May 30, 1973

THE HONORABLE WILLIAM L. LUKHARD
Director Department of Welfare and Institutions

72-73 498A

This is in reply to your recent letter in which you set out the following: "The 1973 amendments to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act removed welfare records, adoption records and illegitimate birth records from the list of those records excluded from the provisions of the act. (§ 2.1-342) (b)(3)).

"However, sections 63.1-53 and 63.1-209 apparently require that these records be kept confidential. The Social Security Act also appears to require confidentiality of such information.

"Do the 1973 amendments to the Freedom of Information Act affect the confidentiality of welfare, adoption and illegitimate birth records in view of the apparent conflicts with the above cited sections? If so, to what extent can agencies of the Commonwealth and its subdivisions permit or deny access to these records in compliance with the law?"

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act in relevant part requires all official records to be open to inspection "except as otherwise specifically provided by law . . ." (§2.1-342(a) of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended).

Accordingly, since §§63.1-53 and 63.1-209 do otherwise provide for confidentiality with respect to certain records, they control with respect to the records covered by those sections.

It may be of interest to you to know that with respect to the 1973 amendments to the Act, it is the recollection of this Office that the General Assembly considered the confidentiality for the welfare records, etc., under §2.1-342(b)(3) to be duplicative of the confidentiality provided under Title 63.