2014 General Assembly
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Last updated: March 10, 2014, 3:00 p.m. The General Assembly adjourned its regular session on March 8, 2014 |
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Bill No. & Patron |
Bill Summary |
Committee/ |
Notes |
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HB100 and SB600 |
Provides that any references to the issuance of a concealed handgun before July 1, 2008, from any order book or other records maintained by a circuit court clerk are exempt from the requirement that such orders be withheld from public disclosure. The bill also directs circuit court clerks to issue replacement permits to permit holders who undergo a lawful name change. |
Passed House and Senate |
This is in response to the AG's opinion in 2013 that the new law required confidentiality of all court orders granting permits, even if those orders were in order books containing other non-permit-related matters. Support |
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HB193 and see HB 789 |
Removes the requirement that a public body approve by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting the remote participation in the meeting by one of its members. The bill instead requires the public body to approve by a majority vote a policy allowing participation of its members by electronic communication. Once adopted, the public body shall apply this policy uniformly to its entire membership, without regard to the identity of the member requesting remote participation or the matters that will be considered or voted on at the meeting. |
Passed House and Senate |
This is in response to an instance in Leesburg where remote participation was denied to someone who, if present, could've altered the final outcome of a vote taken on a local measure. The bill has been amended to address both VCOG's and local government's concerns, and we are no longer opposed to the bill. |
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Albo |
Amends a record exemption for educational institutions for confidential letters and statements of recommendation placed in the records of educational agencies or institutions respecting an application for promotion. |
Passed House and Senate |
No position |
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Lingamfelter |
Prohibits public institutions of higher education from imposing restrictions on the time, place, and manner of student speech that occurs in the outdoor areas of the institution's campus and is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution unless the restrictions (i) are reasonable, (ii) are justified without reference to the content of the regulated speech, (iii) are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest, and (iv) leave open ample alternative channels for communication of the information. |
Passed House and Senate |
No position |
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HB272 |
Creates a FOIA exemption for records made confidential by the judicial performance evaluation program, though reports submitted to the General Assembly are public. | Passed House and Senate | Support |
| HB275 Krupicka |
Provides that the general registrar shall set reasonable fees for copies made from local electoral board records. | Passed House and Senate | Support -- original has been amended to include a more consistent, set charge |
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Lingamfelter |
Provides that state and local governmental agencies shall grant first informer broadcasters access to an area affected by a disaster, emergency, or major disaster for the purposes of (i) disseminating news and public service and public safety information concerning the disaster, emergency, or major disaster and (ii) repairing, maintaining, or resupplying any facility necessary to the ability of the first informer broadcaster to acquire, produce, and transmit such news and information, unless granting such access would endanger public safety or inhibit recovery efforts or is otherwise inconsistent with state or federal law. |
Passed House and Senate |
No position |
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Anderson |
Allows a clerk of a circuit court to disclose information contained in a concealed handgun permit application to the applicant. | Passed House and Senate | No position |
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Surovell |
Provides that nothing in FOIA shall have any bearing upon disclosures required to be made pursuant to any court order or subpoena, nor shall any discretionary exemption from mandatory disclosure be construed to make records covered by such discretionary exemption privileged under the rules of discovery, unless disclosure is otherwise prohibited by law. | Passed House and Senate | No position |
| HB494 Lingamfelter |
Requires all localities to establish personnel policies covering the use of public property by officers and employees of the locality. Among other things, the personnel policies shall address the use of telephones, personal computers, and related devices and peripheral equipment that are the property of the locality for (i) personal use, to the extent that such use interferes with the employees' productivity or work performance, or (ii) political activities. Provision that Affirmatively states that a person's phone use, etc., is subject to FOIA was struck, as it is existing law | Passed House and Senate |
No position |
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HB703 |
Exempts from FOIA administrative investigations conducted by a public institution of higher education relating to individual employment discrimination complaints or audits/investigations of any officer, department, or program at such institutions. | Passed House and Senate | No position |
| HB837 Keam |
Requires state agencies in the executive branch to post on their respective websites (i) a general summary or range of charges that they may lawfully assess in accordance with the limitations specified in FOIA for the production of public records, including when requested public records will be provided free of charge, or (ii) a general method of how a charge for the production of records will be determined in accordance with the limitations specified in FOIA. | Passed House and Senate |
We still support the bill, even though it was watered down from its original form intent to address concerns from a variety of stakeholders. |
| HB1009 Byron |
