VIRGINIA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ADVISORY COUNCIL
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

2026 Subcommittees

1. Meetings Subcommittee

The Meetings Subcommittee consists of Council members: Delegate Kimberly Pope Adams, Maria JK Everett, Corrine Louden, Lola R Perkins, Ken Reid, and Amigo Wade. The Subcommittee will study HB 463 (Cohen) referred by the 2026 Session of the General Assembly, summarized below:

HB 463 (Cohen) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; definitions; meetings; quorum and electronic communication. Amends the definition of "meeting" for purposes of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act such that any assemblage of a quorum of the constituent membership of a public body constitutes a meeting. Under current law, as many as three members or a quorum, if less than three, of the constituent membership of a public body constitutes a meeting. The bill additionally authorizes members of a public body participating through electronic communication in a meeting in which other members are participating in person to count toward the quorum as if the individual were physically present, should such member's physical absence be due to an approved cause of absence.

Meetings Scheduled
Information Coming Soon

2. Records Subcommittee

The Records Subcommittee consists of Council members: Delegate Kimberly Pope Adams, Corrinne Louden, Chad Owen, Lola R Perkins, and Dwayne Yancey. The Subcommittee will study HB 313 (Wachsmann) referred by the 2026 Session of the General Assembly, summarized below:

HB 313 (Wachsmann) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; public records to be open to inspection; non-citizen property owners. Includes non-citizens owning property within the Commonwealth among the list of persons to whom all public records shall be open under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

The Subcommittee will also study and consider the following:

Definition of "personal information." The Subcommittee will continue to discuss the term "personal information" from the 2025 session.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in relation to FOIA requests. The Subcommittee will discuss the emerging impact on AI generated communications on FOIA.
FOIA Charges. The Subcommittee will discuss charges in relation to FOIA and records requests.

Meetings Scheduled
Tuesday, July 21, 2026, 1:00 PM
General Assembly Building, House Room B
Richmond, Virginia
Livestream

3. Remedies Subcommittee

The Remedies Subcommittee consists of Council members: Delegate Marcus Simon, Senator Mamie Locke, Maria JK Everett, Chidi James, Jake Lambert, and Chad Owen. The Subcommittee will study HB 159 (Simon) and HB 160 (Simon) referred by the 2026 Session of the General Assembly, summarized below:

HB 159 (Simon) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; proceedings for enforcement; petition for mandamus or injunction.Specifies that service of process or a summons for a hearing shall not be required when a petition for mandamus or injunction to enforce rights granted under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act has been filed.

HB 160 (Simon) Virginia Freedom of Information Act; officers, employees, or members of a public body; alleged willful and knowing violations; mitigating factors to be considered. Specifies that civil penalties may only be imposed on officers, employees, or members of a public body in actions brought against them in their individual capacity for certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill further requires a court, when determining whether an officer, an employee, or a member of a public body has committed certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act willfully and knowingly, to consider certain mitigating factors, including good faith reliance on: (i) opinions of the Attorney General; (ii) court cases substantially supporting such officer's, employee's, or member's actions; (iii) advisory opinions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; and (iv) advice of counsel for the public body, as evidence that such officer, employee, or member did not willfully and knowingly commit such violation. Current law provides any officer, employee, or member of a public body the right to introduce at any proceeding regarding such willful and knowing violation a copy of a relevant advisory opinion issued by the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

Meetings Scheduled
Information Coming Soon