Transparency News 1/15/16

State and Local Stories

SB 552 (Sen. Cosgrove)
Provides that the provisions of FOIA do not require public access to records of the names, positions, job classifications, or other personal identifying information concerning law enforcement personnel and agents at agencies with law enforcement powers (e.g., ABC officers and DGIF conservation officers).
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+SB552

SB 564    (Sen. NORMENT)
Excludes records of an application for licensure or renewal of a license for teachers and other school personnel, including transcripts or other documents submitted in support of an application, from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?161+sum+SB564

Follow these and other access-related
 bills on VCOG's legislative chart 

The battle over the removal of press seating on the floor of the Virginia Senate escalated on Thursday, as state and national media organizations denounced the surprise move as a blow against public transparency, an accusation a spokesman for the chamber’s Republican majority dismissed as “absurd.” The Society of Professional Journalists issued a statement by its national office that compared the decision by Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City, to a similar move last week by members of the Missouri Senate that the organization called an infringement on the public’s right to know how its legislators operate. Separately, the Virginia Pro Chapter of the organization, the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government issued a statement that said the decision to end decades of precedent “symbolically removes open government and public oversight” from the legislative process. Jeff Ryer, spokesman for the Senate Republican Caucus, called the media’s reaction “a little bit over the top” and denied any harm to the media’s ability to cover actions in the chamber.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Nearly $2,000 has been raised for Councilman Bill Moody on a GoFundMe webpage created by Portsmouth resident Bryan Scannell. The webpage is called the Bill Moody Transparency Fund. The GoFundMe webpage was created after Moody was fined $1,500 for a Facebook post in which he revealed that the City Council in closed session was going to talk about the possible removal of the Confederate monument and how it relates to a similar case in another Virginia town. “Was informed that our Confederate War Monument will be discussed in closed session tonight as it pertains to the Danville Case. Appears that the issue of removing it is still in play,” Moody wrote. So far $1,850 has been raised in one day from 43 people, according to the website.
Virginian-Pilot

In a closed session of the City Council last month, Portsmouth Mayor Kenny Wright angrily argued that Councilman Bill Moody should be fined $1,500 for a Facebook post about the Confederate monument, going so far as to say he didn’t even care whether the council’s newly amended rule applied in this instance, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by The Virginian-Pilot. not fall in the guidelines of the rules that we said established that if you … discussed a closed session item we would fine you, but I think it merits the same type of penalty,” said Mayor Kenny Wright at the Dec. 8 closed session. The transcript also shows a council frustrated with leaks and aware of residents perceiving them as “the worst council ever.” “We give ourselves the black eyes, and we’re the ones that can make the adjustments and keep everything in this room,” Councilman Danny Meeks said.
Virginian-Pilot

Three members of the Newport News City Council are asking the city to start videotaping work sessions and make the videos available to the public. Regular council meetings, which start at 7 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month in the Council Chambers, are videotaped, played on television and available to view on the city website. Work sessions, held in the hours leading up to the regular meeting and where most discussion takes place, are not taped. Written minutes are kept of the work session and regular meeting and posted to the city website. Vice Mayor Rob Coleman requested earlier this week the city start videotaping work sessions. "I think a lot of important information is discussed in the work session," Coleman said. "They start earlier in the day, before people can get off work and have an opportunity to hear what we're talking about."
Daily Press

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones on Thursday asked the Virginia State Police to review questions raised by an audit that said the city’s public works director also oversaw the construction of a new campus for the church that Jones heads. Jones released the letter late Thursday. It follows a report last week by city auditor Umesh Dalal, who found that Emmanuel O. Adediran was supervising construction for First Baptist Church of South Richmond while on city time. “I welcome a third-party, independent review that isn’t complicated by my role as mayor and as senior pastor of the church in question,” Jones said in a letter to state police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty. “Your involvement can also assist the city auditor with respect to the direction his reviews may take.” In the letter, Jones said he requested the review “out of an abundance of caution.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Elected school board members in Roanoke County say they plan to voluntarily submit to background checks, fulfilling a campaign pledge made by new school board member Tom McCracken. McCracken, who was elected in November to represent the Catawba magisterial district, said last fall he would lobby the board to do so if elected because he was concerned about safety, given the total access school board members have to buildings throughout the district. Thursday, McCracken told the board he believed the board should hold itself to the same standards it requires of employees, who must pass a background check before they are employed.
Roanoke Times


Editorials/Columns

There once was a fellow named Norment
Whose rage at the press long lay dormant
Till he had them confined
In a cage that was signed
“CAUTION: DON’T FEED THE INFORMANT.”
All levity aside, what Norment did on Wednesday lacks any rational justification. It reeks of spite and small-mindedness, and inflicts an injury not just on the press, but on the news-reading public. If Norment will not listen to us, then we urge his colleagues to make him see reason, and convey this message: Mr. Norment, tear down this wall.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

For our mayor who moonlights as a clergyman, or vice versa, the wall that separates church and state also serves as a convenient shield against transparency and accountability.
Michael Paul Williams, Richmond Times-Dispatch

This month, Del. Rick Morris will offer a bill in the General Assembly making it a misdemeanor for a government employee to deliberately violate the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA governs our rights as Virginia citizens to access government records and to attend certain government meetings. As an advocate of government transparency, I applaud Del. Morris's willingness to hold public servants accountable under the law. As a lawyer with significant experience enforcing my clients' FOIA right in the courts, though, I am concerned the proposed law will make FOIA less effective, not more. When government employees are sued for violating FOIA, judges are often sympathetic to them. Judges will be reluctant to say specific conduct violates FOIA where there is the specter of criminal charges.
Andrew Bodoh, Daily Press