Changes the name of the Virginia Workforce Council to the Virginia Board of Workforce Development and provides that Virginia Board of Workforce Development staff is to be provided by the Chief Workforce Development Officer. The bill says that certain proprietary records are not subject to FOIA. |
Passed House and Senate |
No position |
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HB1036 and see SB119, HB787 and HB937 |
Requires the State Corporation Commission to make available for public inspection records that are related to matters related to the Commission's operational responsibilities and operational functions, including revenues, expenditures, financial management and budgetary practices, personnel policies and practices, and procurement policies and practices. | Passed House and Senate |
The approach taken by this bill and SB119 & the SCC is that only those records the statute says are open are accessible to the public. FOIA, and the approach taken by HB787 and HB937 are that all records are open unless exemptions/other laws apply. FOIA also provides procedural safeguards for records requesters. No position |
| HB1053 Miller |
Provides that the performance review of a state agency conducted by the Office of the Inspector General include assessment of the effectiveness, efficiency, or economy of the agency's programs. The bill gives the State Inspector General the discretion to refer certain complaints to the internal audit department of public institutions of higher education. In addition, the bill exempts from mandatory disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act the investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise exempted by law that are provided to or produced by or for internal auditors appointed by the head of a state agency or the board of visitors of a public institution of higher education. |
Passed House and Senate |
No position |
| HJ96 LeMunyon |
Directs the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council to study all exemptions contained in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act to determine the continued applicability or appropriateness of such exemptions and whether the Virginia Freedom of Information Act should be amended to eliminate any exemption from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act that the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council determines is no longer applicable or appropriate. The bill requires the FOIA Council to report its findings and recommendations by December 1, 2016. | Passed House and Senate | Support |
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SENATE BILLS |
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SB78 |
Exempts from FOIA administrative investigations conducted by a public institution of higher education relating to individual employment discrimination complaints or audits/investigations of any officer, department, or program at such institutions. |
Passed Senate and House |
No position |
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SB119 and see HB1086, HB787 and HB937 |
Requires the State Corporation Commission to make available for public inspection records that are related to matters related to the Commission's operational responsibilities and operational functions, including revenues, expenditures, financial management and budgetary practices, personnel policies and practices, and procurement policies and practices. Disclosure of the records is not required if the records are otherwise covered by applicable legal privileges; disclosure of such records could threaten the safety or security of the Commission’s employees, physical plant or information technology assets or data; or the records are not publicly available from other public entities. |
Passed Senate and House |
House Commerce & LaborThis is the SCC's bill on access to the agency's record. Del. Surovell's bill wants to put the SCC under FOIA, which has procedures for access and which says that all records are open unless they are exempt; Surovell's bill includes broad exemptions for the SCC's records. This bill would amend Title 12.1 (the SCC title) and flips the presumption saying only these records are subject to disclosure. Both take the needed steps of putting clarity and consistency into records disclosure at the agency now and in the future. No position. |
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Favola |
Removes the requirement that a public body approve by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting the remote participation in the meeting by one of its members in the event that an emergency or personal matter prevents his attendance in person at the meeting | Passed Senate and House | This is in response to an instance in Leesburg where remote participation was denied to someone who, if present, could've altered the final outcome of a vote taken on a local measure. The bill has been amended to address both VCOG's and local government's concerns, and we are no longer opposed to the bill. |
| SB367 McEachin |
Permits the Department of Motor Vehicles, upon the request of the applicant and presentation of a signed statement by a licensed physician confirming the applicant's condition, to designate an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder on the applicant's driver's license and to designate hearing or speech impairment, insulin-dependent diabetes, or an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder on the applicant's special identification card. Says the emergency contact information is not subject to disclosure under FOIA. | Passed Senate and House | No position |
| SB600 Cosgrove |
Provides that any references to the issuance of a concealed handgun permit before July 1, 2008, from any order book or other records maintained by a circuit court clerk are exempt from the requirement that such orders be withheld from public disclosure. The bill also directs circuit court clerks to issue replacement permits to permit holders who undergo a lawful name change. | Passed Senate and House | Support |
| SB640 Howell |
Adds witnesses in criminal prosecutions of manufacturing, selling, giving, etc., a controlled substance and of violent felonies to the list of those witnesses who may request to have their addresses, telephone numbers, and places of employment withheld from disclosure. The bill also prohibits an attorney who issues a summons for a witness in a criminal case from filing the names and addresses of witnesses who are protected from disclosure of such information with the clerk of the court. | Passed Senate and House | No position |
