Transparency News 12/2/14

Transparency News

December 2, 2014

State and Local Stories

An ethics panel created by Gov. Terry McAuliffe is recommending that state lawmakers not be able accept meals, trips and entertainment worth more than $250 from lobbyists and others. The panel sent interim recommendations to the governor Monday that also includes creating a new commission tasked with investigating possible wrongdoing by public officials and prohibiting members of state boards and commissions from voting on matters where a conflict of interest exists. "These recommendations represent our collective effort to provide the governor with realistic and meaningful reforms," said former Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a co-chairman of the ethics commission.
Daily Progress

National Stories

Washington joins a small number of states, including Texas, Maine and Florida, that require elected officials to be trained in open government laws. The aim is to improve disclosure and curtail public records lawsuits, which often result in taxpayers footing the bill.  “Training is essential. The more education we can have on the government side, the better,” said David Cuillier, director of the University of Arizona School of Journalism and chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Freedom of Information Committee. Open government advocates say that training, such as learning how to comply with public records requests and what the penalties are for failing to do so, is critical because it strengthens citizens’ access to information and improves government accountability. 
The Pew Charitable Trusts

Allegations against top officials at the State Department were devastating and had to be suppressed,so the agency’s inspector general quickly obliged, delivering what amounted to a cover-up of a cover-up. What happened at the State Department is not unusual, recent disclosures show. Inspectors general are supposed to be the independent watchdogs within federal departments and agencies, exposing waste and corruption while protecting the whistleblowers who raise charges of wrongdoing and inefficiency. In the past two years, IGs at a half-dozen Cabinet-level agencies have been accused of retaliating against whistleblowers or softening their findings to protect top department executives or the White House. Damning information about high-level misconduct has been scrubbed from recent IG reports at the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, Interior and a slew of independent agencies, according to congressional reports and outside watchdog groups.
Washington Examiner

As the Supreme Court on Monday tried to puzzle out what threats may be prosecuted as crimes,Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. cited an unlikely source: the rapper Eminem. Treading gingerly, the chief justice quoted vivid lyrics from “ ’97 Bonnie and Clyde,” in which Eminem seems to threaten to drown his wife. “Could that be prosecuted?” Chief Justice Roberts asked Michael R. Dreeben, a government lawyer. Mr. Dreeben said no and started to say something about context. Chief Justice Roberts interrupted. “Because Eminem said it instead of somebody else?” he asked. The case before the justices also involved threatening rap lyrics arising from domestic troubles. Monday’s argument was mostly about calibrating and articulating the right level of intent, and it seemed that many of the justices were looking for something between mere negligence and purposeful conduct. The court could ground such a ruling in the First Amendment or in interpreting the federal law on threats, though the latter seemed more likely.
New York Times

A monthly prison journal has filed a lawsuit challenging an Indiana prison's decision to deny inmate subscribers access to the publication, which focuses on prisoners' rights and analysis of prisons, jails and other detention facilities. Prison Legal News has sent at least 90 issues of the journal to subscribers at the New Castle Correctional Facility since February. But according to a federal complaint, which alleges violation of the journal's First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, several inmate subscribers did not receive copies of the journal. According to the complaint, prisoners weren't allowed to receive copies of the journal because it contains advertisements from companies that provide pen-pal services to prisoners. The Indiana Department of Correction has a policy prohibiting prisoners from participating in pen-pal services, according to a memo sent to inmates by Butts' executive assistant. The memo was filed in court along with the complaint.
USA Today
 

Editorials/Columns

An impartial panel to review gifts to lawmakers and public officials is one of the best ideas going for curtailing conflict of interest — and potentially saving officials from themselves. And so it’s highly encouraging that two state senators from opposite sides of the political spectrum have joined to propose such a bill for Virginia. Virginia is one of only nine states with no ethics commission. That’s why the proposal from Sen. J. Chapman Petersen, D-Fairfax City and Sen. Richard H. Stuart, R-Stafford, is noteworthy. As contrasted with Mr. McAuliffe’s commission, which is oriented toward research and toward reform recommendations, the advisory council proposed by the senators would be permanent and prescriptive.
Daily Progress

Among the public, there is a widespread view that all in politics and government are corrupt. But as ever in politics and government, there are few blacks or whites; most things fall in between. There is a great danger to our democracy if we label as corrupt activities those that involve normal decision-making and operations matters that might not be to the liking of ideological or partisan opponents. A current case involves a public-university president who is being investigated for alleged misuse of his credit card and for some appointments that may not have complied with all the processes required. This person runs a billion-dollar enterprise; he needs to be nimble with strategic decisions. His opponents want him to eat as cheaply as possible, stay in fleapits and appoint their cronies. To use a corruption allegation to sort out these managerial issues is an abuse. There are other managerial remedies. The landscape of public-service delivery often does not distinguish among corruption, misconduct and maladministration. Where there is fraud and embezzlement, there is a clear criminal case to be made. Where there is laziness, poor service, or even bullying and harassment, there are managerial and administrative remedies. The real problem comes in maladministration or inefficiency, where there is not enough bang for the taxpayer's buck.
Adam Graycar, Governing