 "Out of the 2,778 bills filed this year, some 1,530 died, including 874 that perished in a House subcommittee."
|
ICYMI, VCOG's three Sunshine Week webinars can be viewed on our website or on YouTube.
Webinar #1: General Assembly 2018 update
Webinar #2: record requesting basics
Webinar #3: open meeting basics
And thanks to the intrepid souls who attended and came out to speak at Pop-Up Sunshine Day, marking FOI Day in Virginia and James Madison's birthday.
The percentage of bills killed on unrecorded votes plummeted this year following changes to increase transparency at the General Assembly, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. The percentage of measures spiked without a recorded vote dropped from about 55 percent in 2017 to less than 30 percent in 2018, according to VPAP, a nonpartisan tracker of money and trends in state politics. “I’m very encouraged to see that culture change,” said Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
For a Virginia legislator with a bright idea, the most dangerous moments come when subcommittees meet for the House of Delegates. Those are the panels, usually a group of seven to nine from the 22-member House committees, that do a first review of most legislation. Unless they decide to report a bill — that is, send it up to the full committee — it is in practice dead. So, out of the 2,778 bills (as opposed to budget amendments, commending resolutions and memorial resolutions) filed this year, some 1,530 died, including 874 that perished in a House subcommittee, according to a compilation by the Virginia Public Access Project. (Technically, House rules say only that “If the subcommittee does not recommend such legislation by a majority vote, the chairman need not consider the legislation in the full committee.” But in fact, it rarely happens that a bill that a subcommittee says should die arises zombielike from the dead.) Another 294 died when they came before a full committee — subcommittees’ judgments aren’t infallible. Senate committees, which don’t always set up subcommittees, killed 300 bills. Senate rules say subcommittees don’t take final action on a bill. That’s up to the full committee, which must take a recorded vote. Recent changes to House rules also require recorded votes in subcommittees, as well as full committees.
Daily Press
More than a year ago, the Portsmouth Sheriff’s Office started a criminal inquiry into an outspoken councilman critical of the sheriff. In time, officials with the U.S. Treasury Department and the federal agency that regulates credit unions joined the investigation, and the city’s commonwealth’s attorney stepped aside amid concerns of a conflict of interest. An indictment would be handed down and political recriminations would fly. But through it all, one question remained unanswered – at least publicly. What exactly does the prosecution believe Councilman Mark Whitaker did to warrant 20 felony fraud and forgery charges?
The Virginian-Pilot
Have you ever wanted to know how to request documents from a government agency or body? Daily Press reporter Dave Ress shares tips on how to request information and the obstacles you might face in getting it. This video is shared as part of Sunshine Week, which began Sunday, March 11, to recognize the importance of access to public information. Our goal has been to offer video explanations of how to obtain public records, the difficulty in obtaining records that you are entitled to get, the steps we had to take to tell one story and more.
Daily Press
As part of Sunshine Week, Daily Press reporter Dave Ress talks about wrestling with state officials to get a copy of a state digital database — which turned into a legal battle — as part of this newspaper’s watch-dog journalism. This was as much a fight for access to public records as it was a fight to maintain the public’s right — your right — to access government records.
Daily Press
Charlottesville City Council meetings, held on the first and third Mondays of each month, will now be streamed live on Facebook, per a pilot program that began earlier this month. On Monday, city Communications Director Brian Wheeler will give a presentation on the pilot program and other communications initiatives the city is considering in response to the council’s request for more robust public engagement. Earlier this year, the council decided to start its meetings 30 minutes earlier to accommodate an additional speaker slot and direct responses from councilors during the public comment period at the start of meetings.
Daily Progress
It was an idea that Danville City Councilmen nixed about as quickly as it was mentioned. Mayor John Gilstrap brought up the possibility of reducing the number of council meetings and work sessions per month for consideration. The item was put on the March 6 council work session agenda for discussion that night. But council members agreed during an informal poll they did not want to talk about it. “What we’re doing is fine,” City Councilman Lee Vogler said during an interview Sunday. “If we go in any direction, we should have more [meetings per month].” Gilstrap brought up the possibility because holding two business meetings per month, with each one followed immediately by a work session, leaves members with less time to discuss items during those work sessions. Under a change, council members could hold a work session on a separate day from the once-a-month meeting.
Register & Bee
|
"We can tell you how much Jim Harbaugh makes, and the formula for his compensation - but the person that manages their 11 billion dollar endowment -- that somehow is a secret."
"At the risk of angering my journalism colleagues, I want many of those stories about lottery winners to cease."