Issue Position: Open Government

Issue Position

Senator Herring has been a strong proponent of common sense measures that promote transparency and accountability in government.

During the 2011 session, he introduced the Virginia Responsible Budgeting and Spending Control Act. The legislation would mandate that the Governor submit a financial plan to the General Assembly that includes projections for total state debt and projected future expenditures over periods of six and ten years. The Governor's plan would also be available to the general public. Senator Herring believes that the General Assembly, and the public, should know precisely the fiscal consequences that spending and borrowing decisions will have on our state budget over the long term.

In 2010, he sponsored and passed the State Government Spending Accountability Act. This legislation requires each state agency to post their check register on their website. It also directs the Auditor of Public Accounts to conduct a review of Commonwealth Data Point, the searchable online database of state revenue and expenditure information that Virginia currently uses, and incorporate the best practices of other states to bring it up-to-date and make it more user-friendly.

Senator Herring also sponsored and passed an anti-SLAPP suit law, to protect citizens who speak out at public hearings against rezonings from being sued by developers. In the wake of a 2007 scandal of suspected corruption involving local zoning decisions, Senator Herring sponsored and passed tough disclosure laws that make Loudoun County's zoning and land-use process more transparent and merit-based.

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