Virginia lawmakers send Parole Board transparency bill to Youngkin; Virginia Green Book historic sites project underway, with signs and website coming soon

Henrico Newsflash – March 3, 2023

Mar 03, 2023

Virginia lawmakers send Parole Board transparency bill to Youngkin

In the final days of the 2023 legislation session, the Virginia General Assembly reached bipartisan agreement on a bill requiring the Virginia Parole Board to conduct more of its work in the open.

The agency, which has long been exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, would no longer have blanket immunity from transparency rules that apply to most government bodies. Legislation approved by both chambers Saturday would strike the Parole Board’s FOIA exemption from state law.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY COVERAGE

Virginia Green Book historic sites project underway, with signs and website coming soon

Historical sites from a book that guided safe travel for Black Americans will be represented through a network of markers around Virginia, and also a website that will launch later this year.

Three state agencies will have a role in the effort to note historic sites listed in Victor Hugo Green’s “The Negro Motorist Green Book,” written during the Jim Crow era.