| INACTIVE BILLS | |||
| HB95 Head |
Allows localities with a population of 50,000 or greater to meet certain notice requirements by utilizing their websites, radio, or television instead of a newspaper of general circulation. | House Counties, Cities & Towns, Sub #2, Failed to report 7-3. | No position |
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HB174 |
Adds a records exemption for administrative investigations conducted by a local inspector general or other local investigator appointed by the local governing body of any county, city, or town or a school board who by charter, ordinance, or statute has responsibility for conducting an investigation relating to allegations of fraud, waste, or abuse by any officer, employee, department, or program of the locality or school division. | House General Laws | Stricken from docket at patron's request |
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HB204 & see SB265 |
Centralizes the filing of economic interest disclosure forms in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Currently only state officers and employees file such statements with the Secretary; local officers and employees file with the clerk of the locality, members of the Senate file with the Clerk of the Senate, and members of the House of Delegates file with the Clerk of the House. AND requires Sec'y of Commonwealth to maintain a searchable online database available to the public. | Tabled |
Support Many of the individual ethics bills were rolled into or the concept incorporated into the omnibus bill, HB1211 |
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HB216 |
Eliminates the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC) and replaces it with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, created by the bill. Includes FOIA records exemption for certain proprietary records & a meetings exemption for discussions about the exempt records. |
House General Laws, Sub #3. Continued to 2015 |
Oppose; another move from a more accountable board to a more powerful and less accountable, e.g., not subject to public procurement for information systems - authority. Oppose |
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HB339 And see SB387 |
Removes obsolete references to applicable federal law in the records exemption for the Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The bill also provides that certain proprietary records provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to the Department are also exempt from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA. | Stricken from docket at patron's request | After many attempts to amend, the bill was ultimately strickedn with a recommendation to have the FOIA Council look at it. |
| HB571 Landes |
Clarifies that the powers and duties of the State Inspector General to conduct performance reviews of state agencies also include assessing the effectiveness, efficiency, or economy of state programs. The bill gives the State Inspector General the discretion to refer certain complaints to the internal audit department of public institutions of higher education. The bill also exempts from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA investigative notes, correspondence and information furnished in confidence, and records otherwise exempted by law that are provided to or produced by or for internal auditors appointed by (i) state agency heads or (ii) the board of visitors of public institutions of higher education. | House General Laws, Sub #4 - Rolled into HB1053 | No position |
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Campbell |
Requires the Secretary of the Commonwealth to establish a central database online and available to the public for statements of economic interests required by law to be filed by state and local government officers and employees and General Assembly members. The bill also sets civil penalties for failure to file and incomplete filing of such statements. | Tabled |
Support - Many of the ethics bills were incorporated in or the concept included in the omnibus bill HB1211 |
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HB787 and see HB937 |
Provides that the State Corporation Commission (Commission) is a public body for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but exempts records of the Commission to the extent such records relate to activities of the Commission other than administrative activities. | Tabled in House Commerce & Labor w/o public comment | Support |
| HB788 LeMunyon |
Sets out the process for public bodies to respond to record requests made by out-of-state requesters. | House General Laws recommends sending to the FOIA Council for study |
This is in response to the U.S. Supreme Court case that said Virginia's "citizens only" FOIA limitation was constitutional. Support |
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HB789 see HB 193 |
Removes the requirement that a public body approve by a majority vote of the members present at a meeting the remote participation in the meeting by one of its members in the event that an emergency or personal matter prevents his attendance in person at the meeting. | Tabled at patron's request |
Oppose See HB 193. |
| HB839 Brink |
Clarifies that for the purposes of FOIA applicable to access to public records, the Office of the Attorney General shall be considered a public body and, except as otherwise expressly provided by law, shall have the same obligations to disclose public records as other custodians of public records. The bill contains technical amendments. | House General Laws, Sub #2 - Carried over, referred to FOIA council for review later this year. | Support |
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HB937 and see HB787, HB1036 and SB119 |
Provides that the State Corporation Commission (Commission) is a public body for the purposes of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but exempts records of the Commission | Tabled in House Commerce & Labor w/o public comment |
This makes the SCC subject to FOIA and uses a broadly written exemption for the regulatory and quasi-judicial records of the agency. At present, the SCC is the only state agency that is entirely exempt from FOIA. Support |
| HB1018 Kilgore |
Requires the appellate courts to produce audio or audio-visual recordings of oral arguments and to make such recordings available to the public without charge. The bill also clarifies that clerks are not required to charge fees for access to or copies of orders and opinions and, further, that a clerk may not restrict redistribution of publicly accessible court records. The bill contains a delayed effective date. | Tabled |
