Transparency News 4/13/16
State and Local Stories
After a (too) long hiatus, VCOG is happy to announce the return of its records management and FOIA workshop: Thursday, May 19, from 9:30 to 12:30 at the Library of Virginia.
This three-hour course will provide government employees who manage state and local public records updates and insights by professionals at the Library, the FOIA Council and the City of Alexandria.
The cost is $15 and is open to anyone, though most useful to government employees. A certification of completion will be offered.
Click here for details and to register.
It’s Thomas Jefferson’s birthday today. To celebrate, take a moment to look back on the Thomas Jefferson Center’s Muzzle Awards. The 2016 awards will be posted next week.
Economic development and concerns about back-door dealings were two major topics tackled by Hampton city council and mayoral candidates while they flexed their Phoebus bona fides at a forum Tuesday night. One question, which came from an audience member, asked what council members can do about the reputation of the city as a place where deals are done behind closed doors. Several current council members conceded that the body does have a lot of long closed meetings, but defended the practice as important to protect the city's interests.
Daily Press
Shenandoah County leaders met in closed session Tuesday to talk about the School Board’s lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Office. The School Board sued Sheriff Timothy C. Carter in Shenandoah County Circuit Court demanding that the law enforcement agency release footage recorded on a bus that purportedly shows an assault involving student athletes. Supervisors voted 4-2 on the motion to go into closed session. Supervisors Cindy Bailey and Marsha Shruntz voted against going into closed session. Chairman Conrad Helsley, Vice Chairman Richard Walker and Supervisors Steve Baker and John R. “Dick” Neese voted to approve the motion. The motion specifically cites the section of the Freedom of Information Act that allows the board to go into closed session for “consultation with legal counsel and briefings by staff members or consultants pertaining to actual or probable litigation, where such consultation or briefing in open meeting would adversely affect the negotiating or litigating posture of the public body; and consultation with legal counsel employed or retained by a public body regarding specific legal matters requiring the provision of legal advice by such counsel.” Alan Gernhardt, staff attorney for the FOIA Advisory Council, said Tuesday that the board would need to have an interest in the litigation to use the first part of the section for the exemption. The second part allows the board to talk to the attorney about specific legal matters but members do not need to have a direct interest in the topic.
Northern Virginia Daily
National Stories
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed into law on Monday a bill allowing athletic departments of public schools in the state, including the University of Georgia, up to 90 business days to respond to open records requests. Senate Bill 323 had an 11th hour house amendment concerning athletics that increased the time to respond from only three business days. “This is an economic development bill and the governor supported the inclusion of the language regarding athletics,” Jen Talaber Ryan, deputy chief of staff for communications for the governor, said via email. “It simply levels the playing field with other states that also have strong athletic programs like Georgia.” Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said before the revised bill passed in the Senate: “I hope it brings us a national championship is what I hope.”
Athens Banner-Herald
Several high ranking San Francisco officials are using an encrypted messaging app to communicate that allows the text to self-destruct so they cannot be retrieved even with a court order, according to a report published Thursday. Supervisor Aaron Peskin confirmed that the city leaders use the app called Telegram following a Business Insider report quoting an article published on the on-line information service The Information. “It’s certainly not being used by us to evade public records requests. It’s actually about efficiency, and is a very convenient application to have a group discussion. But I am very aware of the law so I don’t use it to communicate with a majority of the board of supervisors or with a majority of any committee that I sit on. I’m quite clear on that,” Peskin said. The app gained notoriety after it found on the telephone of one of the ISIS terrorist involved in the Paris massacre.
CBS SF Bay Area
Bill Clinton's presidential library released more than 450 pages of documents related to Donald Trump on Tuesday, papers with no major revelations but some tidbits that include a media question about the prospect of a Trump presidential campaign back in 2000. In what appears to be a transcript of an interview, then-President Clinton is asked about reports that celebrities like Trump, Cybill Shepherd, Jesse Ventura, and Warren Beatty were reportedly considering presidential bids, and whether the office was demeaned by the impeachment and Monica Lewinsky episodes.
USA Today
Privacy and civil liberties groups begrudgingly announced they were OK with changes to an email privacy bill heading for a House Judiciary Committee vote. Ahead of a vote, the widely supported bill went through a series of small changes, which the American Civil Liberties Union called an unnecessary sacrifice to advance the bill, which has been stalled for years.
The Hill
