2009 Legislative Roundup
Last updated: March 25, 2009
Bills that were sent to the governor for his signature are listed first, followed by bills that were referred to the FOI Advisory Council, followed by bill that were either killed, withdrawn, rolled into other bills, etc.
HB1799
Patron: Loupassi
Committee: Senate General Laws
Creates Fraud & Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act and adds complaints made under the act to FOIA exemption 2.2-3705.3(7)
HB1845
Patron: Lingamfelter
Committee: Senate Courts of Justice
Allows a per image fee for public access to online land records
HB1935
Patron: Plum
Committee: Senate Commerce & Labor
Confidentiality of insurance information given to SCC (SCC says they're not subject to FOIA)
HB1969
Patron: Massie
Committee: Senate General Laws
Requires agencies promulgating new regs that need users to submit documents or payments, to determine if those records can be filed electronically, and if so, to amend the regulation.
HB2044
Patron: Nixon
Committee: Senate General Laws
Creates Health Information Technology Standards Advisory Committee to approve data standards and techological systems/software
HB2144
Patron: Nutter
Committee: Senate Courts of Justice
Prohibits State Police from disclosing CHP information except to law enforcement
HB2181
Patron: Phillips
Committee: Senate General Laws
Treasury Dept’s request for FOIA exemption for internal controls information
HB2201
Patron: Vanderhye
Committee: Senate General Laws
Merges the Innovative Technology Authority (ITA), and the Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission into a single entity, named the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority (IEIA), and changes the name of the authority to 2.2-3705.6(17) exemption.
HB2233
Patron: Marsden
Committee: Senate Transportation
Allows VDOT to make some filings electronic-only (but would not apply to most consumer transactions)
HB2269
Patron: Poindexter
Committee: Senate Education & Health
Requires school board budget reports filed with supporting city/county to also be disclosed to the public and put online
HB2285
Patron: Cline
Committee: Senate Rules / Studies sub
Creates searchable database website of state budget expenditures and revenues; amends FOIA
HB2300
Patron: Caputo
Committee: Senate Education & Health
Changes the name of the Department, Board, Inspector General, and Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to the Department, Board, Inspector General, and Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Affects 2.2-3705.5(1).
Also see SB1117
HB2407
Patron: Hall
Committee: Senate Education & Health
Changes the name of the Health Practitioners' Intervention Program to the Health Practitioners' Monitoring Program. Affects 2.2-3705.5(11) and 2.2-3711(A)(24).
HB2426
Patron: May
Committee: Senate General Laws
Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act amendments regarding SSNs
HB2427
Patron: May
Committee: Senate General Laws
Makes the 1st 5 digits of an SSN exempt from FOIA, meaning the last 4 digits are not exempt (this is not a FOIA amendment)
HB2549
Patron: Cox
Committee: Senate Education & Health
Provides for: (i) the exclusion of certain financial records of the Virginia College Savings Plan from the Freedom of Information Act; (ii) the authorization for closed meetings of the Board of the Virginia College Savings Plan in certain circumstances.
HB2550
Patron: Cox
Committee: Senate Finance
Adds Major Employment and Investment projects performed by state and local government entities to 2.2-3705.6(3).
Also see SB1119
HB2639
Patron: Jones
Committee: Senate General Laws
Exempts from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (i) personal information contained in the Veterans Care Center Resident Trust Fund concerning residents or patients of the Virginia Veterans Care Center and (ii) records maintained in connection with fundraising activities by the Veterans Services Foundation.
SB935
Patron: R. Smith
Court: House Courts of Justice
Allows a per image fee for public access to online land records (Pilot project for Prince William County only)
SB936
Patron: Cuccinelli
Committee: House Appropriations
Creates a searchable database of budget information
SB1009
Patron: Deeds
Committee: House Courts of Justice
Requires ISPs to turn over customer info upon court order
SB1117
Patron: Ticer
Committee: House Health, Welfare & Institutions
Changes the name of the Department, Board, Inspector General, and Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to the Department, Board, Inspector General, and Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. Affects 2.2-3705.5(1).
Also see HB2300
SB1119
Patron: Colgan
Committee: House Appropriations
Adds Major Employment and Investment projects performed by state and local government entities to 2.2-3705.6(3).
