The
PPEA Subcommittee was initially formed in 2005 to study
issues raised by HB 2672 (Delegate Plum), which would have
amended an existing meeting exemption to allow for closed
meetings to discuss records exempt from public disclosure
relating to the Public-Private Education Facilities and
Infrastructure Act (PPEA). In the 2006 Regular Session,
the General Assembly passed SB 76 (Senator Houck), a recommendation
of the FOIA Council, as a result of the work of the PPEA
Subcommittee in 2005. The General Assembly also passed SB
5011 (Senator Houck) during the 2006 Special Session, which
addressed certain other issues under the PPEA and the Public-Private
Transportation Act of 1995 (PPTA). The provisions of SB
5011 will expire on July 1, 2007. The PPEA/PPTA Subcommittee
has been continued to examine the issues raised by SB 5011
and consists of Council members Axselle (Chair), Edwards,
Wiley, and Houck.
Meetings
Scheduled:
Wednesday,
August 9, 2006 - 1:00 p.m.
General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor
Meeting
Summary
VDOT
draft (prepared for review at the August 23 meeting)
Virginia Press Association
draft (prepared for review at the August 23 meeting)
Wednesday,
August 23, 2006 - 10:00 a.m.
General Assembly Building, Senate Room A
Meeting Summary
Subcommittee
Draft
The
Electronic Meetings Subcommittee was initially formed in
2005 to study issues raised by HB 2760 (Delegate Reese),
which would have allowed local public bodies to conduct
meetings under FOIA through electronic communication means
(telephone or audio/visual). Currently, only state public
bodies may conduct meetings in this manner. SB 465 (Senator
Edwards), introduced during the 2006 Regular Session, would
have clarified that political subdivisions of the Commonwealth,
except any unit of local government, are authorized to conduct
electronic communication meetings. SB 465 was referred by
the General Assembly to the FOIA Council for study. The
Electronic Meetings Subcommittee has been continued to examine
these issues and consists of Council members Edwards (Chair),
Fifer, Miller, Wiley, Bryan, Yancey Spencer, and Houck,
and Alan Wurtzel,1 Chairman of the State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
Meetings
Scheduled:
Wednesday,
August 9, 2006 - 10:00 a.m.
General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor
Meeting Summary
Draft
(prepared
for review at the August 23 meeting)
Wednesday,
August 23, 2006 - 2:00 P.M.
General Assembly Building, Senate Room A
Meeting Summary
Revised Draft
Wednesday,
October 11, 2006 - 10:00 A.M.
General Assembly Building, Speaker's Conference Room, 6th
floor
Meeting Summary
Wednesday,
November 8, 2006 - 2:00 P.M.
General Assembly Building, Speaker's Conference Room, 6th
floor
Meeting Summary
Draft (to
be discussed)
Friday,
December 15, 2006 - 10:00 a.m.
General Assembly Building, Speaker's Conference Room, 6th
floor
Draft (to
be discussed)
Meeting
Summary
3. "Fifth
Response" Subcommittee
During
2005, the FOIA Council considered whether to add a "fifth
response" within FOIA to address situations where a
public body receives a records request for records that
do not exist or cannot be found. FOIA currently does not
specify what response a public body is to provide in such
a situation. The Council appointed a subcommittee consisting
of Council members Fifer (Chair), Bryan, Griffith, and Malveaux
to examine these issues.
Meetings
Scheduled:
Thursday, July 27, 2006 - 1:00 p.m.
General Assembly Building, 2nd Floor
Meeting Summary
Draft
Wednesday,
November 8, 2006 - 1:00 p.m.
General Assembly Building, Speaker's Conference Room, 6th
floor
Meeting Summary
4. VRS Workgroup
VRS Workgroup -- The VRS Workgroup was
formed at the October 11, 2006 meeting of the FOIA Council
in response to a presentation from the Virginia Retirement
System. Bob Schultze, Director, and Charles Grant, Chief
Investment Officer, made a presentation to the Council regarding
the need for a FOIA exemption that will allow the delayed
release of certain sensitive investment information and
the ability to protect confidential information provided
by external entities doing business with VRS. Mr. Schultze
and Mr. Grant indicated that without such an exemption,
certain private investment managers would not work with
VRS for fear that their private records might be disclosed
under FOIA. Additionally, certain factual situations could
create conflict between VRS' fiduciary duties in managing
investments and its duties as a public body under FOIA to
respond to records requests. Council members expressed concern
over the definitions to be used and the scope of the exemption,
and how it would differ from the existing exemption for
VRS records found at subdivision 12 of § 2.2-3705.7.
The workgroup consists of Council members Courtney Malveaux
and Mary Yancey Spencer.
Meetings
Scheduled:
Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - 12:00 p.m.
Virginia Retirement System Investment Board, 3rd Floor
1111 East Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219
Draft - This
is a proposed draft of an exemption requested by the Virginia
Retirement System (VRS). The VRS Workgroup (Council Members
Courtney Malveaux and Mary Yancey Spencer) met on November
29, 2006, with VRS personnel and other interested persons
to discuss the exemption request presented by VRS at the
October 11, 2006, meeting of the Virginia Freedom of Information
Advisory Council (FOIA Council). Consensus was reached that
the exemption, if approved, should be placed within the
Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rather than in
another law, that it should be specific to VRS, and that
it should also have a corresponding meetings exemption.
The VRS Workgroup has not made any policy recommendations
or endorsements. The attached draft has not been approved,
endorsed, or recommended by the FOIA Council, but is being
presented as a vehicle to facilitate further discussion
and comment. The draft will be presented for discussion
at the next full FOIA Council meeting on December 15, 2006.
