Attorney General's Opinion 1984-85 #427

VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. MINUTES. PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC BODY FOR PURPOSES OF ACT AND MUST RECORD MINUTES AT ALL PUBLIC MEETINGS.

October 31, 1984

The Honorable Mitchell Van Yahres Member, House of Delegates

84-85 427

This is in response to your request for my opinion whether the Albemarle County Planning Commission ("ACPC") is required by Virginia law to record minutes of its meetings.

You specifically cite for my consideration §15.1-444(d) of the Code of Virginia. This section requires a planning commission to "[k]eep a complete record of its proceedings; and be responsible for the custody and preservation of its papers and documents." The facts which you present indicate that the ACPC has tape recordings and rough notes of its proceedings; however, no formal, written minutes are available at present for the time period of October 1982 through August 1984. The president of Citizens for Albemarle, Inc. has suggested that you propose an amendment to §15.1-444(d), requiring planning commissions to keep "minutes" of all proceedings.

All public bodies are required by law to record minutes at all public meetings. See §2.1-343, a part of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, §§2.1-340 through 2.1-346.1 (the "Act"). The ACPC is a "public body" for purposes of the Act and is, therefore, subject to the requirements of the Act. See §2.1-341(a), (e). The General Assembly has determined that the provisions of the Act are to be liberally construed so that citizens are afforded the opportunity to witness the operations of government. See §2.1-340.1; see also 1979-1980 Report of the Attorney General at 236. It is my opinion, therefore, that in addition to the record-keeping requirements of §15.1-444(d), the ACPC must keep minutes of all public meetings in order to meet its obligation under the Act. See 1978-1979 Report of the Attorney General at 313.

The Act does not specify the form "minutes" must take. In the absence of statutory direction to the contrary, tape recorded minutes would comply with the requirements of the Act, inasmuch as recording is an acceptable method of memorializing a meeting. See 1983-1984 Report of the Attorney General at 441. Section 2.1-341(b) defines "official records" as being inclusive of tapes and sound recordings; hence, applies to recorded minutes of a meeting. It should be noted, however, that §2. l-342(a) requires a public body to make official records available for copying, as well as inspection. Such a requirement should be considered by a public body when determining the form for preparing minutes of its proceeding.