Transparency Virginia submitted a letter to the Speaker-designee and the projected majority and minority leaders in both parties in the House and Senate, as well as the clerks of both chambers, urging further improvements in legislative transparency in the 2022 session.
Letter to House/Senate leadership for 2022
December 14, 2021
TVa 2021 annual report
April 16, 2021
Transparency Virginia’s 2021 annual report on legislative transparency. Click the image for full report.
Suggestions for all-virtual public comment
December 16, 2020
Transparency Virginia wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House in December, signed by two dozen ideologically diverse groups, suggesting best practices for the all-virtual 2021 legislative session. Read the letter here.
TVa 2020 legislative report
July 1, 2020
Transparency Virginia’s 2020 annual report on legislative transparency. Click the image or the link above.
Letter to changed leadership
December 10, 2019
On Dec. 10, 2019, Transparency Virginia sent a letter to the newly elected Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, as well as to the majority and minority leaders in both chambers and the chairs of all House and Senate standing committees. In it, TVa encouraged everyone to hold steady on the improvements to transparency made in the General Assembly since TVa’s first report in 2015. To do this, TVa specifically called for:
- live-streaming of subcommittees;
- making Senate floor session and committee meetings searchable;
- adopting a unified meeting notification system;
- posting substitute bills to the LIS in a timely fashion; and
- acting on all bills instead of leaving some in committee.
TVa 2019 legislative report
July 29, 2019
Transparency Virginia’s 2019 annual report on legislative transparency. Click the image or the link below.
Transparency Virginia’s 2018 post-legislative review.
Your name. Your vote.
October 13, 2017
Transparency Virginia asked all candidates for the House of Delegates (incumbents and challengers) a question: Would you support amending the House rules to require a recorded vote (by name) for motions to table (defeat) bills in committee and subcommittee?
Below are the names of those who responded “YES,” followed by the district they are seeking to represent. Those names in bold won their election.
- Steve McBride — 8th
- Chris Hurst — 12th
- Bob Marshall – 13th
- Djuna Osborne — 17th
- Will King — 18th
- Dickie Bell — 20th
- Michele Edwards — 20th
- Will Hammer — 20th
- Ben Cline — 24th
- John Winfrey — 24th
- Angela Lynn — 25th
- Larry Barnett — 27th
- Joshua Cole — 28th
- Nathan Larson — 31st
- David Bulova — 37th
- Kaye Kory — 38th
- Vivian Watts — 39th
- Al Durante — 54th
- Morgan Goodman — 55th
- Marcus Sutphin — 59th
- Betsy Carr — 69th
- Jeff Staples — 77th
- David Rose-Carmack — 83rd
- Terry Hurst — 89th
- Jerrauld “Jay” Jones — 89th
- Jeion Ward — 92nd
- Michael Bartley — 94th
- Sheila Crowley — 98th
- Willie Randall — 100th
This survey was sent to all 173 candidates for the House of Delegates, using the email addresses they have provided to the State Board of Elections, on Oct. 12, 2017, and again on Oct. 16, Oct. 24 and Oct. 31.
Transparency Virginia’s 2017 post-legislative review.
20 January 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Transparency Virginia, a collection of lobbyists and advocates monitoring transparency in the General Assembly, will again this 2017 legislative session be monitoring the three areas of legislative accountability that first brought the group together in 2014.
First, TVa monitors the notice that is given for subcommittee and committee meetings so that citizens and advocates may observe or participate in them. Second, TVa also believes that all bills should receive consideration by a committee or subcommittee. Finally, TVa believes that all votes on bills should be recorded by name, not just by an up or down voice vote.
TVa members have endorsed HB1677, brought by Del. Ben Cline (R-Amherst), which would codify these second two points above: The bill would require all legislation in both the House and Senate “to be considered by the committee of purview or a subcommittee thereof and receive a recorded vote.”
Passage of HB1677 would complement the committee notification system implemented in the House of Delegates last year by Speaker of the House William Howell. The notice system greatly improved the ability of citizens, the press, lobbyists and advocates to follow when bills they care about are being discussed and voted on in the House committees and subcommittees.
Though outside TVa’s three main areas, TVa also supports a measure announced by the Speaker this year to archive video recordings of House floor sessions on the House livestreaming website (http://virginia-house.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3). Video access enhances the public’s ability to monitor their elected officials in action and ascertain their positions on bills.
The meeting notice improvements and the video archives are improvements made since TVa’s formation and have brought Virginia government closer to the public.
TVa applauds the Speaker’s actions and encourages the Senate to make similar efforts.
Questions about TVa’s past and current work can be directed Megan Rhyne at 540-353-8264.
Transparency Virginia 
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