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All Access
4 items, plus 3 FOIA Council opinions below
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Statewide
In a report published in January, the Virginia State Crime Commission reported being told by several law enforcement agencies that they were not following new state laws governing footage collected by surveillance cameras. … Under the new laws, agencies can’t share their databases with other states or federal agencies. But at least nine self-reported that they were still allowing federal agencies continuous access to their databases, and another 20 were still allowing out-of-state agencies that same access, the crime commission said in its report. The commission won’t, however, identify which agencies are violating state law – and it is not required to release records to the public because of a longstanding exemption from public records law. The lawmaker who authored last year’s legislation also has declined repeated requests to respond to the findings in the report.
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Local
Grassroots organizing against a Google data center campus planned for rural, conservative Botetourt County has brought together people from across the Roanoke Valley and the political spectrum. … On Feb. 23, the Southwest Virginia Water Authority, which serves the entire region, released records to the Roanoke Rambler after a months-long legal battle with the online news site over a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request. Those documents revealed the authority had agreed to reserve up to 2 million gallons of water a day for the data center campus, which could eventually require up to 8 million gallons a day. The data centers’ water use has become a key issue for people across the political spectrum, along with how the campus will affect electricity costs. Also common are frustrations that local government has prioritized Google over community desires. … “That’s becoming a focal point of opposition that is going to unite people from these otherwise disparate political backgrounds,” he said, “because it’s in their homes, and electricity prices and drinking water, that affects everybody.”
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Local
Much of the Lynchburg City School Board work session last week was silent as board members participated in a brainstorming exercise to help develop a new mission and vision for the division. … At the work session March 3, board members answered written questions about their priorities for the division. … After school board members finished answering questions, they read out their answers. Here’s what they said:
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In other states-Connecticut
Connecticut legislators have moved to bolster privacy protections for voters and the voting process, including prohibitions on the use of voter registration information and exempting all ballots from public disclosure. The state legislature approved a number of updates to state election laws in a sweeping, fast-tracked bill that Democratic majority leaders ushered to passage last week over objections of the Republican minority. The legislation now awaits action by Gov. Ned Lamont. The legislation prohibits the use of voter registration information the secretary of the state’s office and local registrars of voters collect and maintain for personal, private or commercial purposes. That includes information for advertising, marketing, selling or soliciting products or services. Among other things, the protected personal information includes the names, addresses, birth dates and certain identification numbers of voters.
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The FOIA Council released three opinions in February.
AO-01-26: While FOIA does not explicitly state the level of specificity required when posting the location of a meeting, following FOIA’s policy and purpose the notice must include sufficient information for the public to locate and attend the meeting. (Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Services Council notice saying the meetings will be held at a specific time in Norfolk (also Richmond, Virginia Beach and Staunton) isn’t enough for the public to know how to attend.)
https://opengovva.org/foi-opinions/foi-advisory-council-opinion-ao-01-26/
AO-02-26: “To the extent lesson plans do exist, they are not “scholastic records” under § 2.2-3701 absent student-specific annotations. Lesson plans are not exempt as scholastic records, and the “sole possession” noun phrase does not justify withholding them from non-student requesters. If a lesson plan contains student names or other identifiable student information, those portions should be redacted and the remainder produced to the requester. Hence, if the lesson plans created by Virtual Loudoun teachers are used solely as memory aids then they are properly withheld, but if used in some other capacity, the lesson plans are considered open.”
https://opengovva.org/foi-opinions/foi-advisory-council-opinion-ao-02-26/
AO-03-26: “The [Virginia Tech] Faculty Senate receives an appropriation of public funds deriving from Educational and General Funds allocated by the General Assembly to Virginia Tech. However, the amount and manner of support the Faculty Senate receives from public funds has not been confirmed as to whether it meets the generally recognized threshold of two-thirds, or 66.6 percent, of its annual operating budget. A final conclusion must be reserved until such information is verified. Subsequently, assessment of the Faculty Senate Cabinet’s status as a public body will ultimately depend on the determination of the Faculty Senate’s status as a public body under FOIA.”
https://opengovva.org/foi-opinions/foi-advisory-council-opinion-ao-03-26/
“Democracies die behind closed doors.” ~ U.S. District Judge Damon Keith, 2002
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