House Bill 1 – Places the General Assembly under the state’s Freedom of Information Act as a public body, subjecting the legislature to the state’s open meeting laws. The public is granted access to General Assembly meetings and committees, including Joint Finance, Bond Bill and Sunset committees and all committees or task forces specifically created by legislative resolution, except the Ethics committees. The bill does not cover party caucuses and e-mails written by or sent to legislators or legislative staff. The public would have access to the General Assembly’s records. Current exceptions in the state FOIA law for public bodies and records would apply to the legislature.

Status: SIGNED

House Bill 16 – Requires lobbyists to disclose to the Public Integrity Commission the name of every nonprofit organization, community association and trade group of which the lobbyist is a council or board member.

Status: HOUSE PASSED, IN SENATE

House Bill 53 – Prohibits state agencies from granting an unpaid leave of absence to workers while they are incarcerated. It applies to workers who have been convicted and sentenced to a prison term.

Status: SIGNED

House Bill 253 – Restructures the Violent Crimes Compensation Board. It would be renamed the Victim’s Compensation Assistance Program and its duties and employees would be transferred from the Administrative Office of the Courts to the state Department of Justice. The executive director and investigative staff would award benefit compensation to victims based on existing criteria. The board would act as an appeals board, which would have the power to affirm, reverse or modify the agency’s claims decisions. Board members who are appointed or re-appointed would be paid $100 per meeting. Currently, board members receive $10,000 annually, while the vice chair receives $11,000 and the chair receives $12,000 annually.

Status: SIGNED

Senate Bill 104 (Sponsored) – This Bill amends the Freedom of Information Act to take advantage of current technology by permitting members of certain public bodies to participate in a meeting using video-conferencing under certain conditions. Public bodies, other than elected public bodies, would be permitted to conduct meetings by video-conferencing. For example, school boards would not be permitted to conduct meetings by video conferencing. The meeting would be held in multiple public places with video-conferencing capability allowing greater public participation. It would be necessary for the communication among members of the public body to be viewed and heard by members of the public who are present. This video-conferencing alternative is not available where a verbatim transcript of the proceeding may be necessary, except for public hearings on rules and regulations. For example, members of professional regulatory boards could not attend disciplinary hearings via video-conferencing. Video-conferencing would be permitted at routine meetings which require minutes.