Transparency News 1/13/16

State and Local Stories

HB 800    (Del. MORRIS)
Requires recording of closed sessions and retention for two years. Recordings would only be available as evidence in litigation.    
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB800
        
HB 817    (Del. LeMUNYON)
The bill would undo the Supreme Court of Virginia's holding in Department of Corrections v. Surovell, which said government's reason for withholding record must e given "grea deference" by a trial judge, and that called into question the general duty to redact.    
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB817
    
HB 818    (Del. LeMUNYON)
Requires certain local public bodies to post a FOIA rights and responsibilities document on its respective public government website. The bill also requires all state public bodies created in the executive branch of state government, including state authorities, and all local public bodies that are subject to FOIA to designate and publicly identify one or more FOIA officers whose responsibility is to serve as a point of contact for members of the public in requesting public records
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB818

HB 860    (Del. McCLELLAN)
Provides that records relating to formal advisory opinions or informal advice of the Council or its designee, including records of requests, notes, correspondence, and draft versions of such opinions or advice shall be confidential and excluded from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+HB860

 Follow these and other bills on VCOG's legislative chart 

Portsmouth City Councilman Bill Moody was fined $1,500 on Tuesday for a Facebook post he made on Dec. 8 about a closed session meeting to be had on the fate of the city’s Confederate monument. The idea of removing the Confederate monument, at the corner of Court and High streets, came about after the slaying of nine black people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., in June. After the shooting, photos emerged of the suspect holding a Confederate flag. The heated issue of whether to remove Portsmouth’s monument led to a decision by the majority of the council to approve a rule imposing a fine on council members or staff who speak publicly about closed meetings. The rule came about after Moody and Vice Mayor Elizabeth Psimas spoke to The Virginian-Pilot concerning the council’s closed-door discussion about pursuing a court order to remove the monument.
Virginian-Pilot

As he oversaw construction of Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones’ new church, the city’s director of public works used his official email account to communicate with contractors who had business before both the city and the church, according to an inspector in the city auditor’s office. And of the five contractors who engaged in church-related communication with the director, three listed city account numbers on proposals they submitted for church-related projects. “So that obviously raised a flag for the investigation to try to look for that needle in a haystack,” said city investigations manager Craig Johnson. “And it’s trying to find a needle to match that dollar amount to see if there was any city funds expended for the church project.” The revelation came Tuesday — the same day that Jones pushed back against scrutiny surrounding overlap between top city executives and his church.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Norfolk Councilman Andy Protogyrou said Tuesday that he wants the city to conduct an “after-action review” of the practices and culture of City Hall after last week’s indictment of City Treasurer Anthony Burfoot, a former councilman. Protogyrou’s remarks came during a work session, and it appears he has the support of other council members, including Mayor Paul Fraim. “I think it is a good idea to step back and take stock of the way that we’re doing our business,” Fraim said after the meeting. Protogyrou said after the meeting that he wants to review city processes, practices and culture at City Hall – and Norfolk’s housing authority – that could have contributed to Burfoot’s situation. He wants to make any needed changes to stop such a situation from repeating.
Virginian-Pilot


National Stories

A Cook County, Illinois, judge on Monday denied the Chicago Police Department’s request to dismiss a lawsuit seeking records that could show whether the police have used secret cellular tracking systems to spy on political protesters as well as criminals. Last year, the department responded to a Freedom of Information lawsuit by disclosing the city spent more than $340,000 between 2005 and 2010 on cell-site simulators, as well as software upgrades and training. The department also provided records showing an outside law firm billed the city more than $120,000 to battle the lawsuit. But the city balked at providing records describing how they’re used.
Chicago Sun-Times

Remember one year ago when then-Attorney General Eric Holder supposedly tightened restrictions on the Justice Department so it could not easily conduct surveillance on journalists’ emails and phone calls? Well it turns out the Justice Department inserted a large loophole in its internal rules that allows the FBI to completely circumvent those restrictions and spy on journalists in secrecy—and with absolutely no court oversight—using National Security Letters. And what, exactly, are the Justice Department’s rules for when they can target a journalist with a National Security Letter (NSL)? Well, according the government, that’s classified.
Columbia Journalism Review


Editorials/Columns

White House staffs often include many individuals who previously worked on the president’s election campaign. Many U.S. ambassadors are friends of, or donors to, the incumbent. A similar dynamic applies to governors and other panjandrums. Such is the way of the world. The last time we checked, Richmond was still part of the world. So it comes as no surprise that as much as 10 percent of Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones’ executive staff have ties to Jones’ church. Yet the news would come as no great surprise even if it did not reflect the way of the world. Featherbedding City Hall with people from his church might be tolerable if Jones were producing results that were turning Richmond around and setting the city on course for brighter days ahead.
Richmond Times-Dispatch