Attorney General's Opinion 1978-79 #317A

VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. REPORTS TO PUBLIC BODIES ARE "OFFICIAL RECORDS" WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO PUBLIC ACCESS REQUIREMENTS WHEN THOSE REPORTS COME INTO POSSESSION OF PUBLIC BODIES.

January 31, 1979

The Honorable J. Paul Councill, Jr.
Member, House of Delegates

78-79 317A

You have asked whether a report to a public body becomes an "official record" subject to public access under the Freedom of Information Act (the "Act") when the document is in the possession of the public body or at such time as the public body takes some action with respect to the report.

The Act defines the term "official record" to include any document, report or other material "prepared, owned, or in the possession of a public body in the transaction of public business." See § 2.1-341(b) of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended. The explicit language of § 2.1-341(b) indicates that possession of a document by a public body is sufficient to make it an official record if it pertains to the business of the public body. Many records held by public bodies do not require any action by the public body after their receipt. I, therefore, conclude that a report is an "official record" subject to public access requirements of the Act when the report comes into the possession of the public body.