Virginia lawmakers from both parties expressed concern Wednesday with action by Gov. Terry McAuliffe that they said would essentially veto a bill aimed at making sure public records are released.
The bill in question, SB494 by Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax County, relates to redaction of public records.
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Read More… from How Virginia’s governor could veto a public records bill without vetoing it
Gov. Rick Snyder released thousands of pages of staff emails over the weekend pertaining to the Flint water crisis, but Democratic leaders say that information doesn't supplant the state's need for a more robust Freedom of Information Act that applies to the governor and legislature.
Currently the governor's office is specifically exempt from having to disclose records under Michigan's FOIA. The legislature is exempt via an Attorney General opinion.
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Read More… from Flint water crisis highlights why FOIA should apply to governor, Democrats say
A Virginia bill that would have allowed the government to shield the names of police officers from the public was killed by a legislative committee Thursday after a fierce debate that pitted open records advocates against law enforcement groups.
The measure was introduced in response to a court ruling last year that directed the state to turn over the names and employment dates of thousands of law enforcement officials to The Virginian-Pilot, which is trying to determine whether officers who get fired are landing jobs at another agency.
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Read More… from Virginia House panel kills police secrecy bill
If you follow transparency and open-records news, you might have heard about what’s going on in Virginia, where the state Senate last week approved a bill to make the names and training files of law-enforcement officials “excluded from mandatory disclosure” under the state Freedom of Information Act.
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If an agenda for a special city council meeting doesn’t say that members will vote on something, are they allowed to vote anyway?
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Read More… from FOIA suit could affect meeting agendas in South Carolina
The Virginia Senate voted 25-15 on Monday to keep the names of all police officers and deputy sheriffs a secret.
SB552 by Sen. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, applies to any local or state officer, including officers from agencies such as the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Virginia Marine Police.
Cosgrove said during an earlier subcommittee hearing that he filed the bill in response to a November court ruling allowing The Virginian-Pilot access to names, agencies and employment dates for current Virginia police officers.
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Read More… from Virginia Senate passes bill to keep names of police, deputies a secret
Anyone with doubts about the value of open government need only look to Summerville, South Carolina, for assurance.
Because Summerville police and municipal court officials refused to release public information, citizens were unaware that a man who had been charged with rape was on bail, walking freely among them for five days.
They didn’t even know to be cautious. Continue…
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Legislation to subject Michigan's governor and legislature to the state's Freedom of Information Act could drop as soon as next month, say lawmakers working on the plan.
"I've been working on this project now for over a year and hopefully going to roll it out during Sunshine Week in March," said Rep. Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan.
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In Virginia, the Newport News City Council never took a public vote to authorize a $2 million settlement to a man in a recent wrongful conviction case — a common practice for local officials resolving lawsuits against the city that Freedom of Information Act experts say may violate state law.
The council authorized the city attorney to negotiate up to a certain undisclosed amount of money to settle the lawsuit in a closed session last year, but never took a public vote, City Attorney Collins L. Owens Jr. said.
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Read More… from FOIA experts: Newport News $2M payment without public vote may have violated law
DC Councilmembers David Grosso and Mary M. Cheh introduced a new bill to make significant changes to DC’s open government practices. Namely, the proposed piece of legislation makes tweaks to the District’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Open Meetings Act and Open Government Office Act.
The bill is a veritable laundry list of changes to the legislation above — ranging from “clarifying” various procedures and exemptions to “creating” others.
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Read More… from These DC Councilmembers are trying to change FOIA
