This is the site of VCOG's list of access-related bills it will follow during the 2010 General Assembly session. Feel free to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it that we may have missed.

ACTIVE HOUSE BILLS

Bill Number: HB7
Sponsor: Tata
Committee: Senate Education & Health
Summary: Provides that when performing its duty to develop a uniform, comprehensive data information system designed to gather all information necessary to the performance of the Council's duties, the Council may contract with private entities to create de-identified student records for the purpose of assessing the performance of institutions and specific programs relative to the workforce needs of the Commonwealth.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB27 (Similar to SB12)
Sponsor: Johnson
Committee: Senate Local Government
Summary: In creating the Bristol Virginia Utility Authority: "Records of the Authority that contain confidential proprietary information or trade secrets pertaining to the provision of telecommunications service, and proprietary information or trade secrets received from another entity pursuant to a nondisclosure agreement, shall be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). As used in this subsection, a public record contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets if its acquisition by a competing provider of telecommunications services would provide the competing provider with a competitive benefit.."
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB79
Sponsor: L. Ware
Committee: Senate Courts of Justice, special subcommitte
Summary: Prohibits a clerk of court from providing public access to concealed handgun permit applications and information regarding identifiable permittees without the written consent of the applicant or permittee. The applications and information would be available to law-enforcement agencies, and the clerk of court would be authorized to release aggregate information that does not identify individual applicants or permittees.
Status: Senate CJ subcommittee refused to report (full committee meetings 3/8)

Bill Number: HB211
Sponsor: Bulova
Committee: Senate General Laws
Summary: Includes in FOIA's definition of scholastic records, those records of an applicant for admission that are maintained by a public body that is an educational agency or institution or by a person acting for such agency or institution.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB283
Sponsor: Albo
Committee: Senate Courts of Justice, Civil Subcommittee
Summary: Requires the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court to permit an electronic interface with the case management system for general district courts to enable private vendors to electronically file civil actions. Private vendors would not have any access to the information in the case management system. Any action electronically filed would be submitted on forms provided by the Executive Secretary.
Status: Passed House & Senat

Bill Number: HB389
Sponsor: Janis
Committee: House Commerce & Labor
Summary: Specifically affirms that the Virginia Offshore Wind Project Development Authority is subject to FOIA, and that "Information supplied by or maintained on persons or entities applying for or receiving allocations of federal loan guarantees, as well as specific information relating to the amount and identity of recipients of such distributions, shall be subject to disclosure in accordance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.)."
Status: (See also SB577 and SB393)
Passed Senate with substitute  (may go to conference)

Bill Number: HB431
Sponsor: Griffith
Committee: Senate General Laws
Summary: Clarifies that a FOIA action may be brought in the name of a person notwithstanding that a request for public records was made by the person's attorney in his representative capacity. The bill also clarifies that costs and reasonable fees for expert witnesses may be recovered by the petitioner in a FOIA action.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB432
Sponsor: Griffith
Committee: Senate General Laws
Summary: Provides an exemption from the mandatory disclosure requirements of FOIA for the working papers and correspondence of the Clerks of the House of Delegates and the Senate of Virginia.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB433
Sponsor: Griffith
Committee: Senate General Laws
Summary: Sets out the original date (January 1, 1975) when social security numbers were authorized to be collected/required by state and local agencies under federal law. This bill is clarifying in nature and is a recommendation of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB434
Sponsor: Griffith
Committee: Senate General Laws
Summary: Exempts from the mandatory disclosure provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, those portions of records that contain account numbers or routing information for any credit card, debit card, or other account with a financial institution of any person or public body. The bill provides, however, that access shall not be denied to the person who is the subject of the record.  The bill defines "financial institution" and contains an emergency clause.  The bill is a recommendation of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB518
Sponsor: Rust
Committee: Senate General Laws
Summary: Clarifies that the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) is not the custodian of records stored or maintained by VITA on behalf of other state public bodies. Such records, however, shall be provided by VITA upon the request of any state public body for which VITA stores or maintains such agency's records in with FOIA. However, other records of VITA shall be public records and subject to FOIA. The bill also expands the exemption for criminal investigative files and clarifies that noncriminal incident materials held by any state or local law-enforcement agencies are exempt from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA. gt;
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB526
Sponsor: Nixon
Committee: Senate Commerce & Labor
Summary: Declares that a person preparing or submitting a document or information that is filed with the clerk of the State Corporation Commission is responsible for ensuring that the document or information does not contain any personal identifiable information, which includes a social security number or other number on a driver’s license, information on credit cards or other electronic billing and payment systems, an individual's date of birth or parent's maiden name, and financial account numbers. The provision does not apply if the information is publicly available or is required or authorized by law to be included in the filed information.
Status: Passed House & Senate

Bill Number: HB655
Sponsor: Armstrong
Committee:
Summary: Revises the process for the appointment of House Panel members and provides for public access to House Panel proceedings. The bill also includes a civil penalty of $250 for any complaint deemed to be frivolous.
Status: See also SB524
Senate Rules Committee reports with amendments (6 no votes)

Bill Number: SB12 (Similar to HB27)
Sponsor: Wampler
Committee: House Counties, Cities & Towns
Summary: In creating the Bristol Virginia Utility Authority: "Records of the Authority that contain confidential proprietary information or trade secrets pertaining to the provision of telecommunications service, and proprietary information or trade secrets received from another entity pursuant to a nondisclosure agreement, shall be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.). As used in this subsection, a public record contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets if its acquisition by a competing provider of telecommunications services would provide the competing provider with a competitive benefit.."
Status: Passed Senate & House

Bill Number: SB35
Sponsor: Lucas
Committee: House Transportation
Summary: Makes the power to regulate and prohibit distribution of handbills, leaflets, bulletins, etc., on highways a statewide authority.
Status: Passed Senate & House

Bill Number: SB137
Sponsor: Obenshain
Committee: House Privileges & Elections
Summary: Allows the State Board of Elections to furnish, for a reasonable fee, lists of registered voters to commissioners of the revenue and city or county treasurers for tax assessment, collection, and enforcement purposes.
Status: Reported from House P&E

Bill Number: SB207
Sponsor: Edwards
Committee: Conference Committee
Summary: Exempts all records of threat assessment teams established at public institutions of higher education from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, and allows these teams to receive health and criminal history records of students for the purposes of assessment and intervention.
Status: See also HB903
Heads to Conference Committee (Senate conferees: Edwards, Houck, J. Miller)

Bill Number: SB295
Sponsor: McDougle
Committee: House Commerce & Labor
Summary: Makes payday lending elibibility database exempt from FOIA.
Status: Passed Senate & House

Bill Number: SB431
Sponsor: Herring
Committee: House Appropriations, Technology Oversight subcommittee
Summary: Requires state agencies to maintain a transaction register including a complete record of all funds expended over one hundred dollars. The bill also requires state agencies to post a copy of each monthly statement for all credit cards issued to officers or employees for official use and a list of all of the number of full-time employees and the average compensation in each class. In addition, the bill directs the Auditor of Public Accounts to conduct a review of the searchable databases providing expenditure, revenue, and demographic information used by other states and to incorporate best practices for ease of use and transparency of state agency expenditures.
Status: Passed Senate & House

Bill Number: SB432
Sponsor: Edwards
Committee: House General Laws
Summary: Creates a FOIA record exemption for the Statewide Agencies Radio System.
Status: Passed Senate & House