Also see HB2550
SB1282
Patron: Newman
Committee: House Health, Welfare & Institutions
Prohibits the Department of Health Professions from providing a list of home addresses and other personal information of individuals licensed as health professionals to any private entity for resale to another private entity or the public. The bill also directs the Enterprise Application Public-Private Partnership Office to take appropriate action to prevent the sale of any list of home addresses and other personal information of individuals licensed as health professionals by Virginia Interactive or any other private entity.
SB1285
Patron: Newman
Committee: House Education
Requires school budget information to be published
SB1305
Patron: Hurt
Committee: House General Laws
Exempts from the Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act public assistance fraud investigations conducted by the Department of Social Services and local social service departments.
SB1316
Patron: Houck
Committee: House General Laws
Strikes the requirement to publish an index of computer databases and amends the requirement to publish a statement of rights and responsibilities to ensure that the public can find out generally what types of public records a public body has and what exemptions may apply to those records. This bill is a recommendation of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
SB1317
Patron: Houck
Committee: House General Laws
Addresses electronic meetings problem that arose in DEQ Water and Air boards rewrite last year. This is a recommendation of the FOI Advisory Council.
SB1318
Patron: Houck
Committee: House General Laws
Extends from July 1, 2009, to July 1, 2010, the implementation of the prohibition against collecting an individual's social security number unless collection of such number is (i) authorized or required by state or federal law and (ii) essential for the performance of that agency's duties. The bill contains several technical amendments, all to become effective July 1, 2010.
SB1319
Patron: Houck
Committee: House General Laws
Clarifies that minutes of public meetings must be in writing. The bill also contains a technical amendment. The terms "include" and "in writing" that appear in the bill are defined in Title 1 to mean, respectively, "include, but are not limited to," and "any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42.1 (§ 59.1-479 et seq.) of Title 59.1 is or is not affixed." This bill is a recommendation of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
SB1344
Patron: Reynolds
Committee: House General Laws
Exempts business retention survey data collected by economic development entities.
SB1456
Patron: Petersen
Committee: House Science & Technology
Merges the Innovative Technology Authority (ITA), and the Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission into a single entity, named the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Investment Authority (IEIA). Name change affects 2.2-3705.6(17) and 2.2-3711(A)(30).
SB1478
Patron: Locke
Committee: House General Laws & Technology
Provides a record exemption under the Freedom of Information Act for the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of complainants relating to Uniform Statewide Building Code or Statewide Fire Prevention Code enforcement made to the local governing body. The bill specifies that nothing shall prevent the disclosure of information relating to any building in connection with an inquiry into the performance of that building after it has been subjected to fire, explosion, natural disaster, or other catastrophic event.
SB1505
Patron: Puller
Committee: House General Laws
Clarifies that enforcement actions under the Freedom of Information Act take precedent over other general provisions of law relating to writs of mandamus or injunction.
THE FOLLOWING BILLS WERE REFERRED TO THE FOI ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR FURTHER STUDY
HB2421
Patron: May
Committee: House General Laws
Adds to definition of "public record" explanation that personal correspondence isn’t a public record
referred to FOIA Council, 2/3
HB2471
Patron: Hugo
Committee: House General Laws
Exempts teacher salaries from FOIA’s general requirement that all salaries over $10,000 be disclosed
recommended to send to FOIA Council, 2/3
HB2630
Patron: Crockett-Stark
Allows a law-enforcement officer to request that personal information about the officer be withheld from disclosure on public records.
referred 2/10
SB880
Patron: Stuart
Committee: Senate General Laws
Affirmatively states that Department of Game and Inland Fisheries records are subject to FOIA except for personal info on hunting, boating, fishing, etc. licenses
referred to FOIA Council, 2/4
SB1332
Patron: Cuccinelli
Committee: Senate Transportation
Provides that a private entity that operates, manages, or supervises any portion of the state highway system and receives funding from the Commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions shall be considered a public body for purposes of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) of the Code of Virginia as it relates to that portion of the private entity's business operations responsible for operating, managing, or supervising the portion of the state highway system.
passed by in Transportation w/ letter to FOIA Council
THE FOLLOWING BILLS WERE EITHER KILLED IN COMMITTEE, WITHDRAWN, PASSED BY, ROLLED INTO OTHER BILLS, ETC.
