In its annual report, the FOI Advisory Council detailed the number and types of requests for help asked of the council from December 2002 through November 2003. A draft of the report was made available at the council’s Dec. 1 meeting, though an official version, which will be given a Senate document number, will be filed in January.
In all, the council received 1,001 telephone and e-mail requests for information (some of those 1,001 requests asked for help on more than one issue or topic). State and local government made 472 of those requests (200 for state government; 224 for local government; and 48 for law enforcement), while citizens made 313 requests and members of the media made 198 requests. Eighteen out-of-state requests were also made.
The council received 24 requests for written advisory opinions. State government made one request, and local made seven requests. Citizens accounted for 13 of the requests, and the media made three.
In the records category, 17 percent of the questions asked of the council related to personnel records, including access to salary and job position information on public employees. Questions about the proper response to a FOIA request made up 13 percent of the inquiries, while 12 percent related to law-enforcement records, and 10 percent related to the procedures for making a request. Other questions related to the charges for records, definition of public records, attorney-client and work-product exemptions, and exemptions for working papers, scholastic records, tax records, procurement records, licensing records, medical records, terrorism and public safety, e-mail, draft records and court records.
In the meetings category, 23 percent of the questions asked related to the mechanics of open meetings, that is, notice, agendas, minutes, etc. Questions about the definition of a meeting made up 16 percent of the inquiries, while 15 percent asked about electronic meetings (notably, questions related to Beck v. Shelton). Ten percent of the inquiries asked about meetings closed under the personnel exemption. Other questions related to voting, public comment, polling, recording, caucuses, special and emergency meetings, closed meeting procedures, and exemptions for consultation with legal counsel, real property, scholastic, and terrorism and public safety discussions.
Of the questions of a more general nature, a quarter were outside the scope of FOIA, such as questions dealing with the federal FOI Act or access to records of private entities. Others asked about the definition of a public body (23 percent), remedies (12 percent) and more.
Finally, the council received 47 requests for FOIA materials, 37 questions about FOIA training, 23 questions about FOIA legislation, 22 suggestions and general FYIs, and 19 questions about the council in general. The council’s Web site dls.state.va.us/foiacouncil.htm was visited more than 20,000 times in the past year.