Transparency News 3/9/16
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
State and Local Stories
At the helm of the Virginia Press Association, Ginger Stanley has fought attempts by politicians to bar access to public records and to conduct business behind closed doors. But after nearly three decades, she plans to retire from her position as the group’s executive director in June. A national search is underway to find her replacement. As in this General Assembly session, she’s taken issue with multiple bills concerning public notices placed in newspapers by local governments. Stanley also lobbied against a bill proposed by state Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Stafford, which would have removed the names of public employees from salary databases. The legislation, known as Senate Bill 202, died in the House late last month.
Style Weekly
A judge has sealed records in the federal government’s case against Beam Brothers Trucking, which is suspected of falsifying the logs of its drivers. On Jan. 27, attorneys for the company, which is based in Rockingham County, filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg asking a judge to seal documents related to the case. Judge Michael Urbanski sealed the records the same day. The federal government suspects the company of falsifying the logbooks that document a driver’s hours behind the wheel. “Public disclosure of the settlement negotiations would cause irreparable harm to BBT,” the motion states. “The settlement discussions include allegations that could substantially damage BBT’s relationships with its creditors, customers, suppliers and employees.” The motion also states that revealing information could taint a potential jury pool.
Daily News Record
In September, the commonwealth’s high court ruled that the Department of Corrections did not need to partially release materials related to Virginia’s execution procedures because portions were exempt from disclosure. Justice William C. Mims, in a dissent, wrote that the ruling could lead government agencies to deliberately include exempt information in their records solely to shield those records from public view. Transparency advocates said they shared that concern. Though neither the bill’s sponsor nor other advocates could point to examples of government agencies using the court ruling to withhold entire records.
Washington Post
National Stories
The Obama administration Monday unveiled a new open data portal that melds tools from various federal and local government agencies to help communities find ways to improve their residents' lives. The Opportunity Project is "grounded in the president’s background as a community organizer," said Aden van Noppen, a special adviser within the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, adding it was a form of "participatory development" based on the principle that "people are experts on their own lives."
State Scoop
Editorials/Columns
Good-government advocates often have chastised the General Assembly for disposing of legislation through unrecorded voice votes, which make it easy to throttle a measure without leaving any fingerprints. The advocates have occasion to do so once again. This year the House of Delegates has used the technique to kill several gay-rights measures, including one that ought to be beyond dispute. That measure, sponsored by state Sen. Adam Ebbin, would have prohibited discrimination in public employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Refusing to accord gay and lesbian citizens equal dignity is bad enough. But to do so without even the courtesy of a recorded vote is gutless. For years, LGBT citizens came out of the closet despite the risk of family rejection, public opprobrium and employer reprisal. It doesn’t speak well of state lawmakers that they’re too timid to do the same.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Sometimes, lo and behold, your legislature actually gets it right. So it was in recent weeks, when the General Assembly killed off several ill-conceived bills that would have closed off public access to crucial records in Virginia. One particularly wrongheaded bill, sponsored by Sen. John A. Cosgrove Jr., R-Chesapeake, would have made secret the names of all state and local police officers, transforming these law enforcement agencies into anonymous enterprises. Cleary, this bill was a leap in the wrong direction. The nation is moving to more transparency and oversight of its police forces, not less. Though the bill passed 25-15 in the Senate, it was killed off in the House of Delegates subcommittee that deals with open-records laws. We credit that committee, led by Del. James M. LeMunyon, R-Chantilly — also chairman of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council — with doing the public a great service by this action.
Daily Press
