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Current Headlines
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Sunshine Week 2008 stories and editorials |
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RTD: Profiles in opening Virginia government (Waldo Jaquith, Leigh Purdum, Henrico County Supervisors)
The News Virginian: When Middlebrook, Va. farmer Betty Jo Hamilton first started hearing rumors in 2006 about a massive new industrial development planned for Augusta County, she knew her rights – and she knew how to exercise them. “If you know what questions to ask, you can sometimes figure out what’s going on,” she said. Hamilton was certain such a large-scale project – whatever it might be – would involve a significant paper trail, and because of the Freedom of Information Act, she had a legal right to demand access to it.
USAToday: Those supposedly private messages that public officials dash off on their government cellphones to friends and colleagues aren't necessarily private after all.
Gainesville (Fla.) Sun: Government information as wide-ranging as the names of people who grow watermelons or olives, tax returns, and the location of endangered plants and large caves is shielded from Americans under at least 140 provisions scattered throughout federal law. Thousands of people who request government information under the Freedom of Information Act are turned away each year under nine exemptions that allow the government to veil such things as law enforcement records, information and data about wells, and trade secrets.
The News Virginian: Nearly nine in 10 Americans say it’s important to know presidential and congressional candidates’ positions on open government, but three out of four view the federal government as secretive, according to a survey released Sunday.
Washington Examiner: Despite ordering improvements more than two years ago, President Bush has barely made a dent in the huge backlog of unanswered requests under the Freedom of Information Act.
RTD: Governments limit accessibility of e-mails Sunshine Week emphasizes the importance of open government and freedom of information.
RTD: FOIA exemptions
Washington Examiner: At a time of continued government secrecy, the news media should press the presidential candidates on whether their administration would enforce "the spirit as well as the letter of the law" protecting the public's right to know, Associated Press President and CEO Tom Curley said Tuesday.
Bristol Herald Courier: Sunday kicked off Sunshine Week across the United States. It’s an annual effort to educate the public about the need for open government and freedom of information. In honor of the fourth annual event, the Bristol Herald Courier, TriCities.com and News Channel 11 will work to stress the importance of open government. The centerpiece of that effort will be Phase II of our online salaries project.
Raleigh News & Observer: Poll finds support for less secrecy / A majority of statewide political candidates say government agencies that illegally withhold public records should have to pay the legal fees of those who sue to get records, a new survey shows
Maria Everett (FOI Advisory Council executive director): Striking a balance is not easy
Megan Rhyne (VCOG associate director): FOIA proves that one's support of or opposition to open government principles has nothing to do with whether there is an R or a D next to one's name. FOIA is nonpartisan, an equal-opportunity pet cause or whipping boy, depending on the situation.
Olga Hernandez (League of Women Voters): Virginia sunshine is beautiful, but it doesn't reach every corner of Capitol Square. Energy is needed to get our General Assembly operating entirely in a transparent light. Virginians pride ourselves on having many high-tech companies within our borders, so we should do business using technology. We also want to see our elected representatives in action, and technology can help. The Virginia Senate broadcasts live, on streaming video via the Internet. Yet only 200 Internet links are available to the public. Considering our population of more than 7 million, the number of links for public access should be increased. The House of Delegates should also allow broadcast of its proceedings. A better solution would be full live cable coverage of both chambers with video repeats. Many local governments have cable channels to similar programming.
Jennifer Perkins (VCOG executive director): Why FOIA matters.
Roanoke Times editorial:
Every day, citizens from all walks of life use provisions of what is
called FOIA (pronounced foy-ah) to look at records from their
governments. If you've ever logged onto government-hosted Web sites and
looked at property assessments, court cases, meeting minutes, proposed
legislation, budgets, filings about utility rate increases, you've
benefited from the protections afforded Virginians under their
right-to-know law.
Potomac News: This week, we will be running a series of editorials about the impact that the free flow of information has on you. In a representative democracy, information is everything. If the public does not have what it needs to make educated decisions at the polls, then there can be no democracy.
Potomac News: One of the Prince William County school system’s main budget complaints in this and past years has been that teacher’s salaries are not competitive with surrounding jurisdictions. In an effort to report thoroughly and to provide taxpayers with the tools they need to evaluate this claim, we posted a database of salaries online.... Many people have commented favorably while many others believe our actions are irresponsible and an invasion of privacy.
