| Opinion
No. |
Issue(s)
|
January |
|
AO-01-17 |
Summarizes
the requirements for responding to a request. A failure
to respond to a request for public records is deemed a
denial and a violation of FOIA. The statutory remedy for
a violation is to file a petition for mandamus or injunction
in general district or circuit court. |
February |
|
AO-02-17 |
FOIA
prohibits voting at public meetings by secret or written
ballot as well as voting by telephone or other electronic
communication means. However, FOIA does not address the
use of electronic voting systems that use computer software
to cast, record, and publicly display the votes at a public
meeting. Whether such a system comports with FOIA depends
on whether it publicly displays the individual vote of
each member of the public body, or merely the final vote
tally. |
March |
|
AO-03-17 |
A
motion to convene a closed meeting must identify the subject
of the meeting, the purpose of the meeting, and the exemption(s)
which allow the meeting to be closed. A motion that fails
to identify the subject, or lacks any other element, is
insufficient. |
May |
|
AO-04-17 |
An
organization, corporation, or agency in the Commonwealth
that receives two-thirds (66.6%) or greater support from
public funds is considered to be "supported ... principally
by public funds" and therefore is a "public
body" subject to FOIA. In some instances, an entity
receiving less than two-thirds support from public sources
might be considered a "public body" depending
on the exact facts of each case. In this opinion, an entity
receiving 68% of its support from public funds is considered
a public body subject to FOIA. |
June |
|
AO-05-17 |
An
organization, corporation, or agency in the Commonwealth
that receives two-thirds (66.6%) or greater support from
public funds is considered to be "supported ... principally
by public funds" and therefore is a "public
body" subject to FOIA. Prior opinions advised measuring
an entity's level of funding at the time a request is
made, but did not specify a time period to use as a measure.
FOIA itself is silent on this point. We recommend using
a fiscal year as the basis for determination to provide
a balance between predictability in knowing whether an
entity is subject to FOIA, and flexibility in recognizing
changing factual circumstances. |
August |
|
AO-06-17 |
Meeting
notices must contain the date, time, and location of the
meeting. Notice of regular meetings must be posted at
least three working days prior to the meeting. The day
of the meeting is not counted as one of the three working
days. Working days generally do not include legal holidays,
weekends, or other days when the offices of the public
body are closed. |
October |
|
AO-07-17 |
Following
the policy and procedures of FOIA, all public records,
including procurement records, must be disclosed upon
request unless an exemption or other specific provision
of law allows the records to be withheld. |
