Transparency News 1/11/16

Monday, January 11, 2016

State and Local Stories

A court decision that lets officials keep entire documents secret and a state advisory council opinion that says access to police video depends on whether a local or state officer recorded it will be key open government issues before the General Assembly this year. But court cases will likely keep the legislature from tackling two major Freedom of Information Act issues that came up in recent months: Access to databases, like one maintained by the Virginia Supreme Court Office of the Executive Security tracking circuit court cases, that compile records from several entities; and the handling of police surveillance records, including license plate readers.
Daily Press

Norfolk City Treasurer and former Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot was arrested Friday on federal political corruption charges alleging he accepted almost a half-million dollars in kickbacks while serving on the City Council. Burfoot, who was elected treasurer in November 2013 after serving on the council for more than a decade, is accused of using his influence on the council to funnel work and favors to local businessmen. In all, Burfoot faces eight felony counts, including perjury, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right. The indictment references at least $475,000 in kickbacks and bribes Burfoot allegedly received between 2005 and early 2011 while representing Norfolk’s Ward 3.
Virginian-Pilot

An unauthorized investigation aimed at uncovering possible voter fraud might cost Prince William County Electoral Board Chairman Guy Anthony “Tony” Guiffré his job. The Virginia State Board of Elections took a rare vote Friday to initiate steps to remove Guiffré from the county electoral board over allegations he compromised voter privacy and might have broken state and federal laws. The allegations stem from his efforts to determine whether absentee ballots were improperly requested for the Nov. 3 election. The three-member state board, which includes two Democrats and one Republican, voted along party lines during a meeting in Richmond to ask Attorney General Mark Herring (D) to begin the removal proceedings. He is accused of exposing voters’ personal information – Social Security numbers and birth dates -- and making unredacted copies of sensitive voting materials, including voter-registration forms and absentee ballot return envelopes. Doing so is a Class 5 felony, according to state code.
Inside NOVA

Newly elected James City County Supervisor Sue Sadler and Board Chairman Michael Hipple have a fundamentally different view of public comment at Board of Supervisors meetings. Hipple said he wants to see public comment more focused on local issues, ones that can be tackled by the board. He said he doesn't like to be bombarded with news about national debates, ones that he sees as beyond his ability to control and not pertinent to county business. Sadler said she sees the value in national conversations and thinks in many cases, public comment on them is a reflection of their local impact. The supervisors' views were showcased at Monday's organizational meeting that may set the stage for further debate over public meetings this year.
Virginia Gazette

During the past 15 years, there’s been one constant at Petersburg Public Schools: turnover. The system, with about 4,300 students and one accredited school out of seven, has hired and lost seven superintendents, six directors of special education, five directors of staff development and six finance directors in that time. In all, Petersburg schools have seen more than 50 top-level administrators come and go since 2000.
Richmond Times-Dispatch


National Stories

Fifty years after Congress passed a law opening most government records to public scrutiny, the House is expected Tuesday to take up the most important open records overhaul since 2007. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats are expected to support the legislation. Republicans in the House, frustrated by what they call the State Department’s incomplete and slow response to inquiries about Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, have complained that the open records process “is broken” and that the Obama administration has ignored the law. Democrats, while defending the administration, agree that the records law needs strengthening. The bill already has 54 co-sponsors, including 25 Democrats, making it one of the few pieces of truly bipartisan legislation expected to pass this Congress. Hillary Clinton at a rally at the State Historical Society in Des Moines on Monday. The State Department released another cache of Mrs. Clinton’s emails early Friday. For thousands of journalists, historians and executives who file requests every year for government records only to see their requests ignored, delayed for years or refused altogether, the changes cannot come soon enough.
New York Times

A Republican state lawmaker in Missouri has filed a measure that would list sex between lobbyists and lawmakers or their staff as gifts that must be reported to the state ethics commission. Rep. Bart Korman, R-High Hill, filed the measure Wednesday, the first day of the 2016 legislative session where leaders have vowed to reform the state's ethics laws. The emphasis on ethics reform follows two scandals last year that led to legislative resignations. Missouri is the only state in the country with no campaign contribution limits, no lobbyist gift limits and no laws governing when a lawmaker can become a lobbyist. Korman said the bill would "help create integrity, accountability and transparency." "If an activity like that occurred, at least citizens would know about it," Korman said.
Governing

The Democratic Party, eager to dig up damaging material on the GOP before this year’s elections, is flooding the Pentagon with public records requests on a host of White House hopefuls and vulnerable Republican senators, according to documents reviewed by POLITICO. The party is homing in on current or former officeholders like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush and John Kasich, as well as former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, who previously held a perch on a Pentagon advisory board. Democrats so far have left out GOP front-runner Donald Trump and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who haven’t held public office and so never had constituents affected by the Defense Department’s military or contracting issues.
Politico

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government now has on its website databases of state and county public records custodians. For each county or state agency, the databases generally include the name of the public records custodian, the address for Inspection of Public Records requests, the phone number and email of the custodian, as well as the cost for obtaining copies of records. The databases can be downloaded at www.nmfog.org/records-custodians. The databases also indicate whether information about requesting public records is posted on the county or state's website and whether the public agency has posted any forms for use in connection with IPRA requests.
Las Cruces Sun-News

The improving accessibility of open data is providing insights into the Colorado River basin’s 16-year drought, thanks to a recently launched, interactive digital tool from the U.S. Interior Department. The “Drought in the Colorado River Basin” portal details the state of the watershed that supplies 1 in 10 Americans and 5.5 million acres of land with water, despite reservoirs at about 50 percent capacity. The basin spans seven states and is one focus of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Open Water Data Initiative to quantify the use of national water resources. “Projects like this one show the power of open data to help us better understand our resource challenges,” Interior Department Deputy Secretary Michael Conno said in a December announcement. “By enabling us to see the complex challenges in the Colorado River Basin visually, use of this website will help us devise timely actions to build resilience to the drought, spurring innovation along the way.”
Route Fifty


Editorials/Columns

THE INDICTMENT of Norfolk Treasurer and former Vice Mayor Anthony Burfoot represents the thud of another shoe falling from the scandal surrounding Tivest Development and Construction and the Bank of the Commonwealth. The case stems from Burfoot’s relationship with Curtis and Dwight Etheridge, who ran Tivest. In all, the feds say that Burfoot received more than $425,000 in kickbacks and bribes between 2005 and 2011. The case against Burfoot has procedural miles to go before it is resolved. In the meantime, Burfoot has a responsibility to the people of the city he represented then and now to step aside until the charges are resolved.
Virginian-Pilot

Like every other American, Norfolk’s city treasurer enjoys the presumption of innocence. But the eight federal criminal charges lodged against him Friday are so grave that it is hard to see how he can retain the trust of the public until they are resolved. And Burfoot – who is in charge of collecting Norfolk’s taxes – holds an elected office that demands the highest level of integrity and honesty. The feds allege that Burfoot directed at least one city worker to lie in communications with The Pilot and that in 2014, “during ongoing FBI and federal grand jury investigations, Burfoot repeatedly discussed with an employee of the Treasurer’s Office how the employee would respond falsely to certain inquiries.” How can citizens be expected to write tax checks to a man accused of such chicanery?
Kerry Dougherty, Virginian-Pilot