News Leader: One of the most frustrating aspects of fighting for more open government is the topic's lack of sex appeal. It's simply boring. To most people, it simply doesn't matter. That is, until you need something, until the fact that Virginia's Freedom of Information law shields the facts that are important to you.
Roanoke Times sunshine-week editorial: The adventures of (redacted)
USAToday: When candidates are seeking your vote, they can be counted on to mouth civics-book pieties about the public's right to know what's going on in government. They promise to hold meetings in the open, make government records readily available and generally end excessive secrecy. The three leading contenders for the presidency are no exception.
Washington Examiner: Sunshine Week — sponsored by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation — started Monday and continues through the weekend with events celebrating the public’s right to know and the importance of freedom of information in government. A main feature of Sunshine Week 2008 is a survey of presidential candidates on their attitudes toward open government issues. Coincidentally, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s responses were featured Monday on the Sunshine Week Web site. Clinton told the Sunshine Week survey that she believes “in an open, transparent government that is accountable to the people. Excessive government secrecy harms democratic governance and can weaken our system of checks and balances by shielding officials from oversight and inviting misconduct or error.” Her first step should be clearing the path for journalists, academics and other researchers seeking access to the millions of key Clinton administration documents hidden in the Clinton presidential library.
Roanoke Times editorial: Sunshine Week, the special time of year when we reflect on the importance of open government for a free society, begins today. During the last 12 months, lawmakers great and small sought new ways to prevent Americans from knowing what government does in their name.
Potomac News: Taxpayer-funded salaries are public information and the people have the right to see what anybody who works for the government makes.
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Government still has work to do to fulfill the promise of FOIA |
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Va. open-record laws let citizens hold leaders accountable
BY JIM NOLAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
03.11.2007
Kathleen Decker Burden made news last year simply by using the Freedom of Information Act.
Burden used FOIA to obtain correspondence between the Henrico County School Board and Superintendent Fred Morton IV addressing complaints that board member Jim Fiorelli intimidated several teachers by taking his child's papers to them to be graded while he waited.
After some initial resistance, Burden received documents that shed light on the issue and ignited a debate on the potential conflict between an elected official's duty to the public and rights as a private citizen.
"It seems to me that public officials are just that -- public officials," said Burden, 44, a paralegal who works at Philip Morris USA.
"So if there's information that concerns a particular entity, the whole point to me is that a lot of these transactions shouldn't be done in the dark."
To Burden and others, FOIA means access to information that officials, boards and government agencies don't always want the public to see. And that information -- retrieved and revealed by residents, not muckraking reporters or government-watchdog agencies -- can lead to change.
Burden said the law governing freedom of information is written so an average person can use it, but it doesn't hurt to be a little savvy or persistent in your request.
"There are some agencies that are better than others in facilitating the citizens' use of that law," she said.
Maria J.K. Everett, executive director of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, agreed.
"[Government] people have not been trained or educated in what the law requires," she said, underscoring the need for agencies to be neutral about the process of providing information.
Why somebody wants the information is none of the government's business, Everett said. Likewise, "FOIA does not always require the government to give an answer or explanation for what it is doing," she added. "FOIA's about getting records."
Sometimes those records are incomplete.
Richmond resident Becky Dale said that when she asked for a copy of a payment voucher from the Richmond public school system in 2000, she received only a part of the voucher that had been cut and pasted onto ledger paper, giving the appearance that she had been given the whole transaction.
"After some back and forth, I got the whole document," said Dale, 53, a church secretary in the city's West End who has written on FOIA topics and who does volunteer work for the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. "But I was very upset that they altered the document."
The FOIA law provides time limits for government bodies to provide requested records. A response must be made within five business days, and agencies then have up to an additional seven business days to satisfy the request.
The law allows residents to file suit against the government if it fails to respond to reasonable requests in a timely fashion. It also allows government bodies to charge a fee for the cost and time involved in processing certain requests.
Richmonder John Butcher sets aside $1,000 a year for FOIA-related matters.
The former assistant state attorney general, who sued polluters on behalf of the State Water Control Board during his 23-year career, now spends his semi-retirement running a gadfly Web site, The Cranky Taxpayer.
For Butcher, FOIA is a tool for information. He has used the law to obtain information from the Virginia Department of Education and from the city Police Department regarding calls for service in the James River Park area where he lives. He, too, has tangled with Richmond's school system.
"For whatever reason, folks in government tend to view the information they hold as somehow private," Butcher said. "Having [FOIA] changes the relationship between the average citizen and their government."
