Opinions Archive Search Results:
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-20
Closed meeting motions must include a subject, purpose, and citation and must be set forth in detail in the meeting minutes. Votes taken after a closed meeting must reasonably identify the substance of the vote. Meeting minutes must include a summary of the discussion on matters proposed, deliberated or decided, and a record of any…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-20
A public body may not provide a requester with a summary of an existing record instead of the record itself, even when the record may be redacted, unless the requester agrees to accept the summary instead.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-09-19
The fundraising exemption, subdivision A 7 of § 2.2-3705.4, allows a public body to withhold certain information maintained in connection with fundraising activities by or for a public institution of higher education. The identity of a donor may only be withheld under the fundraising exemption if the donor has requested anonymity in connection with or…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-08-19
The exemption in subdivision 13 of § 2.2-3705.1 applies to certain account numbers and routing information, but does not address the names of credit card holders. The expedited hearing provisions in § 2.2-3713 apply regardless of whether a petition is filed in general district court or circuit court. Only a court may rule on evidentiary…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-07-19
The exemption in subdivision 32 of § 2.2-3705.6 of FOIA applies to “information related to a grant application, or accompanying a grant application” that is submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development as described in the exemption. Challenges to applications submitted as part of the Virginia Telecommunications Initiative program are not exempt from…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-19
Failure to provide notice and take minutes of public meetings as required by FOIA are violations of FOIA. Only a court may rule on whether any particular notice is reasonable under the circumstance for a special, emergency, or continued meeting. Once posted, notices should not be removed before the meeting occurs.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-05-19
Charges for public records are limited to reasonable charges not to exceed the public body’s actual costs, but the question of whether a particular charge is reasonable may be decided only by a court.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-19
Section 54.1-108 provides that certain license applications and scoring records, among other records, are not subject to disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. This opinion considers a dispute regarding the redaction of applicant names from records related to the application and scoring process.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-19
Records concerning identifiable individual students, including individual students’ test scores, are scholastic records that are exempt from mandatory disclosure under FOIA. The redaction of a student’s name and other personal information does not necessarily make a scholastic record a nonexempt record that must be disclosed under FOIA as the record may still contain information about…
-
FOI Advisory Council opinion AO-01-19
Access to health records is addressed by FOIA and other specific laws outside of FOIA. Where the laws differ, the more specific provisions are controlling.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-19
A public body engaged in dispute resolution proceedings may hold closed meetings under the exemptions for discussion of actual or probable litigation and consultation with legal counsel on specific legal matters. However, it does not appear that FOIA or the various laws concerning dispute resolution have considered or addressed situations where two or more public…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-18
It is possible that electronic mail message headers could include legal advice and information protected by the attorney-client privilege exempt from mandatory disclosure pursuant to subsection 2 of § 2.2-3705.2. That exemption includes advice from legal counsel to officers of a public body as well as employees of the public body, and does not place…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-07-18
Application forms for medical cannabis pharmaceutical processor permits that are maintained by the Board of Pharmacy are not subject to the disclosure requirements of FOIA pursuant to § 54.1-108.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-05-18
A custodian may require a requester of public records to provide his legal name and address and may attempt to verify that a requester is a citizen of the Commonwealth, a representative of newspapers and magazines with circulation in the Commonwealth, or a representative of radio and television stations broadcasting in or into the Commonwealth.…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-18
Discusses general open meetings requirements of public bodies and their committees as well as obligations of public bodies in response to a request for public records. A public body is not required to record open meetings itself but must afford the public the opportunity to record the meetings. A committee of a public body is…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-08-18
Discusses the use of the contract negotiations and economic development records exemptions. FOIA allows a records custodian to disclose exempt records in his discretion. Also discuss the working papers exemption as it applies to Cabinet Secretaries.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-18
The definition of “public body” includes, among other entities, “any committee, subcommittee, or other entity however designated, of the public body created to perform delegated functions of the public body or to advise the public body.” A budget task force appointed by a school superintendent that advises the superintendent is not a “public body” under…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-18
A motion to convene a closed meeting must identify the subject of the meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and the exemption(s) which allow the meeting to be closed. A motion that fails to identify the subject, or lacks any other element, is insufficient. There is no general exemption for public bodies to discuss police…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-01-18
FOIA provides that public records must be disclosed except as otherwise specifically provided by law. Tax code provisions such as § 58.1-3 are “as otherwise specifically provided by law.” The statutory authority of this office is limited to FOIA matters.
-
FOI Advisory Council opinion AO-07-17
Following the policy and procedures of FOIA, all public records, including procurement records, must be disclosed upon request unless an exemption or other specific provision of law allows the records to be withheld.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-06-17
The FOIA Council’s first opinion under its new executive director, Alan Gernhardt, tackles the three-day notice rule for public meetings.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-05-17
An organization, corporation, or agency in the Commonwealth that receives two-thirds (66.6%) or greater support from public funds is considered to be "supported … principally by public funds" and therefore is a "public body" subject to FOIA. Prior opinions advised measuring an entity's level of funding at the time a request is made, but did…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-04-17
The Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance is (for now) a public body subject to FOIA's records and meetings provisions because it receives 68% of its funding from local government budget appropriations. Should the local government funding drop below 66% of the total budget, the alliance would cease to be a public body subject to…
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-03-17
A motion to convene a closed meeting must identify the subject of the meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and the exemption(s) which allow the meeting to be closed. A motion that fails to identify the subject, or lacks any other element, is insufficient.
-
FOI Advisory Council Opinion AO-02-17
FOIA prohibits voting at public meetings by secret or written ballot as well as voting by telephone or other electronic communication means. However, FOIA does not address the use of electronic voting systems that use computer software to cast, record, and publicly display the votes at a public meeting. Whether such a system comports with…