Transparency News 3/2/16

 SUNSHINE WEEK IS COMING....MARCH 13-19 

State and Local Stories

In case you missed it on our monthly newsletter yesterday, here’s an update on the legislative session with respect to access (and primarily FOIA) bills.


The first conclusion to a four-year federal probe of sexual violence at the University of Virginia was issued in secret, and it stood for just four days. Among its findings was that UVa “abdicated” its legal responsibility to act on reports of sexual violence within the school’s powerful Greek system and took a “hands off” approach, relying instead on fraternities to police their own membership in cases of alleged rape and other sexual assaults. It also detailed numerous accounts of alleged sexual assault on the Charlottesville campus, tallied more than 150 cases of possible sexual harassment or sexual violence during a six-year period and said the university failed to identify and address a “sexually hostile environment.” That stern criticism of Virginia’s flagship public university was part of a 39-page letter to UVa officials presenting the findings of a U.S. Education Department Office For Civil Rights investigation that began in June 2011. The Aug. 31, 2015, letter came amid weeks of feverish maneuvering behind the scenes, with Virginia’s governor and two U.S. senators lobbying on behalf of the school amid concern about the effects of a lashing from the federal agency. Then, the letter was buried. A senior education official withdrew it on Sept. 4, after the university said it was riddled with inaccuracies. It remained secret until The Washington Post recently obtained a copy through the federal Freedom of Information Act.
Daily Progress

National Stories
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When he first became chief clerk of the Missouri House in 2006, Adam Crumbliss’ view of Missouri’s Sunshine Law likely wasn’t much different than most. “Legislators are part of government,” he said. “Government records are open. So I assumed legislative records should be open.” Over time, as he’s studied the issue further, his opinion evolved. He eventually came around to the interpretation championed by the House and Senate for years: The Missouri Sunshine Law, designed to cast light onto the workings of government, doesn’t apply to individual state representatives and senators or their staff. Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments in a lawsuit that has the potential to either reject or affirm that interpretation.
Kansas City Star