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VIRGINIA
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
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August 15, 2000, Richmond
The Virginia Freedom
of Information Advisory Council, created by the 2000 Session
of the General Assembly as an advisory council in the legislative
branch to encourage and facilitate compliance with the Freedom
of Information Act, held its first meeting. The council is
composed of twelve members.
As directed by statute,
the council is tasked with furnishing, upon request, advisory
opinions regarding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to
any person or agency of state or local government; conducting
training seminars and educational programs for the members
and staff of public bodies and other interested persons on
the requirements of FOIA; and publishing educational materials
on the provisions of FOIA. The council is also required to
file a formal, annual report on its activities and findings
regarding FOIA, including recommendations for changes in the
law, to the Governor and the General Assembly. By statute,
the council will cease to exist on July 1, 2002, unless otherwise
extended by the General Assembly.
Organization
At its organizational
meeting, the council elected Delegate Chip Woodrum as chairman
and Senator Edd Houck as vice-chairman. The council agreed
that the day-to-day operations of the council would be vested
in its executive director. The council also discussed (i)
conducting training seminars at least annually, (ii) the creation
and maintenance of a council website to make the work of the
council and information related to FOIA generally more accessible
to anyone interested in public access issues; and (iii) the
publication of educational materials to assist state and local
government officials, the media, and citizens in complying
with FOIA. A direct line, along with a toll free number, will
be established at the Division of Legislative Services to
handle FOIA inquiries. The website address for the council
is http://dls.state.va.us/foiacouncil.htm.
The next two meetings
of the council have been set for Wednesday, September 20,
2000, and Wednesday, November 11, 2000. Both meetings will
be held at 10:00 a.m. in House Room D of the General Assembly
Building in Richmond.
Training
FOIA training seminars
have already been scheduled by the council for the week of
October 23rd to 27th at the following locations statewide:
Portsmouth Community College, the General Assembly Building
in Richmond, Charlottesville Community College, and Wytheville
Community College. In addition to the FOIA Council, the Virginia
Administrative Law Advisory Committee, the Virginia Association
Chiefs of Police, the Virginia Association of Counties, the
Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia Coalition for Open
Government, the Virginia Community College System, the Virginia
Department of Criminal Justice Services, the Virginia Local
Government Attorneys Association, the Virginia Municipal League,
the Office of the Attorney General, the Virginia Press Association,
the Virginia Association of Broadcasters, the Virginia Sheriff's
Association, and the Virginia School Boards' Association,
will also sponsor and participate in the training seminars.
The Honorable Clifton
A. Woodrum, Chairman
Staff contact: Maria
J.K. Everett
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