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Freedom of Information
The state’s Freedom of Information Act has been a part of Virginia’s legal code since 1968, but that is.not to say it lies inviolate. Like other state statutes, it is subject to revision and re-thinking from a General Assembly that continually responds to changing times and changing technology.
But the heart of the law - that the public has a right to know what its elected officials are doing - should never be tampered with. And when legislators enter into the labyrinth of FOI, they should be careful that their efforts benefit the public rather than casting a shadow over the process.
Unfortunately, that is not the way it always is. Lawmakers have nibbled at the edges of FOI for several years, often at the request of local officials. Some dislike a provision enacted two years ago that requires them to “certify” what went on in closed door sessions.
The process is simple. When a board of supervisors, city council or other public body goes into executive session and then returns to the public forum, each member must answer to a roll-call vote. That vote is essentially a pledge that they only acted on issues defined under FOI as reserved for executive sessions. It takes only minutes, but there has been much grumbling that the process is unwieldy and casts a bad light on elected officials. The effort to eliminate certification died in 1991, but expect it back again in 1992.
The Senate Finance Committee’s refusal to abide by the Freedom of Information Act has already prompted the American Civil Liberties Union to file suite to force a change. Committee members, led by Senate Finance Chairman Hunter Andrews, have maintained for years that they are doing nothing wrong when they fail to notify the media and the public every time they hold a meeting. But their interpretation of the law doesn’t square with the reality.
On at least three different occasions, the committee met in secret and agreed on budget decisions that effect every Virginia citizen. Unfortunately, the public didn’t hear about it until some enterprising reporters ferreted out the information days later. That’s not the way it should be, senators. The law does not question their intention, as some have grumbled, but it does hold them to a public standard.
The playwright George Bernard Shaw once wrote, “Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.” Virginians deserve a government that is open and accessible at all levels.
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