 |
VIRGINIA
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
|
AO-10-02
October
16, 2002
Mr. Don Newsom
Williamsburg, Virginia
The staff of
the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is authorized
to issue advisory opinions. The ensuing staff advisory opinion
is based solely upon the information presented in your email
of August 6, 2002.
Dear Mr. Newsom:
You have asked a
series of questions regarding access to property tax records
under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). You
indicate that you have attempted to obtain copies of records
pertaining to delinquent personal property taxes in various
localities. It appears from your correspondence that you are
interested in obtaining the list of delinquent real property
taxpayers in each locality, including the parcel ID, a legal
description of the property, and owner's name and mailing
address. You indicate that you have received various responses
to your requests - one county provided all of the information
you requested, one county allowed you to look at the record
book, which contained incomplete mailing addresses, but did
not allow copies to be made, and one county refused to provide
any of the requested information.
Subsection A of
§ 2.2-3704 of the Code of Virginia provides that [e]xcept
as otherwise specifically provided by law, all public records
shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizens of
the Commonwealth. Subdivision A2 of § 2.2-3705 exempts
[s]tate income, business, and estate tax returns, personal
property tax returns, scholastic and confidential information
held pursuant to §58.1-3. Subsection A of § 58.1-3 makes
it a Class 2 misdemeanor for any state or local tax or revenue
official or employee to divulge any information acquired
by him in the performance of his duties with respect to the
transactions, property, including personal property, income
or business of any person, firm or corporation, except
in specific, enumerated circumstances. This prohibition, however,
does not extend to matters required by law to be entered on
any public assessment roll or book, nor does it prohibit the
publication of a delinquent tax list.
Certain information
concerning real estate is required to be open to the public
pursuant to various provisions of the tax code found in Title
58.1 of the Code of Virginia. Subsection A of § 58.1-3331
requires all property appraisal cards to be open for inspection.
Section 58.1-3115 further requires that assessment books must
be arranged alphabetically by taxpayer name and include the
address of each taxpayer. In addition to this public information,
§ 58.1-3921 requires the treasurer of every city and county
to annually compile a list listing real estate delinquent
for the non-payment of taxes. The list must contain the name
of the taxpayer and any other information that in the opinion
of the Department of Taxation may assist in the collection
of the taxes.
You first asked
whether 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. Based upon the various
statutes set forth above, it would appear that all of those
pieces of information are subject to public disclosure. The
delinquent tax list compiled each year is subject to disclosure
pursuant to subsection B of § 58.1-3. In addition, public
property books list the name, address and amount of assessment
for each parcel of property.1 Please note, however,
that subsection D of § 2.2-3704 states that no public body
shall be required to create a new record if the record does
not already exist. If the delinquent tax list does not
contain all of the fields of information that you have requested,
the treasurer would not be required to create such a document.
You could, however, match up the names from the delinquent
list with the names in the property assessment books and find
each piece of information that you seek.
You next ask if
you are entitled to receive a copy of the records at a reasonable
cost. Subsection A of § 2.2-3704 requires that all public
records be open to inspection and copying by any citizens
of the Commonwealth. (Emphasis added.) Therefore, the
requester has the right to decide whether to simply inspect
the records, or to also make a copy. Subsection F of § 2.2-3704
allows a public body to make reasonable charges for its
actual costs incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying,
or searching for the requested records.
You ask if you may
obtain this information on a computer disk if the treasurer's
office stores the information on a computer, and if so, what
would be the reasonable cost for this. Subsection G of § 2.2-3704
states that if a public body maintains records in a computer
database, the non-exempt portions of the database must be
made available to the requester. The requester has the right
to obtain those records in any tangible medium identified
by the requester provided that the medium is used by the public
body in the regular course of business. Like charges for paper
copies of public records, copies of electronic records must
be made available at a reasonable cost, not to exceed the
actual cost.
You ask if there
is any requirement as to how long a public body has to respond
to a FOIA request, and what happens if a request is ignored.
Subsection B of § 2.2-3704 requires a public body to respond
to a request for records within five working days. If the
public body is withholding all or part of the requested records,
the response must be in writing and must state the statutory
exemption allowing such records to be withheld. The requester
may also determine that it is not practically possible to
provide the records within the five-day period. This latter
response must also be in writing, stating the reason that
the response is practically impossible, and the public body
will automatically receive an additional seven working days
to respond. Subsection E of § 2.2-3704 states that failure
to respond to a request is deemed to be a denial, and a violation
of FOIA. Once a violation has occurred, a person may enforce
the rights and privileges of FOIA by filing a petition for
mandamus or injunction in court, pursuant to § 2.2-3713.
Finally, you ask
if you may reference a written opinion of the Freedom of Information
Advisory Council in a letter to a county treasurer. Written
opinions are a matter of public record and may be used in
whatever capacity you see fit. Please keep in mind, however,
that these opinions are advisory.
Thank you for contacting
this office. I hope that I have been of assistance.
Sincerely,
Maria J.K. Everett
Executive Director
1
1999 Op. Atty. Gen. Va. 17.
|