| Opinion
No. |
Issue(s)
|
January |
|
AO-01-03
|
Members of a
public body may reach a tentative agreement during a closed
meeting, but no action will become effective until voted
on in an open meeting; FOIA allows members to poll each
other individually about their position on a matter of
public business. |
AO-02-03
|
Portions of
records concerning the disciplining of an identifiable
employee must be released to that employee under the personnel
exemption, even if those records may be withheld from
public disclosure under § 2.2-3705(A)(8) as records
compiled specifically for use in an active administrative
investigation. |
February
|
|
AO-03-03
|
Public bodies
may adopt rules governing the placement and use of recording
equipment during a meeting; however, one must examine
the practical implication of the rules' application. A
rule may not essentially prohibit a recording from being
made. |
AO-04-03
|
Comments concerning
identifiable employees on a "quality of work environment"
survey may be redacted and withheld as personnel records. |
AO-05-03
|
When records
are requested from a public body pursuant to a subpoena,
the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia -- not FOIA
-- apply. |
March
|
|
AO-06-03
|
Deliberations
of a school board to discuss whether a teacher's grievance
is grievable may be kept private. |
April
|
|
AO-07-03
|
Names of lawyers
admitted to practice law in Virginia is public record
and not subject to exemption. |
AO-08-03
|
Public body
may only make reasonable charges for its actual costs
incidental to a particular request; public body may not
charge a requester for the time spent compiling records
prior to the request. |
AO-09-03
|
The Appalachia
Volunteer Fire Department appears to be a public body
supported wholly or principally by public funds. |
AO-10-03
|
A suicide report
is a noncriminal incident report subject to disclosure
under FOIA, but portions of the report of a personal,
medical or financial nature may be redacted. |
AO-11-03
|
A public body
must disclose the salary of public employees for a particular
date, upon request; dialogue between public body and requester
to clarify request facilitates the production of records
and is the intent of the law. |
May |
|
AO-12-03
|
Failure
to respond to a FOIA request is deemed a denial of the
request and is a violation of FOIA; person denied rights
under FOIA may file a petition for mandamus or injunction.
|
AO-13-03 |
The
Virginia Baseball Stadium Authority is a public body subject
to FOIA. All of its records must be available for inspection
and copying and its meetings open to the public unless
specifically exempted by statute. |
June |
|
AO-14-03
|
Onancock
Business and Civic Association is not a public body under
FOIA; it is not supported wholly or principally by public
funds, nor is it acting as an agent of the town council
in its participation in the Main Street Program. |
AO-15-03
|
A
FOIA request from a government employee should not be
treated differently than a request from a citizen or representative
of the media; FOIA does not prohibit a public body from
advising a third party that a particular FOIA request
has been made; public body should not make promise of
confidentiality about certain records when no FOIA exemption
exists that would allow those records to be withheld.
|
AO-16-03
|
Specific
mandate in the Code of Virginia that schools provide school
safety audits to Virginia Center for School Safety supercedes
general FOIA exemption that allows portions of audits
to be withheld; local school board retains the authority
to determine which portions of the audits are subject
to the exemption in response to a FOIA request.
|
July |
|
AO-17-03 |
A
public body may hold a closed meeting under the personnel
exemption to discuss the performance and discipline of
a fellow member of the public body only if the public
body has the authority to censure, reprimand or otherwise
discipline a member of the public body. |
AO-18-03 |
Student
organizations at public institutions of higher education
are public bodies if supported wholly or principally by
public funds; the organization, and not the university,
is the appropriate entity to ask for records of the organization.
|
AO-19-03 |
Records
held by a private company that has contracted to run a
public university bookstore are subject to FOIA if the
bookstore is acting as an agent of a public body; agency
is a question of fact; the public body, acting as principal,
would be the appropriate entity to request records of
the agent. |
AO-20-03 |
FOIA
requires that a custodian of public records take all necessary
precautions to preserve and safekeep the records; FOIA
does not prohibit a public officer from lending out a
CD for a requester to copy public records so long as the
original records are kept safe. |
AO-21-03 |
Circuit
court clerk must provide digital copies of digital records
upon request; electronic records must be made available
at a reasonable cost, not to exceed the actual cost. |
AO-22-03 |
FOIA
does not require a public comment period during public
meetings, nor does it set forth procedures for receiving
public comment. |
September |
|
AO-23-03 |
Notice
of meetings must contain the date, time and location of
the meeting. If a member of the public body is appointed
by the Governor, notice must also indicate whether or
not public comment will be received during the meeting
and, if so, the approximate point during the meeting when
public comment will be received. |
October
|
|
AO-24-03 |
Protocols
and procedures relating to the execution of prisoners
may be withheld by the Department of Corrections under
FOIA. |
December
|
|
AO-25-03 |
FOIA
exemption for records containing attorney-client privilege
parallels Common Law attorney-client privilege; exemption
does not apply to records of public relations firm hired
by law firm on behalf of city if the public relations
firm is not acting as an agent of the law firm for purposes
of rendering legal advice. Records are not subject to
attorney-client privilege merely because they are sent
to an attorney. |
AO-26-03 |
Exemption
at subdivision A 10 of § 2.2-3705 allows library
to withhold records that identify Internet sites visited
by a patron on a library computer. |
AO-27-03 |
Records
of homicide investigations may be withheld pursuant to
subdivision F 1 of § 2.2-3706; the provisions at
subsection G of § 2.2-3706 do not conflict with subdivision
F 1. |
