September 22, 2011
Opinion posted at Vienna Patch from Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, a member of NFOIC:
Much attention was recently directed at the governor's Government Reform Commission's revelation that it held a series of closed-door workgroups to discuss possible recommendations. Last year the commission used public committees to do the consider recommendations, so when the commission's staff announced in April that it would use the workgroup format, I don’t think anyone thought they would be anything other than open to the public also.
Just a few days after it became clear they were anything but open (and only after some agonizingly bad explanations of how this was some new concept of transparency that many many not be able to understand), the governor wisely agreed to require future workgroups to meet in public…but only if three or more commission members are present.