Virginia Code 2.2-3704.2: Public bodies to designate FOIA officer
A. All state public bodies, including state authorities, that are subject to the provisions of this chapter and all local public bodies and regional public bodies that are subject to the provisions of this chapter shall designate and publicly identify one or more Freedom of Information Act officers (FOIA officer) whose responsibility is to serve as a point of contact for members of the public in requesting public records and to coordinate the public body’s compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 2.2-3704.2
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Official public government website: means any Internet site controlled by a public body and used, among any other purposes, to post required notices and other content pursuant to this chapter on behalf of the public body. See Virginia Code 2.2-3701
- Public records: means all writings and recordings that consist of letters, words, or numbers, or their equivalent, set down by handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostatting, photography, magnetic impulse, optical or magneto-optical form, mechanical or electronic recording, or other form of data compilation, however stored, and regardless of physical form or characteristics, prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees, or agents in the transaction of public business. See Virginia Code 2.2-3701
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. For such state public bodies, the name and contact information of the public body’s FOIA officer to whom members of the public may direct requests for public records and who will oversee the public body’s compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be made available to the public upon request and be posted on the respective public body’s official public government website at the time of designation and maintained thereafter on such website for the duration of the designation.
C. For such local public bodies and regional public bodies, the name and contact information of the public body’s FOIA officer to whom members of the public may direct requests for public records and who will oversee the public body’s compliance with the provisions of this chapter shall be made available in a way reasonably calculated to provide notice to the public, including posting at the public body’s place of business, posting on its official public government website, or including such information in its publications.
D. For the purposes of this section, local public bodies shall include constitutional officers.
E. Any such FOIA officer shall possess specific knowledge of the provisions of this chapter and be trained at least once during each consecutive period of two calendar years commencing with the date on which he last completed a training session by legal counsel for the public body or the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council (the Council) or through an online course offered by the Council. Any such training shall document that the training required by this subsection has been fulfilled.
F. The name and contact information of a FOIA officer trained by legal counsel of a public body shall be (i) submitted to the Council by July 1 of the year a FOIA officer is initially trained on a form developed by the Council for that purpose and (ii) updated in a timely manner in the event of any changes to such information.
G. The Council shall maintain on its website a listing of all FOIA officers, including name, contact information, and the name of the public body such FOIA officers serve.