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“The time you get with the board is valuable in groups of two, but also it’s an expensive use of time where we’re using staff resources.”
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This morning, a bill to roll back the exemption for donors who give to universities and their foundations was sent to the FOIA Council at the request of Del. Bulova, the bill’s patron, after he secured confirmation from the higher ed lobbyists that they support the concept. Before acting, Bulova consulted with VCOG and many academics, and VCOG urged all parties to attend FOIA Council meetings where discussion of the bill will be held.
The Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office will have to watch more than 14,000 hours of footage a year when city police arm 450 of their officers with body cameras. The office calculated it would need seven additional pairs of eyes to review the tape for prosecutorial evidence. Most prosecutors’ salaries are covered by the state, with localities able to give supplemental pay at their discretion. But the state only pays for so many positions, and the General Assembly hasn’t funded the number of employees recommended by a state board. And prosecutors don’t just have to watch the videos — they also have to redact certain footagethat contains confidential informants, nudity or children, for example. Michael Jay, a House Appropriations committee legislative analyst, said it could take one to three hours to redact a half-hour video.
The Virginian-Pilot
A bill amending the Virginia Freedom of Information Act sponsored by State Senator Mark D. Obenshain (R-26th D) was approved unanimously by a subcommittee of the Senate Rules Committee and will now go to the full committee for consideration. After that, it will go to the full Senate for a floor vote. If enacted, SB 1430 would amend the training requirements of FOIA and would require the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council to provide, and local elected officials to complete, training on the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill requires local elected officials to complete such training at least once every two years while they are in office. The bill also eliminates the three-day notice requirement for a hearing on a petition for mandamus or injunction alleging a violation of the Act, and contains other technical amendments.
The Blue Ridge Independent
NOTE: The bill will be heard by the full committee today. You can follow along here.
Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meetings can last upwards of eight hours between action items, work sessions, public hearings and closed sessions. But behind the scenes, the board also has been gathering with staff to learn more about what members will be discussing in public. In January, the board voted to move its meetings to the first and third Wednesdays of the month, instead of the current first and second Wednesdays, reserving the second Wednesday of the month for “as needed” work sessions and closed meetings. The board also occasionally holds two-on-two meetings with county staff members to get briefed on upcoming topics.Sometimes, when there was a pressing issue that needed to be discussed with the board in the two to three weeks between meetings, board members would meet with staff in two-on-two meetings. Board members say those meetings help them ask more in-depth questions before the public meeting in a way that doesn’t circumvent the transparency of public meetings. These meetings do not violate Virginia’s open-meeting law. But there can be a trade-off to using two-on-two meetings, County Executive Jeff Richardson said. “The time you get with the board is valuable in groups of two, but also it’s an expensive use of time where we’re using staff resources and asking the board for more face time after they’ve already put in a really busy week and a busy month, and we’re sensitive to all of that.”
The Daily Progress
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