FOI Blog

Let’s talk about fees. Fees for filling FOIA requests. Fair fees for filling FOIA requests. Am I sounding too Dr. Seuss-like? Well, sometimes the fees I see some state and local agencies charge to fill requests for public records do resemble some sort of fantastical, tongue-twisting scenario only the late children’s fabulist could concoct. Here’s…

Did you know you’re not smart enough to read government information? You don’t understand legal terminology. You don’t understand context. You can’t distinguish between facts and distortions, not to mention your lack of ability to pick up on self-serving statements. So, rather than make you feel bad about yourself, some in government would like to…

It seems like only yesterday I was writing about a workgroup the governor designed to advise a public body that would operate outside the Freedom of Information Act. Ah yes. Those were the days. I mean, they’re still the days. Did you see it? On Wednesday, Jeff Caldwell, a spokesperson for Gov. Bob McDonnell told…

An article published over the weekend in Virginia Statehouse News and reprinted by the Daily Press, breathlessly warns us that under a bill awaiting the governor’s signature, “Email records obtained under FOIA will no longer feature information identifying people who talk with local lawmakers.” A public records access expert . . . IN NORTH CAROLINA . . .…

We need your help! A month into the General Assembly session and after crossover, two identical bills were introduced to address the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in United States v. Jones, which said that it is a “search” under the 4th Amendment if the police put a GPS device on someone’s vehicle. The bills, HB…

They’re gray. They’re not very attractive. They’re sometimes confusing. But they are essential to the public’s ability to know what its government is doing…and when.   They are public notices, also called legal notices, and they are in your local newspaper for a reason: to keep you informed.   Unfortunately, there are several bills in…

There are some local government actions that the legislature has said are important enough that they must have a special hearing. Often a public comment period must be included, which is not the case for ordinary public meetings. For decades, the legislature has required that notice of these special hearings (called “public notices”) be published…

The sponsors are different each year, but the goal is the same: prohibit the disclosure at local courthouses of concealed handgun permit applications (CHPs). VCOG has opposed the bills in past years and it will again this year. I know a lot of people will disagree with VCOG. Some may agree. As an open government…

Here’s what Virginia’s FOIA says in section 2.2-3707(H) about recording meetings: Any person may photograph, film, record or otherwise reproduce any portion of a meeting required to be open. The public body conducting the meeting may adopt rules governing the placement and use of equipment necessary for broadcasting, photographing, filming or recording a meeting to…

Tuesday is Election Day. All 140 seats of the General Assembly are up for grabs (well, far too many of the seats are not up for grabs because redistricting has put many senators and delegates into “safe” districts). Throw in all the races for local boards of supervisors, town councils, school boards and constitutional officers,…

(This article appeared on the McLean Patch site Monday, Oct. 24, 2011) There’s a court case being heard Tuesday in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond. Anyone who’s followed the Virginia Coalition for Open Government over the years has heard me talk about McBurney v. Young: the case challenging Virginia law that…

A subcommittee of the Virginia FOIA Council is still studying what to do with Sen. Steve Newman’s bill introduced in 2011 and sent to the council for study. As originally drafted, the bill would prohibit the name of a public employee to be released in connection with that employee’s salary data. In Virginia, salary data…

I’m incredibly proud of the Cavalier Daily for wading into the controversy surrounding UVA’s response to the American Tradition Institute’s request of a former professor’s email on climate change. The school paper penned an editorial for Monday’s edition that carefully addressed a report prepared by the American Constitution Society suggesting that state FOIA laws should…

Much attention was recently directed at the governor’s Government Reform Commission’s revelation that it held a series of closed-door workgroups to discuss possible recommendations. Last year the commission used public committees to consider recommendations, so when the commission’s staff announced in April that it would use the workgroup format, I don’t think anyone thought they…

I received a disturbing note this week from an anonymous state government employee. This person contacted me about how individuals in his/her agency were using gmail accounts and Dropbox-type clouds to discuss public business. I explained how Virginia’s FOIA cares about the content of the public record, not necessarily where it was sent from or…

by Megan Rhyne (This article originally appeared in the Times-Dispatch, Sept. 8, 2011)(Also note: the day before the article appeared, the Governor said that work groups in which 3 or more commission members participated would be open; no word on whether groups with fewer members would be open, too.)    “More voices are being heard.…

Imagine our disbelief if a reporter from the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked U.S. Representative Randy Forbes for comments on the debt ceiling crisis, only to be told that Mr. Forbes couldn’t say anything until he talked to Rep. John Boehner first. Imagine our outrage if someone from the Midlothian Exchange asked Virginia Sen. John Watkins for…

The Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council’s subcommittee on criminal records will use less formal work sessions to study a proposal by the Virginia Press Association to redo section 2.2-3706, the FOIA section dedicated to law enforcement records. The VPA proposal includes a reorganization of sections dealing with “criminal incident information.” In testimony, VPA attorney…

By John EdwardsThe Smithfield Times  A couple weeks ago, we published on this page a quote from the late Howard Broun, a noted newspaper journalist of a century ago. The quote, it seems, is worth pondering today: “Almost nobody means precisely what he says when he makes the declaration, ‘I’m in favor of free speech.’”…

When a New York school district hired a new employee to take care of open records requests, the deputy superintendent for the district had this to say: “We can’t be digging out all this information at the same time we’re trying to deal with legal issues, budget issues and reduced administrative staff.” His frustration is…

In preparation for tomorrow’s seminars in Roanoke on FOIA and on records management, I asked our presenters to put together a list of FOIA tips and/or strategies. I’m looking forward to seeing and hearing what they come up with. And in the meantime, I came up with a list of my own. What would you…

I have to admit, that as the daughter of two former college professors, the flap over using FOIA to gain access to professors’ emails makes me a bit queasy. I know. Sounds hypocritical, doesn’t it? Part of it is disbelief. Deep-seated childhood memories of boredom at the dinner table as they talked on and on…

Last year and this year bills were introduced in the Virginia General Assembly that would allow government to get a court order against a citizen it felt was harassing the government through FOIA. Both bills originated from situations in small localities where a lone clerk — part-time, at that — was getting too many FOIA…

I’m passionate about open government. About what it means to our country. About what it means to citizens and to democracy. Working at the Virginia Coalition for Open Government for over a decade, I’ve met a lot of other people whose passion for open government’s ideal far exceeds mine. Most often these are everyday citizens.…

When my good friend Maria Everett gives presentations to state and local governments as director of the Virginia Freedom of Information Council, she frequently tells people that sometimes, even when what they are doing is legally defensible under the Freedom of Information Act, sometimes it is better from a public relations standpoint, not to do…