FOI Blog

More and more often, government attorneys are selling a version of FOIA litigation that isn’t supported by the law’s plain terms I’m not even going to try to flower this up. No clever turn of phrase or perfect metaphor. This just needs to be direct and to the point. SERVICE OF PROCESS IS NOT REQUIRED…

It’s a full-time job to remind public officials about the public’s right to know. I had my 15 minutes of fame 15 years ago this month. USA Today, The Daily Beast, CNN, World Tech, not to mention just about every local paper in the state, and a few TV stations.  It’s almost quaint today to…

There’s a learning curve to finding a policy and determining what its requirements are. Note from Megan: The following was written by VCOG’s 2025 Laurence E. Richardson Legal Fellow, Maddie Walker. Maddie is a rising second-year law student at the University of Richmond. This summer, in addition to looking into school board comment period policies,…

The FOIA Council’s subcommittees on records and meetings took a hiatus last year, with the chair taking the position that attendance at the workgroup the FOIA Council was to convene on FOIA request fees was optional for council members. Members Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Maria Everett and Lola Perkins took turns attending — thanks, ladies — but…

The FOIA Council’s subcommittees on records and meetings took a hiatus last year, with the chair taking the position that attendance at the workgroup the FOIA Council was to convene on FOIA request fees was optional for council members. Members Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, Maria Everett and Lola Perkins took turns attending — thanks, ladies — but…

The following was written for the Williamsburg Watch Substack newsletter, published by Digby Solomon, former president of the Daily Press, and can be found here in its original form: https://www.williamsburgwatch.com/i/157345404/your-right-to-know-what-government-is-doing Imagine you wake up one morning, flip on the TV news, and there, broadcasting from Duke of Gloucester Street, a beaming reporter is announcing that…

Two Virginia universities anticipate tens of thousands of dollars are needed to display warnings and notices of federal guideline violations Here is another example of why higher ed is so frustrating to work with when it comes to transparency measures. Here’s a bill directing facilities that use animals in research to post various reports online.  EXISTING law…

VCOG asks that Fredericksburg make the resumes of candidates to fill a vacant city council seat be made availabe to the public Last year, Del. David Bulova carried a bill at VCOG’s request that was aimed at making sure citizens knew the names and qualifications of people who the rest of the board would decide…

On personnel information, Virginia’s appeals courts have spoken. The Mecklenburg Sun doesn’t have the widest circulation or the biggest internet presence, but its story today — in my opinion — has BIG implications for Virginia FOIA users. But only if local and state governmental bodies respect it and the public insists on it. The paper posted…

Citizen discontent is real. Fighting their FOIA requests doesn’t help.

This FOIA Council meeting was fairly brief, but it did much to clarify where folks are coming from 

Over-the-top descriptions don’t reflect well on the office

Too many public bodies in the Old Dominion show disdain for their fellow Americans 

Another government brief that bends over backwards to withhold information from the public. 

VCOG has filed an amicus brief in the same case arguing the opposite. 

Not really what we had in mind when when the FOIA Council launched in 2000. 

Given how many different committees I find myself in discussing FOIA and transparency legislation, it often feels like I have as many clients as the professionals do instead of just one, VCOG, and sometimes the goals of my job as an advocate versus those of my job as VCOG’s lobbyist aren’t compatible.

The policy flaw in the judge’s decision is that it allows a major category of public employees to remain anonymous. Specifically, it gives individuals who have the power of life or death over their fellow citizens to be paid from taxpayer funds without any accountability.

The FOIA Council should return to its roots and proceed collaboratively  

It’s become predictable. Some tragedy, some catastrophe, some breakdown, something’s gone terribly wrong. Everyone’s reeling. Questions are multiplying. Rumors are flying. So it is understandable that in their zeal to Do Something, many public bodies most closely impacted by the event rush to launch an investigation. Please. Someone. Tell us what went wrong. Then, weeks…

Rocking chair quarterbacking the past week  

An Arkansas state senate committee hearing warmed my heart. Pig Sooie!  

The optics of this fee estimate are not good.  

Please stop making up reasons to redact names form public records so I can stop using all-caps.

A controversy over meeting recordings in Augusta County could use a bit of clarity