As summer hits its stride, we’re excited to share news about the future of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government — and it’s all thanks to you.

At our recent board meeting on June 24, VCOG approved its largest budget in years. That milestone is possible because of YOUR unwavering support: membership dues, donations, event registrations, conference sponsorships, media subscriptions, and even those IYKYK magnets. Nearly two-thirds of our operating budget comes directly from the people, businesses and organizations who believe in our mission. The rest is backed by our endowment, established in celebration during our 10th anniversary, yet another achievement made possible by YOU.

Now, we’re looking ahead to another major milestone: VCOG’s 30th anniversary in 2026! While we’ll certainly be celebrating three decades of defending open government in Virginia, we’re even more focused on building a strong foundation for the next 30 years. Here’s a peek at what’s ahead:

A Fresh Look: We’ll be unveiling a new logo and branding that reflects our energy and purpose.

Smarter Connections: We’re investing in contact management software to improve how we keep in touch.

A New Home: For the first time in 15 years, VCOG will have official office space, right in the heart of Williamsburg! 

More Training Opportunities: We’re excited to ramp up our FOIA education efforts. The Virginia State Bar has given us the green light to launch a 3-hour continuing legal education course for attorneys, and we’ll soon seek FOIA Council approval to offer training for FOIA officers as well.

Of course, some things won’t change. You can still count on our popular internships, classes at William & Mary and the University of Richmond, advocacy at the General Assembly, our annual conferences, this very newsletter, and our everyday availability to help you with your FOIA questions.

We’ve come a long way, and the path ahead looks bright. Thank you for walking it with us.

The FOIA Council’s two primary subcommittees — one on records and one on meetings — met June 16 to set up game plans for addressing proposals referred by the General Assembly and other ideas advanced by council members.

The meetings subcommittee elected Maria Everett, who is president of VCOG’s board of directors, as its chair. Most of the discussion centered around the agenda bill promoted by VCOG that aims to limit the addition and action on items added to the agenda at a public meeting. And a suggestion to standardize the way stakeholder workgroups are convened by state agencies was accepted for further consideration. Prior to the meeting, Loudoun County withdrew its suggestion to add ways board members could meet and communicate in emergency situations.

Everett encouraged subcommittee members and members of the public to sit closer together in a more collegial setup — similar to how meetings were conducted in the council’s early days. While this proved a bit awkward in the large General Assembly Building meeting room, it may work better in the smaller space reserved for the next meetings subcommittee session, scheduled for July 7 at 11 a.m.

Lola Perkins, the council’s official local government representative, was elected chair of the records subcommittee. That group focused on two main topics: whether (and how) to define “personal information” in FOIA, and whether a legislative solution exists to address “vexatious requesters” — individuals who use FOIA to obstruct or overwhelm government operations.

VCOG wrote up two curtain raisers on the subcommittee meetings, explaining competing policy arguments and VCOG’s position.
Meetings
Records

The full FOIA Council meets July 7 at 1 p.m., preceded by the meetings subcommittee at 11, with the records subcommittee meeting after the full council adjourns.

It’s that time of year again. Amendments made to FOIA during the 2025 legislative session go into effect July 1, and VCOG’s got them highlighted in our annual FOIA full-text file. The new accordion-style format also includes a link to past versions of FOIA dating back to 2000.

Thanks to Maddie Walker, our 2025 Laurence E. Richardson Legal Fellow,
for her help writing up some of these news recaps.

According to documents obtained through FOIA, Richmond has paid more than $234,000 to attorneys representing the city in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by the city’s former FOIA officer, Connie Clay, which seeks $250,000 in damages. The Richmond Times-Dispatch also obtained email records that show the city provided Clay with the same invoices submitted by the city’s law firm, except for one, which was for more than $64,000 and which the city eventually turned over.

Newport News launched an internally designed FOIA portal and protocol. Residents can submit requests through the Freedom of Information Act Request Center, and they can also browse archived public records, access monthly property code violations, and retrieve frequently requested documents such as the mayor’s statement of economic interest and travel expenses.

Shortly after news coverage of Richmond’s issues with utility bills and meals tax collection, the city removed staff directory information from its website, citing security and possible scams. When the directory still hadn’t returned after 16 months, the Richmond Times-Dispatch published its own database of department directors’ desk and cellphone numbers.

A few days after the leader of a Lynchburg community organizing group won a $50,000 defamation award against a former member of the city council over comments the member made at a 2023 meeting, the current vice mayor apologized to the leader and introduced a resolution to protect speakers’ rights during the public comment section of their meetings.

