HB566: Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council; annual inspection of disclosure forms.
HOUSE BILL NO. 566
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 30-356 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 30-356. Powers and duties of the Council.
The Council shall:
1. Prescribe the forms required for complying with the disclosure requirements of Article 3 and the Acts. These forms shall be the only forms used to comply with the provisions of Article 3 or the Acts. The Council shall make available the disclosure forms and shall provide guidance and other instructions to assist in the completion of the forms;
2. Review all disclosure forms filed by lobbyists pursuant to Article 3 and by state government officers and employees and legislators pursuant to the Acts. The Council may review disclosure forms for completeness, including reviewing the information contained on the face of the form to determine if the disclosure form has been fully completed and comparing the disclosures contained in any disclosure form filed by a lobbyist pursuant to § 2.2-426 with other disclosure forms filed with the Council, and requesting any amendments to ensure the completeness of and correction of errors in the forms, if necessary. If a disclosure form is found to have not been filed or to have been incomplete as filed, the Council shall notify the filer in writing and direct the filer to file a completed disclosure form within a prescribed period of time, and such notification shall be confidential and is excluded from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);
3. Conduct an annual inspection of a random sample of the disclosure forms filed pursuant to Article 3 and the Acts to determine (i) compliance with applicable disclosure requirements and limitations on gifts, (ii) the accuracy of information disclosed, and (iii) whether filing deadlines were met. Such random sample shall include the disclosure forms of (a) one member of the House of Delegates and one member of the Senate of Virginia, (b) one percent of all state officers and employees required to file a disclosure form, and (c) one percent of all lobbyists required to file a disclosure form;
4. Require all disclosure forms and lobbyist registration statements that are required to be filed with the Council to be filed electronically in accordance with the standards approved by the Council. The Council shall provide software or electronic access for filing the required disclosure forms and registration statements without charge to all individuals required to file with the Council. The Council shall prescribe the method of execution and certification of electronically filed forms, including the use of an electronic signature as authorized by the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (§ 59.1-479 et seq.). The Council may grant extensions as provided in § 30-356.2 and may authorize a designee to grant such extensions;
4. 5. Accept and review any
statement received from a filer disputing the receipt by such filer of a gift
that has been disclosed on the form filed by a lobbyist pursuant to Article 3;
5. 6. Beginning July 1, 2016,
establish and maintain a searchable electronic database comprising those
disclosure forms that are filed with the Council pursuant to §§ 2.2-426,
2.2-3117, 2.2-3118, and 30-111. Such database shall be available to the public
through the Council's official website;
6. 7. Furnish, upon request,
formal advisory opinions or guidelines and other appropriate information,
including informal advice, regarding ethics, conflicts issues arising under
Article 3 or the Acts, or a person's duties under Article 3 or the Acts to any
person covered by Article 3 or the Acts or to any agency of state or local
government, in an expeditious manner. The Council may authorize a designee to
furnish formal opinions or informal advice. Formal advisory opinions are public
record and shall be published on the Council's website; however, no formal
advisory opinion furnished by a designee of the Council shall be available to
the public or published until such opinion has been approved by the Council.
Published formal advisory opinions may have such deletions and changes as may
be necessary to protect the identity of the person involved or other persons
supplying information. Informal advice given by the Council or the Council's
designee is confidential and is excluded from the mandatory disclosure
provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);
however, if the recipient invokes the immunity provisions of § 2.2-3121 or
30-124, the record of the request and the informal advice given shall be deemed
to be a public record and shall be released upon request. Other records
relating to formal advisory opinions or informal advice, including records of
requests, notes, correspondence, and draft versions of such opinions or advice,
shall also be confidential and excluded from the mandatory disclosure
provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act;
7. 8. Conduct training seminars
and educational programs for lobbyists, state and local government officers and
employees, legislators, and other interested persons on the requirements of
Article 3 and the Acts and provide ethics orientation sessions for legislators
in compliance with Article 6 (§ 30-129.1 et seq.) of Chapter 13;
8. 9. Approve orientation courses
conducted pursuant to § 2.2-3128 and, upon request, review the educational
materials and approve any training or course on the requirements of Article 3
and the Acts conducted for state and local government officers and employees;
9. 10. Publish such educational
materials as it deems appropriate on the provisions of Article 3 and the Acts;
10. 11. Review actions taken in the
General Assembly with respect to the discipline of its members for the purpose
of offering nonbinding advice;
11. 12. Request from any agency of
state or local government such assistance, services, and information as will
enable the Council to effectively carry out its responsibilities. Information
provided to the Council by an agency of state or local government shall not be
released to any other party unless authorized by such agency;
12. 13. Redact from any document or
form that is to be made available to the public any residential address,
personal telephone number, or signature contained on that document or form; and
13. 14. Report on or before
December 1 of each year on its activities and findings regarding Article 3 and
the Acts, including recommendations for changes in the laws, to the General
Assembly and the Governor. The annual report shall be submitted by the chairman
as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems
for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be published
as a state document.