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

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
12/26/2013Committee
12/26/2013Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14101108D
12/26/2013Referred to Committee on Rules
12/31/2013Impact statement from VCSC (HB204)
01/17/2014Referred from Rules
01/17/2014Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice
01/20/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB204)
01/21/2014Assigned Courts sub: Ethics
01/23/2014Impact statement from DPB (HB204)
01/27/2014Subcommittee recommends laying on the table
02/12/2014Left in Courts of Justice

Comments

Waldo Jaquith writes:

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.