Virginia General Assembly – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Virginia House, Senate to stream some meetings

Posted on

The Virginia General Assembly will stream some committee meetings over the Internet next session, a milestone for a body that has resisted this sort of technology.

The Senate announced its plan Thursday to stream from two main committee rooms next year, and the House followed up with an announcement from Speaker of the House William Howell that the chamber has worked toward committee streaming "without fanfare for the last several months."

Continue…

[…]

Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase raises transparency concerns over impromptu committee hearing

Posted on

A group of senators on Thursday briefly debated a touchy subject — whether they should prohibit themselves from using their campaign funds for personal use.

The debate happened during a meeting of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on the Senate floor just after adjournment, prompting a complaint from Sen. Amanda F. Chase, R-Chesterfield, that holding the meeting on the floor was not transparent for the public.

Continue…

[…]

Va. bill would exempt fracking chemicals from FOIA

Posted on

Open government advocates are alarmed at a legislative subcommittee’s approval of a bill that would hide from the public record the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said House Bill 1678 would violate the public’s right to know about possible environmental and health hazards posed by fracking, in which liquids are injected into the ground to extract oil or gas.

[…]

Editorial: Data on teacher performance in Virginia should be available to the public

Posted on

Brian Davison, a parent in Loudoun County, may be a bit of a gadfly. But he's on point with his insistence that parents have more information about the performance of their public schools.

[…]