| Opinion
No. |
Issue(s)
|
January |
|
AO-01-04
|
Metropolitan
Washington Airport Authority is subject to FOIA. |
AO-02-04
|
A public body
must give notice of the time, date, and location of its
meetings, even if the only item on the agenda for the
meeting is a closed session; a public body may withhold
records and conduct closed meetings relating to contract
negotiations until a decision whether or not to enter
into the contract is reached by the public body. |
February |
|
AO-03-04
|
The
Penninsula SPCA is acting as the animal-control arm of
local government, and its records and meetings are open
under FOIA to the extent they relate to these animal control
functions. |
March |
|
AO-04-04
|
FOIA
requires a public body to make available salary records
of public employees; however, FOIA does not require a
public body to create a spreadsheet or list out of these
records, and cannot charge a requester to create such
spreadsheets or lists unless the public body reaches an
agreement with the requester prior to the creation of
the record. |
AO-05-04 |
Absent
a specific court order, a public body cannot require a
citizen of the Commonwealth to make a FOIA request through
her attorney. |
April |
|
AO-06-04 |
Records
of a committee established by a public body are public
records subject to FOIA, even if the records are physically
held by a private sector member of the committee at his
private place of business; grant money received by a private
organization from a government source is not considered
"public funds" for purposes of determining whether
an organization is supported wholly or principally by
public funds. |
AO-07-04 |
The
records exemption at subdivision A 78 of § 2.2-3705
only exempts personal information provided to a public
body for purposes of receiving email from a public body;
it does not apply to personal information provided to
an individual elected official who chooses to send out
emails or updates to constituents. |
May |
|
AO-08-04 |
Redevelopmental
plans submitted to the director of a Redevelopment and
Housing Authority may not be withheld as working papers
because the Authority, and not the director, is required
to approve the plans. |
AO-09-04 |
The
records exemption at subdivision A 85 of § 2.2-3705
for portions of school safety audits does not allow a
school to withhold all records relating to a visitor monitoring
procedure. |
AO-10-04 |
Billing
statements received by a public body from a private attorney
for legal services are not subject to exemption as attorney-client
privilege or work product. |
June |
|
AO-11-04 |
Records
of all investigations of the Department of Health Professions,
and not just records of active investigations, are confidential,
even regarding the subject of the records. |
AO-12-04 |
Gathering
of chairmen and vice-chairmen of a board of supervisors
and school board to discuss bond issues is not a meeting
for purposes of FOIA when they were not appointed by their
respective public bodies to advise the public bodies or
perform delegated functions. |
July |
|
AO-13-04 |
FERPA
& FOIA give access to educational records to the subject
of the records, except that "sole possession records"
are excluded from this requirement; when a student is
enrolled in an institution of post-secondary education,
the student, and not the parent, has the right of access.
|
AO-14-04 |
The
exemption in subdivision 8 of § 2.2-3705.7 that allows
for personal information concerning persons participating
in federally funded rent-assistance programs to be withheld
does not apply to records relating to landlords who enter
into contracts with local housing authorities to provide
such housing. |
AO-15-04 |
A
gathering of three members of a school board at a citizen's
home is a meeting under FOIA when the purpose of the gathering
is to discuss matters of public business pending before
the board. |
AO-16-04 |
A
public body may request a deposit before proceeding with
a request if it estimates that the request will exceed
$200 and may toll its response to the entire request until
the deposit is received; a requester has the right to
narrow a request in an attempt to lower the costs, but
the requester must clearly state that he is narrowing
the request, and not simply asking that certain records
be provided immediately while the remainder of the request
is being processed before paying the deposit; making a
FOIA request is not an adversarial process, and clear
communication from both parties is often the best way
to avoid disputes. |
August |
|
AO-17-04 |
The
working papers exemption found in subdivision 2 of §
2.2-3705.7 was designed to provide an unfettered zone
of privacy for the deliberative process. The exemption
does not expire unless the working papers are disseminated
or otherwise made public by the official to whom the exemption
applies. Absent such a release, a record created by or
for one of the named officials for his personal or deliberative
use retains the characterization of a working paper. |
AO-18-04 |
A
verbal request for records constitutes a FOIA request
and thereby invokes the requirements of FOIA. The custodian
of the records may ask that a request be put in writing,
but cannot refuse to honor a request because it is a verbal
request or require the request in writing. In responding
to a request, a public body must provide all records that
are responsive to the request. If any responsive records
are withheld, an exemption must be cited in writing that
allows the custodian to withhold those records.
|
AO-19-04 |
Two
members of a local electoral board are not violating FOIA
by using email to communicate with one another when the
use is the equivalent of sending a letter; however, members
of public bodies should be cautioned against using email
in a manner that appears to entail simultaneity. |
AO-20-04 |
A
committee composed of two members of a seven-member board
is a public body under FOIA because it was created by
the board to perform delegated functions of the board
and to advise the full board. Therefore, when the two
members of the committee meet to discuss public business,
it is a meeting under FOIA. |
September |
|
AO-21-04 |
Whether
allowing a member of a local disability services board
with a disability to participate in a meeting via telephone
is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, despite
the clear prohibition found in FOIA, hinges on an interpretation
of the Americans with Disabilities Act and not FOIA. The
FOIA Council has the statutory authority only to interpret
FOIA and therefore lacks the requisite legal authority
and the expertise to opine on the requirements of the
ADA. |
October |
|
AO-22-04 |
It
is the policy of this office not to issue an opinion once
litigation is commenced or a judge of competent jurisdiction
has rendered an opinion on the same factual question(s)
raised in a request for an advisory opinion of the Council.
The court, and not the Council, is the appropriate body
to decide and settle a dispute as a matter of law. An
entity that was subject to FOIA by virtue of its receipt
of sufficient public funds may later be excluded from
the definition of a "public body" if it no longer
is supported wholly or principally by public funds; it
is a question of fact that must be decided on a case-by-case
basis. |
November |
|
AO-23-04 |
Applications
for appointment to fill vacancy on local governing body
are exempt from disclosure as personnel records. A public
body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual
costs in responding to a FOIA request. |
December |
|
AO-24-04 |
A
motion to convene a closed meeting must identify the subject
and purpose of the meeting, and cite to a specific statutory
exemption. Decisions reached in closed session do not
become effective until voted upon in an open meeting. |
AO-25-04 |
Open
meeting minutes must be made available to any citizen
of the Commonwealth upon request during the regular office
hours of the custodian. Information that must be included
in meeting minutes of a public body is set forth in FOIA.
The intent of FOIA is best achieved by clear communication
between the requester and the public body. |
AO-26-04 |
The
Virginia Board of Bar Examiners has statutory discretion
to decide whether or not to release bar examination scores,
regardless of whether the scores in question are those
of particular individuals or those of aggregate groups. |
AO-27-04 |
A
task force of citizens organized by a mayor-elect is not
a "public body" subject to the open records
and meetings requirements of FOIA. |
AO-28-04 |
A
private entity that exercises no governmental authority
and is not wholly or principally supported by government
funds is not a public body subject to FOIA's records and
meeting requirements. Money received by a private entity
from government sources under a procurement contract should
not be used to determine whether an entity is wholly or
principally supported by public funds. |
