Virginia Freedom of Information Act

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Contents

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How to ask for records
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The WikiFOIA portal

The Freedom of Information Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Virginia. It also legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

Virginia's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Virginia #38 in the nation with an overall percentage of 46.10%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Virginia 78 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "C", and a ranking of 5 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Virginia's law as the 5th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "B-".[3]

Public Records

"The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities and afford every opportunity to citizens to witness the operations of government. Any exemption from public access to records or meetings shall be narrowly construed and no record shall be withheld or meeting closed to the public unless specifically made exempt". [4]

Open Meetings

"[E]very meeting shall be open to the public and all public records shall be available for inspection and copying upon request. All public records and meetings shall be presumed open, unless an exemption is properly invoked." [5]

Who May Request Virginia Records?

Any citizen of Virginia may request public records in the state. All "public records shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizens of the Commonwealth". [6]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Code of Virginia, 2.2-3700
  5. ↑ Code of Virginia, 2.2-3700
  6. ↑ Code of Virginia, 2.2-3704
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