Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore has proposed a series of measures that would make government in Virginia more open and accessible to the people. The more people know about their government at both the local and state levels, the better government will serve them.

One of Kilgore’s proposals to be submitted to the General Assembly would require that closed meetings of public bodies be either audiotaped or videotaped. That would provide an accurate record of the meeting. And if the meeting led to lawsuit, the proposal would allow a court to determine whether the conduct was proper.

Kilgore, a Republican, said he wants to prohibit state agencies from entering into confidentiality agreements that prevent the agency from disclosing the amount of a civil settlement. While a court could still order the settlement removed from the public eye, the taped record of the settlement would be clear.

The attorney general’s office and the administration of Governor Mark Warner drew heavy criticism last year over secrecy involving the creation of rules for trash-hauling barges in closed meetings. Part of the deal made confidentially between the state and Waste Management Inc. related to barge regulations that environmentalists considered soft. The other part of the agreement made behind closed doors settled a lawsuit the company had brought against Virginia over barging restrictions.

Kilgore said at the time the closed meeting was legal so the state waste management board could get legal advice.

Maria J.K. Everett, executive director of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, said however that the board violated the state’s existing open meeting law by broaching some topics in private that should have been discussed in public.

A spokesman for Kilgore said earlier this month that the proposed legislation is not a reaction to the environmental controversy. No settling of lawsuits behind closed doors? Maybe it’s just a close parallel.

The legislative package offered by the attorney general also would require state agencies, boards and commissions to post on the Internet a description of the rights of someone who makes a request under the Freedom of Information Act. That would cover the procedures that had to be followed to get records from a government body and contact information for the agency employee designated to answer questions or assist with a request.

The legislation proposed by Kilgore does not contain a measure to move the Republican legislative caucuses into the bright light of day. While Democrats have opened their daily caucus meetings to the public and the press, Republican lawmakers have chosen not to do so.

A good argument can be made for the business discussed in the caucus meetings being an important part of the legislative process, which should be open to the public.

In a related disclosure proposal, Kilgore wants a bill to require legislators to file an interim financial disclosure statement if they receive compensation of more than $10,000 within one year from a publicly regulated business, such as a bank, utility company or insurance company. As is stands now, legislators are only required to file financial disclosure statements that reflect their sources of income and financial gifts on an annual basis as of Jan. 1 each year.

While on the subject of open government, three new members of the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors deserve a mention for sticking to provisions of illegal meetings under the state Freedom of Information Act. Supervisors Willie Craft, Tom Conrad and Shawn Armbrust rode two in one car and one in another to a training session in Richmond for new board members. They wanted to avoid the appearance of violating the act’s illegal meeting provision, which says that if three members meet and discuss public business without notifying the public, the meeting would be deemed illegal.

Armbrust conceded that the travel arrangements may seem “a little crazy,” but he added, “We want the public to know we are going to obey the law and not get off on the wrong foot.”

Good for them and good for the people in Appomattox.