Open-government advocates say the need for FOIA is just as critical as it was when the law was enacted in 1968.
"There are great expectations of openness in the Internet age," said Forrest M. "Frosty" Landon, the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government and former executive editor of The Roanoke Times.
"There's a growing concern about privacy but also great concern about security since 9/11."
Landon said government still has work to do to fulfill the promise of FOIA. People still have the most trouble getting records from police and law-enforcement agencies, especially in rural areas.
A 1998 audit on open access found 16 percent compliance with FOIA by law-enforcement agencies. That level improved to 50 percent in the most recent audit, conducted last year.
Still, Landon said, the nation is built on the foundation of democracy, of government by the people and for the people.
"You need right of access," he said. "How are you going to have an informed citizenry if citizens don't have the access to what the government is doing with citizens' taxpayer dollars?" |
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Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling |
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Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling: Watchdogs ensure access
03.11.2007
Today marks the beginning of one of the most important, yet underappreciated, weeks of the year: Sunshine Week.
While issues such as transportation, health care, and education rightfully grab headlines 51 weeks of the year, public knowledge and understanding of these issues would not be possible without open government and freedom of information.
Our Founding Fathers understood that only an open government could effectively meet the needs of those it governed.
However, as Virginia's population grew, so did the size of government, which made it more difficult to maintain transparency in government agencies, the elections process, and the legislative process.
To ensure that government remained open to citizens, the General Assembly created the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in 1968.
The FOIA put into state law what the Founding Fathers intended: that there should be no deception, real nor perceived, in a government representative of its people.
At its core, the FOIA required that meetings of most public bodies must be open to the public, and that the public had a right to access most information held by government agencies.
Flaws Were Found and Fixed
Unfortunately, as time wore on flaws in the original FOIA language appeared and had to be fixed. And during each session of the General Assembly exemptions to the FOIA's requirements for open government had been granted.
The time for reform was at hand.
In 1998, I served as a co-chairman of a commission to review Virginia's FOI laws and update them. In 1999, I served as chief patron of legislation to rewrite Virginia's FOI laws and create the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
The rewrite of Virginia's FOI laws removed many of the exemptions from public-disclosure requirements that had arisen over the years and updated language to reflect issues that could not have been contemplated in 1968.
The creation of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council was also significant. In fact, its passage was one of the highlights of my legislative career.
Previously, when citizens had disputes with public bodies about access to government information, they had to sue in the courts. Today, the FOI Advisory Council provides opinions on interpretations of the FOIA and gives citizens recourse when they have been inappropriately denied access to public information.
In addition, the council serves as a sounding board for proposals to strengthen or relax FOIA requirements, and it conducts training seminars and publishes materials to meet the needs of citizens, the media, and government agencies.
As a result of these reforms, Virginia is widely recognized as a national leader on FOIA issues and other issues relating to open government.
For example, campaign finance laws in Virginia require that almost every dollar raised by candiates for public office must be disclosed, and Virginia was one of the first states in the nation to require electronic filing of campaign finance reports.
In addition, by accessing the General Assembly's Web site, citizens can obtain information about bills pending before the state legislature. They can also search the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Administrative Code, the Constitution of Virginia, the Rules of the Supreme Court, and many other databases.
However, some of the most important oversight comes from private watchdog groups.
Watchdogs Ensure Access
The Virginia Coalition for Open Government (VCOG) was founded in 1996 by a broad coalition of media groups. The coalition works to ensure public access to state and local government agencies, meetings, and information -- and make certain that the fundamental tenets of the FOIA are respected.
And the Virginia Public Access Project (VPAP) translates campaign finance reports into easily understandable terms on its public Web site. The VPAP maintains records showing which individuals and corporations have given money to candidates and how candidates spend their money.
While we can be proud of what Virginia has done in the past to ensure open government, we will face many challenges in the years to come to keep government open to citizens.
Through initiatives such as Sunshine Week, and with the help of our friends in the media and private sector, I am confident we will continue looking for ways to make certain that Virginia remains a leader in the nation on this important issue.
Bill Bolling is the lieutenant governor of Virginia. In 1999, as a state senator from Hanover, he received the Virginia Coalition for Open Government's Legislator of the Year Award for his work in rewriting Virginia's FOI laws.
