Secretary of the Commonwealth; centralized filing of disclosure forms. (HB204)
Introduced By
Del. Rob Krupicka (D-Alexandria)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
✗ |
Passed Committee |
☐ |
Passed House |
☐ |
Passed Senate |
☐ |
Signed by Governor |
☐ |
Became Law |
Description
Secretary of the Commonwealth; centralized filing of disclosure forms; gift and material change in financial reports; establishment of searchable database. Centralizes the filing of economic interest disclosure forms in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Currently only state officers and employees file such statements with the Secretary; local officers and employees file with the clerk of the locality, members of the Senate file with the Clerk of the Senate, and members of the House of Delegates file with the Clerk of the House. The bill also requires the electronic filing of (i) monthly gift reports beginning on July 15, 2015, and (ii) quarterly material change in financial status reports beginning on July 1, 2015. Under the bill, the Secretary of the Commonwealth must establish and maintain a searchable electronic database comprising the disclosure forms and reports and available to the public through the Internet. Beginning July 1, 2015, all disclosure forms and reports shall be required to be filed electronically. In addition, the bill establishes a ban on a single gift with a value greater than $100 or combination of gifts with an aggregate value greater than $500 from a single donor within a single filing period. Gifts that consist of educational programs or professional development are not included in determining the total value of gifts received. Read the Bill »
Outcome
History
Date | Action |
---|---|
12/26/2013 | Committee |
12/26/2013 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14101108D |
12/26/2013 | Referred to Committee on Rules |
12/31/2013 | Impact statement from VCSC (HB204) |
01/17/2014 | Referred from Rules |
01/17/2014 | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
01/20/2014 | Impact statement from DPB (HB204) |
01/21/2014 | Assigned Courts sub: Ethics |
01/23/2014 | Impact statement from DPB (HB204) |
01/27/2014 | Subcommittee recommends laying on the table |
02/12/2014 | Left in Courts of Justice |
Comments
This law would be a great improvement. I suggest one fix, though, that would make it far better, still. § 2.2-417.3 should include a section C, to the effect that, in addition to the "searchable electronic database," the Secretary shall provide a "downloadable electronic database," comprised of the same materials as the searchable electronic database, also available to the public through the Internet, encoded in a commonly used file format (e.g., JSON, XML, CSV).
That raw data would enable the private sector to use that data elsewhere. I would take that information and incorporate it into Richmond Sunlight. A "searchable electronic database" locks the information up, making that impossible; a "downloadable electronic database" frees that information for the private sector (and, indeed, other government agencies) to build upon.