Nearly five years ago, a group of advocacy organizations called on the Virginia legislature to increase its transparency. Lawmakers have made changes but now the coalition is asking for more.
The group, Transparency Virginia, sent a letter in December to leaders of both parties in the state House and state Senate, Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Beginning in 2015, Virginia lawmakers faced criticism from the watchdog group because many bills died without record of a vote. The House of Delegates now has a rule requiring recorded votes in committee, but the watchdog group said in its 2019 report that it wasn't followed for nearly 34% of bills last year.
The legislature decided in 2018 to stream committee hearings live and archive what took place. The coalition is now proposing that subcommittee hearings also be live streamed, the newspaper reported.
The group also said in its letter than substitute bills should be quickly posted to the state's Legislative Information System website, the newspaper reported.
