Transparency News 9/18/17

Monday, September 18, 2017



State and Local Stories

Richmond finance officials still have not submitted two filings due to the state as part of the city’s annual financial reporting requirements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, the state auditor of public accounts told Richmond City Council members Friday. Delinquent is the city’s single audit, which details its use of federal money. It was due to the federal government in March for the previous fiscal year; the city is required to provide it to the state, as well. Also late is its comparative report transmittal form, which formats certain data from the city’s comprehensive annual financial report so the state can compare localities. It was due last November, said Martha S. Mavredes, Virginia’s auditor of public accounts.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

We’re still here. That’s the message from Educational Media Company at Virginia Tech two years after the campus newspaper and other student media entities found themselves in danger of closure. EMCVT is a private, nonprofit organization that produces five student-run media products for the Tech community under a 2016 contract with the university, including The Collegiate Times newspaper, The Bugle yearbook, VTTV television programming, WUVT radio broadcasting and Silhouette Literary & Art Magazine. The company faced financial trouble and staff turmoil in 2015. Over the past two years, a new board of directors made up of alumni have restructured the organization and taken over financial management, which for many years had been controlled by students. The board negotiated an updated contract with Tech. The previous contract had been in force since 1997. Under the new contract, which was obtained by The Roanoke Times through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, the university increased its financial contribution to student media products from $70,000 a year to $80,000 in 2016 and $90,000 this year.
The Roanoke Times


National Stories
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Michael Giudicessi, a partner in the Des Moines office of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP was selected as the 2017 inductee into the “Heroes of the 50 States: State Open Government Hall of Fame.” Each year, the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), in collaboration with the Society of Professional Journalists, solicits nominations for First Amendment “heroes” whose deeds, actions and achievements merit designation and induction into this institution.  The intent is to recognize individuals whose lifetime commitment to citizen access, open government and freedom of information has left a significant legacy at the state and local level.  Mr. Giudicessi was nominated by the Iowa Freedom of Information Council. “For most of the Council’s 41-year history, Michael has been an important voice in our efforts driven by his passion for the cause of government transparency,” said Randy Evans, IFIC’s executive director. “Over that time, having the services of one of the most skillful First Amendment lawyers in the Midwest –in the courts, in our training programs, and in the halls of government-- have cost the Council exactly zero.”
NFOIC

The House of Representatives is taking legal action to make sure that federal agencies don’t release congressional records to the public through the Freedom of Information Act. The move, which came Friday evening in a lawsuit demanding access to discussions about health care reform between the Trump administration and Congress, threatens to cut off a mechanism liberal watchdog groups were using to gain insight into closed-door negotiations on a variety of policy issues.
Politico

A review by The Associated Press and numerous state press associations shows that lawmakers across the country have debated dozens of bills that would close or limit public access to government records and meetings, including two measures that ultimately failed in New Hampshire. One of the bills would have exempted building plans and construction drawings connected to a local building permit from the state's right-to-know law. It was aimed at protecting security data included in some building plans, but opponents argued it was too broad and would completely deny public access to the records.
McClatchy

An Oregon parent wanted details about school employees getting paid to stay home. A retired educator sought data about student performance in Louisiana. And college journalists in Kentucky requested documents about the investigations of employees accused of sexual misconduct. Instead, they got something else: sued by the agencies they had asked for public records. Government bodies are increasingly turning the tables on citizens who seek public records that might be embarrassing or legally sensitive. Instead of granting or denying their requests, a growing number of school districts, municipalities and state agencies have filed lawsuits against people making the requests — taxpayers, government watchdogs and journalists who must then pursue the records in court at their own expense.
McClatchy

The checkerboard of public access in Texas courts was the focus of a conference on freedom of information earlier this week that included a bureau chief, a local clerk, a legislator and a state high court clerk. In the face of political headwinds from elected court clerks, who see a goldmine in the records, the Texas Supreme Court clerk is now moving to unify public access throughout the Texas courts. A key part of the campaign is the engagement by the high court’s Office of Court Administration of a Plano-based tech company to develop a statewide online database called “re:SearchTX.” Earlier this year, a core of clerks joined by a few Texas legislators tried to push a bill through the Texas Legislature that would have preserved the current balkanized system. But the bill died in the state Senate after opposition from the high court, the press and others.
Courthouse News

Government travel expenses for President Barack Obama and his family totaled $105,662,975, according to records obtained from the Secret Service by a government watchdog group. One trip to Martha’s Vineyard, in August 2016, racked up $2,512,380.88 in hotel bills, said Judicial Watch, which obtained the records via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit.
World Tribune
 
Turns out, officials in the Maryland city of College Park failed to pass a charter amendment that would have allowed non-citizens to vote in municipal elections. The city made the announcement Friday, after officials realized that the amendment failed to get enough votes, when it was initially believed it had passed. For most council actions, a simple majority of members present is needed for passage. But the city charter was changed in June to require approval by six members to change the charter. The vote Tuesday night was 4-3 with one abstention. The city’s mayor and council members issued a statement Friday announcing the mistake “with a considerable degree of embarrassment and regret.”
Washington Times

A D.C. Superior Court judge Friday ordered prosecutors to provide additional details about how they will sort through data from a website linked to Inauguration Day protests without violating users’ privacy and First Amendment rights. Judge Robert E. Morin last month ruled that Los Angeles-based tech company DreamHost must provide authorities with emails and user information of individuals who requested information from the anti-Trump website Disruptj20.org. Prosecutors sought the details in connection with their investigation into violent Inauguration Day riots.
Washington Post

The Trump administration brushed aside a Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) request for the logs of visitors at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, only releasing a small portion of those visitors on Friday. The Justice Department only turned over names of staff who accompanied the Japanese prime minister on his trip to the resort in February. The department claimed in a letter on Friday that the rest of the names will be kept secret, a decision that will be challenged by ethics groups.
The Hill