.” Business lobbyists poured thousands of dollars into the coffers of legislative leaders, according to the VPAP report.
Times-Dispatch
A proposal included in President Obama’s State of the Union that is intended to encourage more private involvement in public infrastructure projects appears promising -- but whether it would actually result in more development remains in doubt. The so-called Qualified Public Infrastructure Bonds, or QPIBs, would expand an existing financing tool that allows state and local governments to issue tax-exempt bonds to pay for public infrastructure projects managed primarily by private companies. That program, Private Activity Bonds (PABs), has already been used to support financing for more than $10 billion of roads, tunnels and bridges. For example, tax exempt PABs were used to help finance 29 miles of managed express lanes on Interstate 95 in northern Virginia. Gov. Terry McAuliffe has said the $950 million project, which opened in December, would not have been possible without the partnership of Fluor Enterprises and Transurban, which invested $280 million in the project and will collect tolls and maintain the lanes until 2087.
Governing
National Stories
The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 7-to-2 vote, ruled in favor of a fired air marshal on Wednesday. In a decision of great interest to federal employees and air travelers, the court said that the air marshal's alert about safety concerns was shielded by the federal whistleblower protection law. In July 2003, the Department of Homeland Security issued a confidential advisory warning that members of al-Qaida were planning to hijack a long-distance flight. Air marshals across the country were called in for secret briefings about the details of the plot. Forty-eight hours later, however, they were informed that missions on overnight, long-distance flights were being canceled. Air marshal Robert J. MacLean at first thought the cancellation message was a joke or a test of some sort. MacLean called his supervisor, who told him the assignments to long-distance flights were canceled because the agency didn't want to pay for hotels, overtime and travel allowances — and that there was nothing to be done about it. MacLean then called the inspector general's hotline; he says he was told that this is what agencies do when they are running out of money. Fearing for the public's safety, MacLean blew the whistle. He leaked the story to a reporter. Congress went ballistic, and within 24 hours, the cost-saving measure was canceled. MacLean was not named in the reporter's story, but three years later the agency discovered his role and he was fired. He challenged his dismissal as illegal retaliation under the Whistleblower Protection Act.NPR
A rare disturbance broke out in the Supreme Court on Wednesday as several protesters stood up and shouted what appeared to be comments criticizing the court's controversial 2010 Citizens United campaign finance decision that was issued five years ago this month. As court opened, Chief Justice John Roberts was preparing to announce the day's opinions when he was cut off by the first protester who shouted, "We are the 99%." Roberts then tried to joke, "Our second order of business today is ..." until he was cut off by a second protester. Kathleen L. Arberg, the court's public information officer, released a statement said that the incident involved a total of 8 individuals. Seven of them have been charged with making "a harangue or oration, or uttering loud, threatening or abusive language in the Supreme Court." The eighth person was also charged with "conspiracy-related offenses" arising from the courtroom disturbance.
CNN
Editorials/Columns
Kenric Ward, Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau
