West Virginia Freedom of Information Act

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State Sunshine Laws
State Sunshine laws
State Open Meeting Laws
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
How to ask for records
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
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 West Virginia.

The Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

[edit] Recent news

[edit] Transparency blocking

More transparency blocking news from across the country.

[edit] Litigation

More FOIA litigation news from across the country.

[edit] Legislation

More FOIA legislation news from across the country.

[edit] Sunshine Guardians

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Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.

[edit] Transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked West Virginia #11 (along with Arizona and Illinois) in the nation with an overall percentage of 58.00%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave West Virginia 66 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "D", and a ranking of 10 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked West Virginia's law as the 9th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C+".[3]

[edit] Features of the law

"The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments of government they have created." [4]

[edit] What records are covered?

West Virginia law defines records as "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business, prepared, owned and retained by a public body". [4]

Notable exemptions include but are not limited to:

  • Trade secrets
  • Personal information
  • Examinations,
  • Law enforcement investigations
  • Archaeological and historic sites
  • Financial investigations
  • Internal memoranda
  • Security information for individuals infrastructure and electronics

[4]

[edit] What agencies are covered?

West Virginia law defines agencies as all branches of government at both the state and local levels and all bodys created by those branches or funded by public money. [4]

[edit] Who may request records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state.

Anyone may request public records in West Virginia. "Every person has a right to inspect or copy any public record of a public body in this state". [4]

[edit] Must a purpose be stated?

The law does not require a statement of purpose.

[edit] How can records be used?

The law does not restrict the use of open records.

[edit] Time allowed for response

See also: Request response times by state.

West Virginia law allows for 5 business days for records request responses. [4]

[edit] Fees for records

West Virginia law allows for the charging of fees to reimburse the department for the cost of making the records but does not specify what factors affect those fees. [4]

[edit] Open meetings

"The people in delegating authority do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for them to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments of government created by them." [5]

[edit] Proposed changes to the law

Main article: Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009
  • Senate Bill 252 [6] seeks to exempt certain disclosures under Freedom of Information Act. Same as HB2418.
  • House Bill 2418 [7] - "Relating to exempting certain records of the Division of Corrections and Regional Jail Authority from the Freedom of Information Act that, if released, could aid inmates in committing unlawful acts". Same as SB252.

[edit] Relevant legal cases

[edit] Relevant legal cases

See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA

Here is a list of lawsuits in West Virginia. For more information go the page or go to West Virginia sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)

Lawsuit Year
4-H Road Com. v. W.Va. Univ. Foundation 1989
Affiiliated Construction Trades Foundation v. Regional Jail And Correctional Authority 1997
Appalachian Power Co. v. Public Service Commission 1979
Casto v. Board of Education 1894
Charleston Gazette v. City of Charleston 1998
Charleston Mail Association v. Kelly 1965
Child Protection Group v. Cline 1986
Daily Gazette v. West Virginia Board of Medicine 1986
Daily Gazette v. West Virginia Development Office 1996
Daily Gazette v. West Virginia State Bar 1984
Daily Gazette v. Withrow 1986
Hechler v. Casey 1985
Maclay v Jones 2000
McComas v. Board of Education of Fayette County 1996
Ogden Newspapers v. City of Charleston 1994
Richardson v. Town of Kimball 1986
State ex rel. Herald Mail Co. v. Hamilton 1980
State of West Virginia v. Brotherton 2003
State of West Virginia v. Harrison 1947
The Associated Press v. Canterbury 2009
Thompson v. W. Va. Board of Osteopathy 1994
Withrow v. Surface 1931

[edit] Notable requests

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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