A more open and transparent government across West Virginia.
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We, the people of West Virginia, hereby request that the state government make all efforts to increase general openness and transparency across all levels of government representing the people of the State of West Virginia.
We request that the Open Governmental Meetings Act be expanded...
1.) To include any and all public meetings of any and all public boards, legislative bodies, municipalities and/or county governments.
2.) To require video recording and posting online of public meetings to a publicly accessible statewide historical database.
3.) To require all financial records of all governmental organizations be posted online to a publicly accessible statewide historical database.
4.) To require all campaign finance contributions of all candidates be posted online to a publicly accessible statewide historical database.
We request that legislation be passed that goes above and beyond the scope of the "Open Governmental Meetings Act" as prescribed in WV State Code Chapter 6, Article 9A. While this act was helpful and a step in the right direction, we believe that it is outdated according to modern technology and abilities to mainstream such information. Access to governmental information ought to be a priority of government.
The financial records of government are the check register of the People. All purchases, financial decisions, commitments and expenditures by the government ought to be readily accessible to the people. This data ought to be automatically published to a statewide website in an easily usable format for the people to review.
All governmental proceedings covered under the "Open Governmental Meetings Act" ought to be video recorded and published online for public review. While some are currently shared online, the vast majority of public meetings across the state are not. The technology required to do so is minimal today, the cost of doing so is negligible, the benefit of doing so is enormous - giving the people a window to see their government.
Campaign finance is also a top priority that needs to be more accessible to the people. It is vital that the people of the State be able to review which individuals and organizations are contributing to which candidates for public office. While these records are currently required and submitted to the State, they are not known for their ease of access, or ability to search for specific information one is interested in. All campaign contributions ought to be published online in an easy-to-use format for the public to access, review and use to make informed decisions on.
We also recognize the efforts made and represented on Transparency WV's website at www.transparencywv.org/, but again believe that these efforts fall short of true transparency. We desire more accurate, detailed, real-time information and documentation/publication requirements for public officials across all levels of government including, but not limited to, the Governor's Office, the WV Legislature, County Governments, Municipalities and any elected representative board.
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