VA. TO HIDE WORKERS’ EXPENSES

Virginia state agencies are being told to no longer identify for the public which employees are incurring expenses on government credit cards, officials said.

The recommendation, coming from the state Department of Accounts at the request of a bank, appears to contradict the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

State Comptroller David Von Moll said the Department of Accounts started giving that advice to all state agencies in early 2020. He said that was in response to Bank of America, the state’s credit card vendor, which recommended in 2019 that agencies not give out the

name of a state credit card holder to anyone.

“The first step to essentially committing identity fraud is to know the name of the card holder,” Von Moll said. “We have taken the position as a matter of internal control the names of the card holders should be withheld.”

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the nonprofit Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said the department’s advice is wrong. The state’s Freedom of Information Act says the public cannot be denied access to records of any government employee’s allowances or reimbursements for expenses.

Rhyne said she’s unaware of a time that someone committed identity theft simply by having the name of a state employee who uses a credit card. Seeing how particular workers spend money is important, she said.

“It does show us the actions of the individual who may be abusing the credit card system, and if it’s not done by name it means that that person avoids scrutiny and avoids accountability,” Rhyne said.