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Jay DeBoer |
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The boss is watching
By Former Del. Jay DeBoer
TIMES-DISPATCH GUEST COLUMNIST
Mar 11, 2007
I could not have been more na?ve. As a "seasoned" sophomore in the Virginia House of Delegates in the 1984 General Assembly, I was flattered when the administration asked me to sponsor a "little, non-controversial bill" that would have exempted from Virginia's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) all economic data and market research at the Division of Tourism of the Department of Conservation and Economic Development. In the weeks after I introduced what I now understand was an ill-considered bill, the Virginia Press Association, the Virginia Association of Broadcasters, and the American Civil Liberties Union helped convince me on a basic premise of the FOIA: Public records produced by public bodies should be freely available to the public except in extraordinarily rare circumstances. There were fewer than 20 such exceptions in 1984.
Virginia's policy on public access to public records is stated in plain language: "Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all public records shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizens of the commonwealth during the regular office hours of the custodian of such records. Access to such records shall not be denied to citizens of the commonwealth, representatives of newspapers and magazines with circulation in the commonwealth, and representatives of radio and television stations broadcasting in or into the commonwealth."
Law: Secrecy Shouldn't Exist
The reason for this clear policy is stated in equally plain language: "The affairs of government are not intended to be conducted in an atmosphere of secrecy since at all times the public is to be the beneficiary of any action taken at any level of government."
FOIA relations have improved much in Virginia since 1984. Today, state agency employees no longer wince when requests for records or documents are received. Such requests have become routine, and are an intrinsic part of the daily conduct of government business. Virginia's government workforce is well-trained in the requirements of the FOIA, and the necessity and importance of prompt response to and compliance with citizen requests are included in job descriptions at all levels.
Part of the improved attitude toward requests for records and documents is technological. Computers have simplified document storage and retrieval in most agencies, eliminating most of the time-consuming manual searches that formerly made even mundane FOIA requests expensive. The ability to include large numbers of documents on CDs or DVDs has reduced the costs of reproduction of public records, and the prevalence of electronic mail has trimmed postage costs. And on the Internet, state agency Web sites have made a wide variety of public records available for download or copying without a formal request or other contact with the agency.
Another part of the improvement in FOIA relations may be attributed to the General Assembly, as it has refined and clarified which records are exempt from the FOIA. Taking to heart the law's very clear directive that exemptions should be narrow and limited, the legislature has added highly specific exemptions, leaving less to speculation and dispute. And the Freedom of Information Advisory Council's ability to issue oral or written opinions to citizens and government has provided valuable guidance, helping to avoid conflict and litigation.
Compliance Is Right Thing to Do
But for employees and agencies of Virginia government, perhaps the most compelling reason for improved prompt and courteous FOIA compliance is this: In addition to being the law, it is the right thing to do. For most citizens, contacting a government agency is a frightening, extraordinary event. Those requesting records from government are usually seeking help or assistance for themselves or for family members. Most do not know the formalities of the FOIA, but they need not use specific words or phrases to invoke its benefits. Nearly every request for information can be granted by the agency in some form, if time is taken to discuss the request. Although some requests are made with the clear intent to harass or harm a government agency, those are blissfully rare, and few in number. And finally, prompt and courteous responses to requests for records improve public confidence in government.
Gov. Tim Kaine has expressly stated support for Virginia's Freedom of Information Act, and stresses the importance of Virginians having access to the information they need to hold government accountable: "[T]he need to ensure that the people are participants in their government, not excluded outsiders, is a constant. After all, they pay the bills for and must live with the consequences of its policies."
In plain language, "The Boss is watching."
Jay DeBoer is the director of the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. A previous commissioner of the Virginia Department for the Aging, he served in the House of Delegates from 1983-2002. |
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Many Va.localities flunk FOIA compliance test |
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Local governments have mixed record on FOIA requests
By HARRY MINIUM, The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Dec. 30, 2006 - A man walked into the Prince Edward County sheriff's office not long ago and asked to see the county's crime log _ a list of crimes committed the past weekend.
As a Virginia resident, who might want information about criminal activity in his neighborhood, he was entitled by law to see the documents.
Yet a captain walked in and ended a short conversation by saying: "I told you straight up, we're not giving out no records."
Another Virginia resident walked into the Fairfax City Hall and asked for e-mail correspondence between the mayor and city council members for a two-week period. You can have them, he was told, but it will cost a minimum of $7,000.
A third person walked into a fire department in Montgomery County and asked for the latest fire inspection reports on two schools.
After being told the records were available, he was denied access because he would not say why he wanted the information.
