In a win for transparency, the Senate passed SB 5 this afternoon 37-3. This bill requires all votes by the Parole Board to be publicly recorded.
This is a lay-up. All votes by elected officials cast in their official capacity should be recorded. All of them. Otherwise, accountability can be avoided and that is unacceptable. Only through open transparency can the voting public be able to hold their elected officials accountable.
Senate Democrat leadership voted for it in committee, so it was likely to pass on the floor. Only a few Democrats voted against it, including Sen. Adam Ebbin, whose Nay vote today was his third against this bill.
Sen. David Suetterlein, the bill’s chief sponsor, said on Twitter, “Virginians should know who is making public safety and individual liberty decisions on the powerful Parole Board. I appreciate today’s 37-3 bipartisan support for this sunshine reform and am optimistic it will finally be given consideration by the new House of Delegates.”
Now SB 5 goes to the House where the Republican majority will surely send it to the governor’s desk.
