Thursday
February 16, 2023
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state & local news stories
VCOG’s annual conference
FOI Day — March 16
Charlottesville
Info and registration here
A coalition of national and regional newspapers have piled into a legal brief attacking Virginia’s two-road system of access to court records where one privileged group can review the records online while the press and public are cut off. Virginia’s court clerks sell access to court records online to pad their budgets which are initially set by the Legislature of the Virginia Commonwealth. They allow lawyers to sign up and then give access to government officials for free. But they deny access to news reporters and all others. The Virginia Attorney General is defending the policy with the argument that internet bots might look for private information if access is opened up. The brief by the Reporter Committee for Freedom of the Press was filed late Friday in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals which has jurisdiction over Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia. The coalition joining in the brief includes the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, The Washington Post and The New York Times as well as regional news groups such as The Virginian-Pilot, Virginia Press Association and the North Carolina Press Association.
Courthouse News Service
A transparency bill that would have required Virginia government agencies to disclose the names of employees using taxpayer-backed credit cards failed in a Republican-controlled House of Delegates subcommittee Tuesday. The legislation, backed by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, was pitched as a response to what critics say are overly broad anti-fraud measures state financial officials began emphasizing a few years ago. Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said her pro-transparency group saw “several examples” of agencies redacting both names and account numbers from credit card statements. In an interview, Surovell said he was surprised to see Republicans block the bill after getting bipartisan support for FOIA bills he filed earlier in his career when he served in the House. “My strongest supporters of that were conservatives in the Tea Party who were very sensitive about the transparency of how we spend taxpayer dollars,” he said.
Virginia Mercury
Portsmouth residents serving on several of the city’s boards and commissions will no longer receive a monthly stipend for their participation. The City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to revoke a resolution it passed in 2021 that granted a $100 stipend per meeting to members of the Planning Commission, Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority, Economic Development Authority, and Port and Industrial Commission. The idea was to help offset expenses such as child care or missing work for those who participate. With 28 members serving across the four boards, the city’s cost is up to $33,600 a year, which comes out of the general fund. Each of the boards meet monthly. Portsmouth resident Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky was opposed to revoking the stipends, arguing a possible benefit to the payments is more participation among young people. He asked the council to not only keep the stipends but extend them to all boards. He said the council should establish a pay scale that would more accurately reflect how much members lose by attending meetings, adding that $100 felt like an arbitrary amount.
The Virginian-Pilot
Disagreements over decorum and the evening’s agenda during Tuesday’s regular Lynchburg City Council meeting turned into an argument between two councilors, resulting in the city’s mayor and vice mayor raising the possibility of disciplinary action. Mayor Stephanie Reed says that as council entered a closed session — off-limits to the public and the press — near the end of the meeting, Ward III Councilor Jeff Helgeson told her, “You’re the stupidest person I’ve ever seen.” Reed replied, “I’m sorry?” — a response that can be heard on an online video of the council meeting, just before the audio cuts off. After the cameras were turned off, but before the news media left the council chambers, Reed asked Helgeson, “How dare you?” to which Helgeson responded, “How dare you, young lady?”
The News & Advance
After Purcellville Town Council voted on Friday in a special closed session to accept the resignation of Town Manager David Mekarski, it turns out the terms of the resignation were not mutually accepted by Mekarski and the town, leading Council to instead vote to terminate his employment contract. Town Council held a closed session Tuesday night to discuss the matter and take “further action.” In a motion read by Vice Mayor Chris Bertaut, it stated that the council elected to terminate the town manager’s employment contract in accordance with its terms.
Loudoun Times-Mirror
stories of national interest
A national sports journalist is suing West Point and a separate athletics organization for records that would shed light on their sports programs. Daniel Libit accused the United States Military Academy and the Army West Point Athletic Association of violating the federal Freedom of Information Act, in a complaint filed Feb. 1 in U.S. District Court in White Plains, for allegedly denying access to public records. West Point has taken the position that the records are not subject to disclosure because they belong to the athletic association, according to the complaint. The association claims that it is not subject to the public records law because it is a private nonprofit organization.
Westchester & Fairfield County Business Journals
The West Virginia Senate passed two bills Monday, Feb. 13, that would lower political contribution transparency in state elections. The House of Delegates will now consider the bills, which would increase contribution limits that trigger reporting requirements for those spending money to influence legislation coming before state lawmakers or advocate electing or defeating a political candidate without a candidate’s support. Currently, any person who spends more than $500 in a three-month period or $200 in any one month to present a program to the public designed to influence legislation must register with the state Ethics Commission as a sponsor of a “grass roots lobbying campaign” under state law. Under SB 508, those reporting thresholds would be raised to $5,000 and $1,000, respectively. The campaign sponsor must report the names and addresses of each person contributing $25 or more to the campaign to the Ethics Commission under current state law. Under SB 508, the $25 threshold would be raised to $1,000.
Governing