The Virginia Coalition for Open Government  

Welcome to the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. We are a nonprofit alliance formed to promote expanded access to government records, meetings and other proceedings at the state and local level. Our efforts are focused solely on local/state information access.

VCOG • P.O. Box 2576 • Williamsburg, VA 23187 • 540-353-8264

Current Headlines

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Most Recent Legal Opinions on FOIA

  • 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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Ongoing Stories / Editorials

  • 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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2010 General Assembly

The Virginia General Assembly convenes Jan. 14, 2010, for a 60-day session. Follow the progress of access-related bills on VCOG's legislative round-up page.

NFOIC 2010 Summit

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government will host the 2010 National FOI Coalition conference on May 7-8 at the Key Bridge Hyatt in Rossyln (Arlington). Stay tuned for details as they develop.

Upcoming Events

Special Notice: New Members

VCOG is proud of its 2009-2010 members. Click here to see who is supporting open government in Virginia. And click here to see which members of the General Assembly have made the commitment to open government in Virginia!