The citizens were actually newspaper employees, who were dispatched to every city and county in the state last fall to see how the 134 local governments responded to requests for public information that should be available under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
The media representatives, most of whom visited the local governments Sept. 12-13, did not identify themselves as reporters, editors or media employees, and instead stated they were interested citizens who wanted information about the particular communities.
The requesters asked for the latest two weeks of e-mails from each county's chairman or each city's mayor to their respective county boards or city councils; the previous weekend's crime logs or reports from police or sheriff departments, and the fire inspection reports for two schools in each locality.
The results were hardly encouraging for citizens who want to see how their government works, said advocates for open government.
A little less than half of the media representatives saw the requested public records.
Roughly one of every five times, the person seeking the information was denied access to what is supposed to be public information.
"That's much too high a percentage" said Frosty Landon, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. "Unfortunately, some localities just have a predisposition to keep things secret."
In 30 percent of the cases, either the records did not exist, were kept in Richmond or reporters did not correctly ask for information.
Compared with the results of a similar survey done eight years ago, progress has been made with police and sheriffs.
In 1998, just 16 percent provided copies of crime logs. This year, 50 percent of the media representatives asking for the crime logs saw the documents while 43 percent were denied.
Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press Association, said that part of the survey "is a bright light."
She said police chiefs and sheriffs were embarrassed by their response eight years ago and made a concerted effort to educate their staffs.
The state of Virginia was also concerned about the 1998 survey results, and in 2000 established the Freedom of Information Advisory Council, which gives seminars and distributes information to localities on open government.
"They've done a lot of great work," Stanley said.
In light of all of that work, Stanley acknowledges that this year's survey results "are disappointing."
Eight years ago, the vast majority of reporters asking for reports of violence at schools, travel vouchers from government officials or for health inspection reports were able to get them. Those asking for salaries of high school football coaches got them 47 percent of the time.
Most of the numbers weren't that high this year.
Of those seeking e-mails of city and county officials, 42 percent saw the documents and 10 percent were denied access. Most of the remaining cities and counties reported they did not use e-mail.
Fifty-two percent of the cities and counties provided fire inspection reports while 13 percent denied access to them. In the remaining places, the results were inconclusive mostly because the state inspects their schools and the records are kept in Richmond.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, praised the police and sheriffs, yet called the overall survey results "appalling."
"Unfortunately, it shows we have a long way to go."
Only 13 jurisdictions provided all the information asked for - the cities of Alexandria, Bedford, Charlottesville, Portsmouth, Radford and Winchester, and the counties of Albemarle, Charlotte, Greene, New Kent, Prince George, Scott and Wise.
Wise County puts a premium on open government, said county administrator Glen "Skip" Skinner, because it's good government.
Skinner said a group of business people proposing an economic development project in his county offered to provide him with promotional information only if it could be kept confidential. Although he could have classified the materials as "working papers," he declined to do so.
"It's a gray area I just didn't want to get into," he said.
Landon said Virginia Beach, the state's largest city, also deserves praise.
After being embarrassed by a series of missteps in responding to requests for information several years ago, the city set up a freedom of information office.
"Other localities may not have the resources of Virginia Beach, but they can follow their example by adopting their mind-set," he said.
That was not exactly the mind-set many other reporters found last September.
When sheriff's departments in Stafford and several other counties refused to give crime logs, they advised people to read crime information in the local newspapers.
Instead of providing information, sheriffs in Buckingham and some other counties researched the names of requesters and discovered they worked for newspapers.
In 10 percent of the records requests, the media representatives were told they could not receive the records unless they stated why they wanted it. State law does not require citizens to say why they want to examine a public record.
Some government officials gave quirky responses to requests.
A reporter in Dinwiddie County was told to "hire a lawyer and return with a Subpoena Ducus Tecum" if he wanted to review crime logs.
A reporter in Shenandoah County was told the sheriff releases information only about crimes that he feels should be known to the public.
Dalglish said it not uncommon for requests for e-mails to be met with the most resistance.
"People view e-mail as personal, private communication," she said. "They are shocked to find out it is not their private property."
Landon said such a reaction is "inexcusable."
"It's very clear that under the law, a record is a record is a record, whether it is an e-mail or on old-fashioned paper. That should no longer be an issue."
He said after being sued over access to e-mails, Fredericksburg began archiving its e-mail. Every city and county should do the same, he said.
"When you archive e-mail, the information is there without having to reinvent the wheel," he said. "That sends the signal that everyone in local government wants to obey the law." |
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