Transparency News 9/15/16

 

GOP legislators seized on a pair of last-minute bureaucratic missteps Wednesday in an effort to delay a major shift in state abortion clinic regulations. Virginia's regulatory process is very precise, and state officials apparently realized Tuesday afternoon that not all public comments submitted on this issue were summarized and forwarded to interested parties. State law says these summaries must be forward at least five days before final adoption of a regulation. State Health Commissioner Marissa Levine told legislators Wednesday morning that close to 700 comments, out of the nearly 6,000 collected during this stage of the process, were left off the summary. They're available on the state's Town Hall website, where comments are posted and information on proposed regulations is publicly available, but they didn't make the summary, she said.
Daily Press

It’s unlikely there are many state contracts as peculiar as the one between the Virginia Department of Corrections and a secret vendor. The contract — a memorandum of agreement obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch under the Freedom of Information Act — states that it is “for the purchase of drugs to be used exclusively for implementing the lawful order of the court for a death sentence by lethal injection in the commonwealth.” A Virginia law that took effect July 1 keeps the identity of the supplier secret, and the Department of Corrections will not even reveal what the vendor is charging to provide Virginia a product or products specified only for use in executions.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Memorandum opinion issued by U.S. District Court Judge James C. Cacheris from the Eastern District of Virginia says the plaintiff, Brian Davison, can pursue his claims that the county violated Davison’s First Amendment rights by removing all of his comments from its Facebook page. The court dismissed Davison’s FOIA claims, which were related to the exchange of texts by board members who weren’t present at a committee meeting, on the grounds that the federal cannot adjudicate state law claims brought against state officials.
Google Docs

How Many Votes Did Your Member of Congress Miss Last Year?
Virginia Public Radio

In the wake of the University of Virginia’s approval of a policy limiting protests Finals Weekend, student leaders on Grounds are raising questions about freedom of speech and expression. The policy, a formalized update of a policy in place for decades, restricts the area protesters can occupy to the area between McCormick Road on one side and Peabody Hall and the Special Collections Library on the other. The policy also limits the use of sound amplification devices and temporary structures. John Whitehead, a constitutional attorney and president of The Rutherford Institute, criticized the policy in a memorandum.
Cavalier Daily



National Stories
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The Brennan Center Report on the state of disclosure, “Secret Spending in the States,” usefully examines transparency policy issues presented by high-impact spending in low-information contests at the state and local level. It argues that dark money is not the only problem and focuses on the additional questions raised by “gray money” – –funding disclosed by reporting entities but received from organizations giving no indication of the interest or funding behind them. The Report then selects examples from various states of dark money and gray money controversies or issues. The Center sets out a program of reform and points to some progress made in the states.
More Soft Money Hard Law

The proximate timing of the Orlando Sentinel article about New York’s suit against Trump University, and Mr. Trump’s donation to the Florida attorney general, and suspicions of a quid pro quo, have driven a narrative that has dogged Mr. Trump and Ms. Bondi for three years. It has intensified during Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, peaking this month with the filing of ethics complaints, calls for a federal investigation by editorial boards and Democrats in Congress, and a new investigation of Mr. Trump’s foundation by New York regulators. But documents obtained this week by The New York Times, including a copy of Mr. Trump’s check, at least partly undercut that timeline. Although the check was received by Ms. Bondi’s committee four days after the Sentinel report, and was recorded as such in her financial disclosure filings, it was actually dated and signed by Mr. Trump four days before the article appeared.
New York Times

The city of Orlando released more 911 calls Wednesday from the mass shooting at a gay Florida nightclub after the FBI said the records are no longer a part of its investigation. The release of more than a dozen 911 calls Wednesday came three months after the massacre and as a legal fight between two dozen media groups and the city of Orlando over the records is heading toward a conclusion. The Associated Press and other media organizations sued for the release of the more than 600 calls made to emergency dispatchers, as well as communication between Mateen and police, saying they could help the public evaluate police response to the massacre. The city countered that the recordings were exempt under Florida's public records law, and that the FBI insisted their release could disrupt the investigation. The FBI said last week withholding the records was no longer necessary.
Fox News

The Department of Justice has streamlined its national security classification activities over the last several years, resulting in the production of a diminishing number of secrets, according to a new report from the Department's Inspector General.
Secrecy News

Hillary Clinton released more detailed medical information Wednesday that describes the form of pneumonia she's been diagnosed with as a mild, non-contagious bacterial infection. The campaign also released more details about the results of routine lab tests given to the Democratic presidential nominee, such as blood cholesterol levels and her annual mammogram. 
USA Today

Editorials/Columns

Virginia law forbids health officials from telling Virginians about facilities that have suffered an outbreak of infectious disease. The reason is to protect health care workers and health care facilities from being sued for damages or charged with criminal offenses. Too bad the law isn't as solicitous of patients who go to those facilities. We think the public ought to know when a local hospital is suffering a MRSA outbreak. We think the public ought to know how quickly and effectively outbreaks of infectious disease were handled, too. It seems pretty obvious that information would help people as they make decisions about health care.
Daily Press

Last week, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors returned from its summer recess and promptly turned down a motion by Supervisor Suzanne Volpe (R-Algonkian) to prohibit texting among Board members during public meetings of the body.  The effort was quickly silenced by a superseding motion to table the matter indefinitely. The motion prevailed on a vote of 5-3-1, with chair Phyllis Randall (D-At Large) and supervisors Ralph Buona (R-Ashburn) and Volpe voting nay, and supervisor Tony Buffington (R-Blue Ridge) abstaining. In our view, the board’s majority got it wrong and has announced to the world that digital backroom politics is okay in Loudoun County. By its action, the board has delivered a hard slap in the face of transparency in government.  In this day and age of public cynicism about government and digital communications, and when technology is outpacing the law, the original motion ought to have been given serious attention.
Loudoun Tribune

Now for the even more remarkable thing: One of the legislators asking questions about UVa’s fund – state Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach – says the school has yet to furnish him the documents he’s requested. UVa says it’s provided everything. In any case, the chairs of the money committees say going forward all legislative requests should go , R-Scott County, through them, a move that rankles some who aren’t on those committees. Del. Terry Kilgore says if UVa doesn’t provide the documents DeSteph requested, then he, Kilgore, is prepared to take an even more extraordinary step – and file a Freedom of Information Act request. When was the last time a state legislator had to file a FOIA request to get information from a state university? We cannot emphasize enough just how unusual this is. Is anyone in Charlottesville listening? They sure are in Southwest Virginia.
Roanoke Times