• What we can learn from CHP applications:
  When Christopher Bryan Speight, accused of killing 8 people in Appomattox, sought a concealed weapons permit 15 years ago, he stated that he was "not quick to anger," and found "ways to get out of problems without force or violence." That letter, obtained by the Times-Virginian from the Appamatox County clerk and dated Feb. 2, 1995, was written as then 24-year-old Speight applied for a concealed weapons permit in Appomattox County 15 years ago.
  (Note: Bill to close off access to permits that was to be heard in House committee Friday at 9 a.m. has been CANCELLED.)
  (February 4, 2010)
• Public employee salary information is public:

  The New Hampshire Supreme Court on Friday unanimously supported the state's Right-to-Know Law and ordered a private organization that represents public agencies to release its salary information (February 2, 2010)

• Ware's concealed weapon permit bill:
  A bill to block public access to concealed handgun records and applications has triggered a clash between the right to privacy and the right to know.
  (January 20, 2010)

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• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-13-09: A motion to convene a closed meeting must identify the subject of the meeting, state its purpose, and provide a reference to an applicable exemption. Quoting or paraphrasing a statutory exemption states the purpose of the meeting, but does not identify the subject. FOIA places the duty to identify the subject of a closed meeting upon the public body holding the meeting, not its attorney. (December 17, 2009)
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-12-09: The Virginia State Bar is a public body subject to FOIA. A task force created by a public employee to advise that employee is not a public body. Records in the possession of a public body or employee in the transaction of public business are public records. Questions regarding constitutional separation of powers are beyond the statutory authority of the FOIA Council. Public bodies do not have to create records that do not already exist in order to respond to a records request, but must inform the requester that the records do not exist. (December 16, 2009)
• FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-11-09: An advisory group created by a public body to advise the public body would itself be a public body subject to FOIA. However, such a group created by a public employee to advise the employee would not be a public body. Likewise, such an advisory group would not be a public body if it was self-appointed. (November 30, 2009)

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• Federal suit challenges Va. FOIA residency rule: A former Virginia citizen challenged the exclusionary nature of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in Richmond’s federal court January 19. Virginia’s statute denies FOIA rights to anyone not a citizen of Virginia. Mark McBurney twice sought FOIA documents after Virginia’s Department of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) admitted mishandling his child support case. DCSE denied both requests, ostensibly because he was no longer a Virginia citizen. A similar federal court challenge against the exclusionary aspect of Delaware’s FOIA succeeded in 2006. (February 3, 2009)
• Concealed gun permit database debate: The General Assembly needs to strike a delicate balance in dealing with whether a list of concealed-carry holders should be public (April 10, 2007)
• David Poole: VPAP provides transparency for "anything goes" fund-raising (March 11, 2007)

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