FOI Blog

9-3-08NOTE: The subcommittee was convened to study whether a change needs to be made to the minutes requirement of FOIA. 2.2-3707(I): "…Minutes shall include, but are not limited to, (i) the date, time, and location of the meeting; (ii) the members of the public body recorded as present and absent; and (iii) a summary of…

8-25-08VPA’s initial objection was that the section eliminated the quorum requirement and said members could participate regardless of whether the public could attend.It seemed that DEQ was creating for itself a lower bar than anyone else conducting electronic meetings.Sticking point with DEQ is really the quorum issue.DEQ explains that it wants a second level of…

Why FOIA MattersFor those of you out there who think FOIA is just a tool for the media to use to annoy public officials, I’ve got news for you: In this day and age access to information about not only what your government does but how it makes its decision can literally have life or…

Not a good year legislative year for access advocatesThe 2008 Virginia legislative session was not a good one for defenders of freedom of information.    Bills that would have improved public access to information died.  Bills that chipped away at Virginia’s FOI Act through small exemptions passed into law with little opposition from lawmakers.  To make…

ACCESS BILLS TO WATCH AS OF FEBRUARY 15, 2008Now that we have reached the midpoint of the Virginia Legislative Session and some bills have died a quiet death, these are the remaining bills that VCOG will continue to advocate in opposition or support. One note, the descriptions of the bills are mine, and are intended…

 If you think Big Brother is watching you, the bill that passed the House on Monday tells you it’s true. The Virginia Fusion Intelligence Center is where state local and federal officials are secretly gathering and  analyzing information on the citizens of Virginia and beyond. Apparently they are busy also worrying about hypothetical situations where…

(though it says above that this was written by Megan Rhyne, it wasn’t. It was written by VCOG Executive Director Jennifer Perkins, but thanks to a Web-updating quirk, Megan’s name was inadvertently added.)The 2008 Virginia General Assembly session has started out with a bang. By my count, there are at least 60 bills to fight,…

I write in response to the article the Free-Lance Star "Spotsy ordered to release 4 e-mails." While there are certainly heartening parts to Judge Beck’s decision, I fear that once again a failure to interpret the letter of the law of Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act will result in future withholding of records that should…

Note: The governor rescinded the policy Friday after the story broke.I never thought of Pennsylvania as a particularly nutty place. You can’t get much more sober and sane than Philly’s Main Line neighborhoods, Pittsburgh’s serious steel making and the Amish, for heaven’s sake.But the people running the state’s elections, bolstered by equally nutty folks at…

Over the weekend, the Roanoke Times reported that the Salem City Council took an expensive retreat to a West Virginia resort to talk city business in more comfortable climes.Out-of-town retreats are nothing new. Though not particularly public-friendly to begin with, at least most local governments who favor these jaunts keep them close by or at…

Thanks for a nice salute from the Commonwealth Iconoclast