Transparency News 8/21/17

Monday, August 21, 2017

 

State and Local Stories

On this Eclipse Day, try out VCOG’s Sunshine Playlists.
Part 1
Part 2

At an informational session for lobbyists about the layout of the Pocahontas Building — home to the General Assembly committee rooms and offices for the next four years while a new General Assembly Building is built — the clerks of the Senate and House confirmed that meetings of the standing committees will be livestreamed. The Senate clerk indicated that most subcommittee meetings would be, too, while the House clerk was not sure how subcommittees (the House has dozens of subcommittees) would be handled.

Dealing with several significant legal issues has led to a huge spike in the lawyer fees that Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport has had to dish out in recent months. So far this year, the airport has racked up $320,297 in legal fees, with the total expected to soon top $400,000. That's higher than the previous seven years put together. Between 2010 and 2016, the Peninsula Airport Commission paid $316,345 for legal fees — an average of just over $45,000 annually — according to records the Daily Press obtained under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Daily Press



National Stories
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A federal judge ruled said Friday that President Trump’s personal tax returns could not be released through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), reports The Hill. The Electronic Privacy Information Center launched a lawsuit against the IRS earlier this year after the group requested the records, citing FOIA. The group sought Mr. Trump’s personal tax returns from 2010 to now, but the court said personal tax forms are confidential and can only be obtained if Mr. Trump gave his permission.
Washington Times

A Chambersburg (Pennsylvania) woman's fight to have a mural painted on a downtown retaining wall may have broken new ground in establishing that what appears on a public official's Facebook page is subject to the state's Right to Know Law. The state Office of Open Records on Wednesday issued a final determination granting Noel Purdy her request for the Borough of Chambersburg to provide her with the posts and associated comment threads, including deleted comments, that appeared on Mayor Darren Brown's official Facebook page where he identifies himself as a public figure.
PennLive

In November 2009, a former senior executive with Lovelace Inc. — one of New Mexico’s largest health care providers — filed a secret court case claiming the company had cheated the state Medicaid program out of about $300 million across nearly two decades. Duke Rodriguez claimed Lovelace had collected state gross receipts taxes from Medicaid for services provided to program recipients, even though Lovelace was exempt from paying gross receipts taxes to the state, meaning it just pocketed the tax money from Medicaid.  Rodriguez filed the case under the Fraud Against Taxpayers Act on behalf of himself and the state. At the same time, the Attorney General’s Office repeatedly sought and was granted court orders to keep Rodriguez’s complaint sealed from public view, saying it needed more time to investigate and that Lovelace would be more willing to negotiate if the proceedings were secret. As part of the agreements to settle Rodriguez’s complaint, the Attorney General’s Office agreed not to disclose the case to the news media.
Santa Fe New Mexican


Editorials/Columns


Sometimes, even when something works in your favor, everyone still loses. That’s certainly the case with Abingdon Town Council’s recent FOIA violation. On Tuesday, Abingdon Town Council, three council members and the town attorney were found in violation of the Freedom of Information Act. A letter sent by town attorney Deborah Icenhour on behalf of the three council members — Mayor Cathy Lowe, Vice Mayor Rick Humphreys and Councilman Bob Howard — to a circuit court judge requesting “aide and guidance” on another Town Council member, Cindy Patterson, failed to satisfy open meetings law. The decision to draft the letter didn’t emerge from a public meeting, hence excluding public comment, and even excluded both Patterson and another Town Council member, Wayne Craig. Like many readers, we’re pleased with the ruling — it’s a clear win for transparency. It’s no matter that the individuals were not given fines; the symbolism of a disinterested party’s decision does enough to validate the ethical oversight that the three Town Council members continue to deny.
Herald Courier

Portsmouth City leaders will discuss on Monday whether they can prohibit racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan from holding rallies or protests in their community. Councilman Mark Whitaker asked that the discussion be added to the agenda. His concerns are an understandable reaction to the violence last week in Charlottesville surrounding the “Unite the Right” protest by white supremacists and other groups at a city park formerly named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. But Monday’s session should transition quickly from the question about whether government can ban racist groups from holding events on public property — the clear answer is no — to what cities can do to balance important First Amendment protections with necessary safeguards for people and city property.
Virginian-Pilot

It’s understood that police departments often require secrecy in their work, without which they could not pursue investigations of criminal activity or even follow through on some of their more mundane efforts to protect people and encourage law and order. Police departments, like other government entities, are paid by the public to serve the public, and the police wield great authority in doing so. Police officers often put themselves in dangerous situations and often deserve our praise. But how a department conducts itself is of great public interest, and police leaders and elected leaders should not hide behind a nebulous claim of a right to privacy.
Providence Journal