Sunrise over V.A. Capitol.
VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

2004 Subcommittees and Workgroups

At its March 29, 2004, meeting, the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council formed three subcommittees to review current FOIA issues and legislation during the 2004 Interim. In addition to establishing these subcommittees, the FOIA Council directed staff to lead a workgroup to review issues of obsolete technology nomenclature in FOIA.

1. HB 1357 (Griffith): FOIA & The General Assembly

During the 2004 Session, the General Assembly passed legislation dealing with FOIA as applied to meetings of the General Assembly. Specifically, the bill provides that floor sessions, committee and subcommittee meetings, and conference committee meetings are subject to FOIA, and that meetings of political party caucuses are excluded from the meeting provisions of FOIA. Access to all other meetings of the General Assembly will be governed by rules established by the Joint Rules Committee. The Joint Rules Committee must hold regional public hearings concerning the proposed rules at least 60 days before the adoption of the rules, and the rules must be adopted by a majority of both houses. The bill directs the FOIA Council to provide technical assistance, upon request, to the Joint Rules Committee in establishing these rules.

The FOIA Council established this subcommittee to work with the Joint Rules Committee in providing whatever assistance may be requested. In addition, the FOIA Council expressed an interest in studying issues and questions raised by the bill about the application of FOIA to the General Assembly and caucus meetings, generally. Senator R. Edward Houck, chairman of the FOIA Council, Delegate H. Morgan Griffith, vice-chairman of the FOIA Council, and Council members Ralph L. "Bill" Axselle, J. Stewart Bryan, and John B. Edwards were appointed to this subcommittee.

Meetings Scheduled:
Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 1:00 p.m.
General Assembly Building, Speaker's Conference Room, 6th Floor
Meeting Summary

2. SB 182 (Blevins): FOIA & Geographic Information Systems

SB 182 was referred to the FOIA Council for study by the 2004 Session of the General Assembly. The bill would have created a FOIA exemption for maps contained in a geographic information system (GIS) that are developed from a combination of high-resolution technologies and related proprietary data. The bill raised issues warranting further study as to the nature of GIS records generally, the scope of their use, and the possible need for an exemption. Council members Tom M. Moncure and Roger C. Wiley were appointed to this subcommittee.

Suggested Legislation:
Robert P. Skoff, Prince William County has suggested the addition of a record exemption along the lines of the following: "GIS data furnished to the local government by nongovernmental entities in confidence or subject to a nondisclosure agreement."

Meetings Scheduled:
Wednesday, June 9, 2004 - 10:00 a.m.
General Assembly Building, House Redistricting Room, 2nd Floor
Meeting Summary

Tuesday, July 13, 2004 - 11:00 a.m.
General Assembly Building, House Redistricting Room, 2nd Floor
Meeting Summary

Thursday, September 16, 2004 - 10:00 a.m.
General Assembly Building, House Redistricting Room, 2nd Floor

3. Electronic Meetings and Notice

At the March 29, 2004 meeting, the clerks of the House and Senate raised questions about the practicality of the 30 days' notice required for electronic meetings under § 2.2-3708 of the Code of Virginia. The clerks also noted that while FOIA does not require public bodies to post notice of its meetings on the Internet, this is often the place that most people look for meeting notice and asked if FOIA should be amended to require such posting. The FOIA Council created a subcommittee to examine and research the electronic issues raised by the clerks' offices. Council members David Hallock, W. Wat Hopkins, and E.M. Miller were appointed to this subcommittee.

Meetings Scheduled:
Monday, November 15, 2004 - 10:30 a.m.
General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor, Room 250
Proposed Draft
Meeting Summary

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 2:30 p.m.
General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor, Room 250
Meeting Summary

Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - 2:00 PM
Richmond - General Assembly Buildingg, 3 East Conference Room
Blacksburg - Durham Hall, Room 463, VA Tech (Video Conference)
Proposed Draft for discussion at meeting
Meeting Summary

4. Technology Nomenclature Workgroup

The FOIA Council directed its staff to lead a workgroup to identify obsolete technology nomenclature in FOIA and to make recommendations for change to the FOIA Council. Participation in this workgroup is open to all interested parties, including representatives of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), who brought this issue to the FOIA Council's attention.

Meetings Scheduled:
Tuesday, September 7, 2004 - 2:00 p.m.
General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor

Proposed Legislation
Meeting Summary

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