HB1591
Patron: Morgan
Committee: House General Laws / Professional, Occupational & Administrative Process subcommittee (POA)
Creates State ombudsman office to research fraud, waste & abuse. Includes amendment to 2.2-3705.3(7) to include the office.
struck by patron, 1/27
HB1616
Patron: R. Marshall
Committee: Senate General Laws
Requires additional conflict-of-interest filings of land holdings for people on development boards
The GL committee reconsidered it 2/23, in light of passage of a similar bill introduced over the weekend by Sen. Barker. The agreement reached in the committee, though, is to conform 1616 to Barker's bill, and any attempt to resurrect the original version of 1616 will be killed on the Senate floor. Barker eventually withdrew his bill, and 1616 died.
HB1635
Patron: Saxman
Committee: Senate Rules
Requires a member to file a report with the clerk of his house on the day following his receipt of a gift during any session if that gift will be reportable on his annual disclosure form. The failure to file the special report or the filing a false special report is grounds for discipline by the member's house and a knowing violation constitutes a Class 1 misdemeanor.
left in Rules, 2/23
HB1879
Patron: Cosgrove
Committee: House Counties, Cities & Towns / subcommittee #2
Gives localities with a population over 100,000 alternatives to publication in newspaper of general circulation in the locality. These alternatives include publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality, on the locality's website, or on any public access channel operated by the locality, to be aired during prime time programming and at least two other times during the day. Any electronic publication shall be aired daily for two consecutive weeks.
failed to report from subcommittee, 1/29
HB1883
Patron: Nixon
Committee: Senate Rules
Redesigns lobbyist disclosure forms
left in Senate Rules, 2/23
HB1966
Patron: Massie
Committee: House General Laws
substitutes Virginia Economic Development Partnership for the Department of Business Assistance in FOIA and elsewhere
failed to report from sub, 1/28
HB2026
Patron: D. Marshall
Committee: House General Laws / POA Process sub
Adds FOIA exemption to -3711 for meetings of Bd. of the Va. Employee Voluntary Accounts Program when talking about personal information.
referred to Small Business Commission, 1/27
HB2043
Patron: Gear
Committee: General Laws / FOIA sub
Subjects certain business and marketing records of the Port Authority to FOIA
failed to report from sub, 1/29
HB2049
Patron: Gear
Committee: Privileges & Elections, Campaign Finance sub
Prohibits fees from being assessed against citizens who circulate petition for recall of elected official
rolled into HB2465, 1/30
HB2266
Patron: O. Ware
Committee: Senate General Laws
Amends FOIA exemption for zoning complaints to add complaints for fire and building code safety violations.
conformed w/ SB1478 & passed Senate, 2/24
HB2355
Patron: Landes
Committee: House Counties, Cities & Towns
Gives localities alternatives to publishing public notices in newspapers
died in subcommittee, 2/5
HB2497
Patron: Nixon
Committee: House Appropriations / Technology Oversight subcommittee
Encourages e-government initiatives, with goal of adoption of initiatives by July 2013.
left in Appropriations
HB2508
Patron: Pollard
Committee: House Science & Technology
Assisting state agencies in using electronic filing where possible and identifying "strategic plan efforts to expand citizen access to government through electronic filing and reporting.
rolled into HB2497 and referred to House Appropriations, 1/26
SB832
Patron: Locke
Committee: Senate Local Government
Allows localities to adopt ordinances prohibiting firearms in public buildings where public meetings are taking place
failed to report from committee, 1/27
SB934
Patron: R. Smith
Committee: Senate Finance
Requires budget info to be posted online before any legislative action is taken
left in Finance, 2/5
SB1014
Patron: Edwards
Committee: Senate General Laws
Amends FOIA exemption for zoning complaints to add complaints for fire and building code safety violations.
rolled into SB1478, 2/4
SB1425
Patron: Deeds
Committee: House Privileges & Elections
Provides that the information contained in the disclosure of personal interests statements filed by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Governor's Secretaries, and members and members-elect of the General Assembly shall be entered into a searchable electronic database that is available to the public through the Internet. The Clerk of the Senate and the Clerk of the House are responsible for establishing and maintaining the database for the members and members-elect of the appropriate house and the Secretary of the Commonwealth is responsible for establishing and maintaining the database for the other officials.
laid on the table in P&E, 2/20
SJ276
Patron: Puller
Committee: House Rules
Directing JLARC to further study med. board disciplinary procedures, including their authority to accept confidential consent agreements
laid on the table in Studies subcommittee, 2/19
