Transparency News 2/17/15

Tuesday, February 17, 2015
 
State and Local Stories

A coalition for activist groups want state legislators to be more transparent in how they review issues. Transparency Virginia, a coalition of about 20 groups that includes the League of Women Voters of Virginia, the Virginia Poverty Law Center, ACLU, Sierra Club, Virginia AARP and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, issued a statement Monday urging lawmakers be more diligent in keeping the public informed. “We have some real power together,” said coalition chairwoman Anne Sterling, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia. She told coalition members Monday that "this year we suddenly realized that together we can’t be ignored.” Sterling said in the news release: “There are bright spots. But the time crunch of a short session means the public sometimes gets short shrift. Unquestionably, the process can be more transparent.”
Virginian-Pilot

A House panel on Monday backed legislation that would allow the state to prevent public disclosure of the manufacturers and drugs used in lethal injection executions in Virginia. Senate Bill 1393, which Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration supports, advanced on a voice vote. The measure also would allow the Department of Corrections to contract with pharmacies to compound the drugs used in the lethal cocktail. He said preventing the disclosure of the pharmacies compounding the drugs, the names of the drugs and the identity of the companies that produced the drugs would not be unusual. Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the legislation would shield a group of private entities — an unusual practice in Virginia. Kevin Walsh, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, called the proposal not just “premature, but counterproductive,” because it might expose the state to undesired legal challenges.
Times-Dispatch

The City of Petersburg has attempted to place a muzzle on a former candidate for school board by not permitting him to speak during City Council’s public information periodbecause he failed to pay fines incurred during the previous election. A Feb. 5 letter from the American Civil Liberties Union stated that prohibiting city resident Linwood Christian from speaking during the Jan. 20 meeting because he owes fines, was a violation of his First Amendment rights. Christian, who regularly speaks at City Council meetings, stated that he would stand his ground. “No one is going to bully me. The only way you are going to shut me up shy of killing me is arresting me,” he said.
Progress-Index

At the end of the Hopewell City Council meeting on Feb. 10, newly-elected Councilor Anthony Zevgolis suggested that the council form an ethics committee to ensure that the council is keeping with city code. “Hopefully it’ll never be used, but we need to let the public know that such a thing exists and that we are concerned,” Zevgolis said. “Maybe if we establish one, it will prevent those from going against it or making comments.” “I just think it’s a step in the right direction in any case,” he added. Zevgolis suggested that the councilors should be required to sign a form stating that they have read the city code in full. He also recommended that the ethics committee could be headed by two members from council, although some at the meeting raised questions. “I would love to have an ethics committee, trust me,” said Councilor Jackie Shornak. “But maybe we need some outsiders on the ethics committee.”
Progress-Index

National Stories

On Aug. 17, 2012, the federal government began expropriating all the earnings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants that succumbed to the 2008 crisis. Now the government is taking extraordinary measures to keep secret the deliberations surrounding that action. What exactly is it trying to hide? That is the question being asked by a Fannie and Freddie shareholder who has sued the government over the 2012 profit grab. The investor contends that the move amounted to an improper taking of its property; the government disagrees. Margaret M. Sweeney, a judge in the Court of Federal Claims, will determine who is right. But in the meantime, consider the remarkable secrecy demands that the government has made in the matter.
New York Times

 

Editorials/Columns

I loathe the clout of Dominion Virginia Power, the state's largest utility and biggest corporate contributor to election campaigns. To paraphrase Lola in the film "Damn Yankees," whatever Dominion wants, Dominion gets. And this time, Lola - I mean Dominion - wants a freeze on the base rate for electricity users in Virginia. In exchange, Dominion demands a five-year reprieve on state reviews on most of the company's profits. The utility, which pushed the legislation, wouldn't have taken that step if it harmed Dominion's bottom line. Maybe I simply envy Dominion for doing, very well, what firms try to do. State legislators, on the other hand, should serve all their constituents. Lawmakers aren't supposed to be servile minions to industrial bigwigs, fawning over every request.
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot