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VIRGINIA
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
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ADVISORY
OPINIONS ISSUED
2023
| Opinion
No. |
Issue(s)
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July |
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AO-01-23 |
Subsection D of § 15.2-2907 exempts
the Commission on Local Government and certain meetings
from FOIA, but does not otherwise address access to public
records under FOIA. Also discussed the attorney-client
privilege exemption, delivery methods and remedies available
under FOIA. |
November |
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AO-02-23 |
A
GA Governor-elect's transition teams generally would not
be public bodies subject to FOIA unless they are supported
wholly or principally by public funds. Transition team
records might be public records subject to FOIA (i) if
the transition team is a public body because it is supported
by public funds or (ii) if transition team records are
possessed by another public body in the transaction of
public business. Applying FOIA's narrow construction rule
for exemptions, the working papers and correspondence
exemption, subdivision 2 of § 2.2-3705.7, may only
be used by those listed in the exemption itself. While
the "Office of the Governor" is listed in the
exemption, "Governor-elect" is not and therefore,
a Governor-elect may not use the working papers and correspondence
exemption. |
December |
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AO-03-23 |
Upon a receipt of a request, a public body must respond
in accordance with the established provisions and timeframes
in subsection B of § 2.2-3704. If part of the requested
records are being withheld from release, a public body
shall identify with reasonable particularity the subject
matter of withheld portions, and cite, as to each category
of withheld records, the specific Code section that authorizes
the withholding of the records. Considering the policy
of FOIA and the legal duties it imposes, there is a presumption
of good faith that a custodian of records will obey the
law in carrying out their duties by searching for and
providing all records as requested unless the records
are exempt or prohibited from release. FOIA is intended
to be a non-adversarial process for obtaining information. |
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