Transparency News 8/25/16

Thursday, August 25, 2016


 
State and Local Stories
 
Proposed Legal Ethics Opinion 1884, Virginia State Bar: Addresses a situation where a lawyer who is a member of the Virginia General Assembly joins a consulting firm owned by a law firm. The lawyer inquires whether the lawyers and non-lawyers in the consulting firm would be barred from the General Assembly. The panel concludes that both lawyers and non-lawyers in the consulting firm, as well as all lawyers in the law firm that own the consulting firm, would be barred from representing clients or otherwise lobbying before the General Assembly.
VSB

The special Metro Board meeting— called by Chairman Jack Evans after the July 29 derailment at East Falls Church — is meant to be an all-around accounting for the streak of mishaps and embarrassments that have befallen Metro this summer. Typically, the board takes a vacation from meeting in August; its next regularly scheduled meeting is Sept. 8. But many of the issues of concern probably would not come up until the panel’s next Safety Committee meeting on Sept. 22. Evans, supported by other board members, said that the problems that had come up in recent weeks are so pressing that they could not wait. “I hope it sends a message that the board is engaged, and focused on swift reforms,” said board member Leif A. Dormsjo, who also is director of the D.C. Department of Transportation. Dormsjo added that Evans indicated that he “has a very distinct view of what he wants this meeting to convey in terms of accountability.”
Washington Post

Bristol leaders could decide next month whether to publish the names of thousands who are delinquent in paying personal property taxes. On Tuesday, Bristol Virginia City Council tabled a request from city Treasurer Angel Harris to publish the names of about 3,100 people in the newspaper. The city is currently owed about $700,000 in personal property taxes, primarily for vehicles, motorcycles, boats and trailers — from 2011 to 2015, Harris told the council during its regular meeting.
Herald Courier


National Stories


More than 70 state and local governments have been censured for failing to disclose certain financial information about bonds they sold to investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday. The SEC reached settlements with 71 governments across 45 states as part of a voluntary self-reporting program called the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (MCDC). Only five states -- Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Rhode Island -- had no governments or government entities censured. (In Virginia: Carilion Clinic) 
Governing

The St. Louis Election Board violated the law when it refused to provide copies of absentee ballot applications and ballot envelopes, a judge ruled Tuesday. Dave Roland, an attorney for state representative candidate Bruce Franks, who lost in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary to incumbent Penny Hubbard, sued for the records. Roland claims a large number of improperly cast absentee ballots tilted the election in Hubbard’s favor. St. Louis Circuit Judge Julian L. Bush said there is nothing in state law that addresses keeping absentee ballot applications “confidential.” As for the envelopes that absentee ballots are put into after they are filled out, Bush said state statutes offer no provision to keep those from public view.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A wide-ranging group of government transparency advocates asked Congress on Wednesday to block new changes to the Freedom of Information Act requested by the Defense Department, saying that approving them would allow the Pentagon to “excuse itself from the hard fought and necessary reforms.” The letter, signed by organizations ranging from Human Rights Watch to the National Press Club and released by the Project On Government Oversight, said that language in the Senate version of the proposed 2017 National Defense Authorization Act would provide the military with a new exemption to FOIA that is overly broad and potentially easy to abuse. The proposal would give the Pentagon the ability to withhold information about unclassified tactics, techniques and procedures used by the Armed Forces. It’s so broad, the letter argues, “it could allow DoD to withhold almost any unclassified document at all related to Defense Department operations and could be used to justify concealing just about any material DoD creates.”
Washington Post

Editorials/Columns

TO THE FOUR Portsmouth council members who voted to impose fines for discussing information at closed meetings: Isn’t it time to admit you were wrong? Unless, of course, you favor spending taxpayers’ dollars on something constitutionally questionable and anti-open government. That’s not a winning strategy during campaign season, when most politicians try to convince voters they’re transparent about the decisionmaking process. Fancy that – residents want to be kept in the loop about decisions made ostensibly in their name. And with their money.
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot

Petersburg is going bust. Markus Schmidt’s Wednesday news story detailed the unhappy options caused by the city’s $12 million budget deficit. Services seem destined to be cut, taxes to rise. The process will not be painless. The damage also draws attention to a second deficit. Petersburg confronts a shortfall not only in finances but in public trust. The second deficit could inflict greater long-term damage than a monetary one. A photograph says it all. Shelby Lum’s page one picture accompanying Schmidt’s story depicted Petersburg citizens attending a City Council meeting with tape covering their mouths. They were protesting a lack of public input in the process. City officials have not welcomed citizen comment. A relative absence of input will redound to Petersburg’s disadvantage.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

 

Categories: