FOI Advisory Council: Misc.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-10-09
Certain portions of FOIA’s criminal records exemptions are currently limited to use only by local law enforcement agencies, not the State Police.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-09
Section 15.2-2907 says that certain meetings that are or would be subject to review by the Commission on Local Government — like consolidation and annexation discussions — are not subject to FOIA.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-08
Weekends and legal holidays are not counted as working days when computing the five working day time limit for a response to a request for public records. A public body must inform a requester in writing when it does not have the records the requester seeks. Clear communications are essential to the operation of FOIA.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-12-07
If a public body denies a request for public records in whole or part, it must send the requester a written response citing the law that allows the records to be withheld. The release of certain Department of Social Services records pertaining to child support enforcement matters is prohibited by law under Title 63.2 of…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-06
Opining whether a FOIA provision violates substantive due process under the federal Constitution is beyond the authority of the FOIA Council.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-06
It is beyond the scope of the FOI Advisory Council’s authority to interpret the rules of either house of the General Assembly. There is no joint conference of the General Assembly after adjournment sine die.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-26-04
The Virginia Board of Bar examiners has discretion under §54.1-108 to withhold the passing score an individual made on the bar exam, even when it is the subject individual making the request. The Virginia Board of Bar Examiners can elect to withhold aggregate data on bar exam results under the board’s broad grant of authority…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-22-04
It is the policy of the FOIAC not to issue advisory opinions on matters in pending litigation, or on matters that have already been decided by a judge of competent jurisdiction. Whether or not an entity is a public body is to be measured at the time a request for records is made. Even if…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-21-04
FOI Advisory Council lacks statutory authority to determine whether the Americans with Disabilities Act would allow sensory or physically disabled members of local public bodies to meet via electronic means when FOIA squarely prohibits it.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-18-04
registrar clerk erred by requiring requester to put verbal FOIA request in writing. Freedom of Information Advisory Council has no authority to investigate or enforce possible FOIA violations. Dispute over whether a record exists is a fact issue for a court to resolve.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-16-04
It appears that the intent of the law would indicate that if records do not exist, this should be stated in writing to the requester. once a deposit is requested from the public body, a requester does not have the right to demand that certain records that are believed to be easily accessible be provided…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-04
Town-created strategic planning committee is a public body. The Onancock Business and Civic Organization is not a public body because, exclusive of public grant funding, it receives only 36% of its funding from governmental monies. FOI Advisory Council cannot advise on what is or should be meaningful citizen participation. Nothing in FOIA prohibits receivers of…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-04
Public body must follow FOIA’s notice provision, even if planning to go into a closed meeting immediately; closed meeting can only take place within the context of an open meeting. Draft proposal between a city and a county over acquisition of water may be withheld under the exemption for contract negotations, if disclosure would jeopardize…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-22-03
FOIA does not prohibit public bodies from regulating public comment period during open meetings. A public comment period rule prohibiting speakers from asking questions of the public body and its staff does not violate FOIA’s allowance for records requests to be made verbally. FOIAC cannot render opinions regarding possible federal constitutional violations.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-17-02
The Halifax Industrial Development Authority is a public body subject to FOIA. The FOI Advisory Council’s formal written and informal opinions are advisory only; they do not carry the enforcement authority of a court ruling.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-10-02
a list of delinquent real property taxpayers with parcel ID, legal description, and owner’s name with mailing address is a public record under FOIA. If government maintains a record on a computer disk, a requester can agree to receive a requested record in that form and pay a reasonable cost for it, not to exceed…
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-11-02
The FOI Advisory Council does not have authority to interpret the First Amendment. A circuit court is subject to FOIA. If the clerk’s office maintains a digital database of land conveyances, that database must be made accessible to a requester.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-22-01
Attorney-client privilege exemption gives record custodian discretion to release as much or as little of exempt record to anyone; distribution to one person does not destroy the exemption.
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FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-00
Freedom of Information Advisory Council, FOIAC, not authorized to give citizens or news reporters advice about how to deal with the State Corporation Commission