The Arlington County School Board voted to appoint a new high school principal prior to the comment period, prompting some speakers to later voice concerns about how the principal was selected. The chair admonished speakers not to specifically reference the new or former principal, saying, “This is not the forum for individual personnel matters.”

A member of the Frederick County Board of Supervisors and the board’s chair spent 29 minutes at the end of a June meeting accusing each other and their wives of lying and slander. Another member left the meeting during the squabble, criticizing them for lobbing personal attacks at each other from the dais.

Legal issues dogging the Spotsylvania County Public School division moved forward in June. The federal judge hearing the case that the former superintendent filed against the division ordered the two sides to negotiate a settlement. Mark Taylor says the board violated his First Amendment rights when it terminated him for organizing a book fair promoting Christian literature. Meanwhile, a local circuit court judge ordered a current member of the board to pay another member’s attorney fees in a case where the former was suing the latter for assaulting her during a closed meeting of the board.

Following several news stories about possible abuse of the city’s purchase cards, Richmond launched an online progress tracker to update the public about the program’s overhaul.

The Lynchburg mayor agreed with a council member that because the council member’s “no car tax plan” proposal didn’t have the votes to pass, there was no reason to go on with the public hearing (or public comment) on the matter. Some council members stayed behind to voice frustration and apologize to the public. 

In a major move to boost transparency and election access, the Virginia Department of Elections announced that it will cut the cost of voter lists by 90% starting next month. The change makes key data such as registered voters and past voters more affordable for candidates, parties, and PACs. A statewide list that now costs $6,000 will soon be available for $600.

Presiding over meetings in Loudoun County continued to rub elected officials and the public the wrong way. At school board meetings, the chair continues to react to speakers who made remarks that “target, or criticize or attack” any student or employee by interrupting them or closing the comment period early. Meanwhile, the chair of the board of supervisors reminded those attending meetings to agitate for Palestinian rights, “You will not disturb this room. It’s just that simple. I control this room.”

The Suffolk School Board began the process of adopting new norms, protocols and violations. Included with provisions for responding to public comments during public meetings is a statement that board hearings regarding discipline of a board member will take place in a closed session unless at least three members vote to have the meeting in public.

The Society of Professional Journalists issued a letter to the chair of the Greene County Board of Supervisors criticizing the board of supervisors’ policy, which they call unconstitutional, that prohibits county staff members from speaking to the press about county business. “We note that, to the extent the policy is being used to deny Freedom of Information Act requests from reporters, that is also illegal.”

A report from the state Auditor of Public Accounts says that state agencies needed to make $4.1 billion in adjustments to financial reports last year, which is up from $2.4 billion the year before.

A judge ruled the Franklin City Public Schools board violated FOIA by holding its monthly work sessions in a meeting room that was too small to accommodate the public. The judge also faulted the board for commencing its meetings behind closed doors instead of starting them in public before then making the proper motions to go into closed session.

A Martinsville City Council member filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Martinsville city manager and a sheriff’s deputy. Aaron Rawls was ejected from a March 25 city council meeting while speaking against a pay raise for the city manager during his allotted speaking time. He claims the removal, which he says was carried out by an armed deputy at the city manager’s direction, violated his First, Fourth, and 14th Amendment rights.

UVA’s chief operating officer, who has been named interim president in the wake of Jim Ryan’s resignation, insisted, according to the Cavalier Daily, that an open session was not the place to have a discussion about whether DEI expenses were included in the budget.

Under a recent state law, the Department of Elections randomly selected seven candidates who ran for local office in 2024 to audit their campaign finance reports. The candidates may have to provide bank records, invoices or other records as part of the process, records the department says are not subject to a FOIA request.

The Norfolk School Board voted to fire its superintendent without cause amid pressure from the Norfolk City Council to close at least 10 schools. The topic was not on the original agenda and was instead added during the meeting. In remarks before the vote, the superintendent said the firing was in direct response to a May memo that she sent to the board criticizing dysfunction and a loss of trust between the School Board and the public. 

Prompted by concerns raised by local residents, the Town of Hurt pledged to significantly update its official website and maintain it regularly to share official news and to link to live-streamed meetings, among other things. The meetings will be streamed now on YouTube instead of Facebook Live, and the town said it would not use its Facebook page as a primary means of communication.

Celebrate Virginia’s FOIA, found in the statute books at Section 2.2-3700.

If you know, you know!

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P.O. Box 2576
Williamsburg VA  23187
540-353-8264
vcog@opengovva.org