Support The Supreme Court unilaterally started posting their oral arguments & the Clerks Association agreed to meet with VCOG in later months to discuss accessibility of court opinions. |
| HB1029 Orrock |
Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person to use campaign funds for the purpose of knowingly and falsely asserting criminal behavior on the part of a candidate. | Carried over to 2015 in House Courts of Justice, Criminal Sub | No position |
| HB1221 Leftwich |
Provides for a lottery prize winner to elect to withhold from public disclosure his name and other personal identifying information, except that the prize amount and the hometown of the prize winner shall continue to be disclosed as provided in current law. | Tabled | Oppose |
| HJ86 Hope |
Directs the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council (Council) to study whether the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), specifically § 2.2-3703 of the Code of Virginia as it relates to the Virginia Parole Board, should be amended to eliminate the exemption for the Virginia Parole Board from FOIA. | Tabled in House Rules subcommittee on Studies |
Support This may be rolled into or included in HJ96 |
| SB19 Lucas |
Creates the Virginia Casino Gaming Commission as the licensing body for casino gaming. The bill includes a FOIA meeting exemption for "deliberations of the Virginia Casino Gaming Commission in a licensing appeal action conducted pursuant to § 59.1-558 regarding the denial or revocation of a license of a casino gaming operator and discussion, consideration, or review of matters related to investigations exempted from disclosure under subdivision 1 of § 2.2-3705.3." | Continued to 2015 in Senate Finance | No position |
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SB26 |
Increases time periods for public comment and submission of competing proposals and transparency in agreements pursuant to the Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995. The bill also requires a presentation to the Transportation Committees, Senate Finance Committee, and House Appropriations Committee of the General Assembly for projects in excess of $1 billion. | Senate Transportation | Support |
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SB137 and see SB286 |
Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for the owner of a website to both post an arrest photo and solicit, request, or accept money for removing the photograph. | Continued to 2105 in Senate Finance | Bill has been amended to place the activity of demanding money for a take-down under the extortion statute - VCOG is neutral on this revision. |
| SB143 Edwards |
Creates the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council to furnish advisory opinions, conduct training seminars and educational programs, and publish such educational materials and other appropriate information regarding the State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act and the General Assembly Conflicts of Interests Act. The Council is required to report annually on its activities and findings, including recommendations for any legislative changes. | Rolled into SB649 | Support |
| SB158 Miller |
Provides for a statewide referendum on the question of whether a bipartisan advisory commission should be created to propose redistricting plans for the House of Delegates, state Senate, and congressional districts. The referendum would be held at the November 2014 statewide election, and the results would be advisory only. | Left in House Privileges & Elections, Elections subcommittee | Support |
| SB212 Petersen |
Limits the record exemption for working papers and correspondence of members of the General Assembly by providing that such records are protected to the extent they pertain to the drafting or amending of legislation. The bill also provides that any new disclosures required by members of the General Assembly pursuant to the provisions of this bill shall apply to such records received or created on or after July 1, 2014. | Passed by in Senate General Laws & Technology | Support |
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SB265 and see HB204 |
Provides for centralized filing of disclosure forms under both Acts with the Secretary of the Commonwealth and development of a SEARCHABLE ELECTRONIC DATABASE. The bill also requires disclosure of gifts to immediate family members and makes other clarifying changes. | Rolled into SB649 | Support |
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SB286 and see SB137 |
Makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor for the owner of a website to both post an arrest photo and solicit, request, or accept money for removing the photograph. | Rolled into SB137, reported from Senate Courts of Justice, 10-2, and referred to Senate Finance | Bill has been amended to place the activity of demanding money for a take-down under the extortion statute - VCOG is neutral on this revision. |
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SB387 and see HB339 |
Removes obsolete references to applicable federal law in the records exemption for the Department of Rail and Public Transportation. The bill also provides that certain proprietary records provided by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation to the Department are also exempt from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA. | Sent to FOIA Council by Senate General Laws | Support sending to FOIA Council to work out narrowing language |
| SB505 Wagner |
In establishing the financial and regulatory incentives for expanding the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for transportation purposes in the Commonwealth, records and meeting exemptiona are being created for certain proprietary records received by DMV | Continued to 2015 in Senate Finance | Oppose; unless amended to narrow the scope. |
| SB583 Garrett |
Authorizes the chairman or at least one-third of the total membership of a committee or subcommittee to request any person addressing the committee or subcommittee to take an oath to testify truthfully. Any person who takes the oath and then knowingly makes a false statement to the committee or subcommittee is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. | Passed by indefinitely by Senate Rules, 17-0 | Opposed |
