Freedom of Information Act

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located in § 2.2-3700 et seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees.

You may request public records from the City of Newport News in several ways:

To request records from the Economic Development Authority or Industrial Development Authority (EDA/IDA) or if you have questions about requesting records from the EDA/IDA, please contact the EDA/IDA’s FOIA Officer:

Derek Perry, Interim Secretary/Treasurer
2400 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor
Newport News, VA 23607
757-926-8428
757-926-3504 – fax
perryde@nnva.gov

The following elected Newport News Constitutional Officers manage their own FOIA requests:

Rights & Responsibilities

I.    “Public records” include any document or recording of any kind used in the transaction of public business in possession of the City, its employees, officers, or agents. This includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, video and audio recordings, computer data (including information located in databases), handwritten notes, social media posts, and draft documents. In addition to records contained on City-owned devices, records contained in personal electronic devices (including, but not limited, to, personally owned cell phones, portable electronic devices, home computers, and storage devices) are also public records if they are possessed by City employees, officers, or agents, and concern the transaction of public business (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3701).

II.    As a general rule, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act ensures that all existing public records are open to public inspection and copying. FOIA does not require the City to answer questions or to create documents, but does require the City to provide responsive records from electronic databases in the format requested by the requester, if possible.

III.    Any Virginia citizen who is not in jail or prison, with the exception of the allowance contained in Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3706.01 (D)(5)(iii), may make a FOIA request. Representatives of newspapers and magazines with circulation in Virginia, as well as representatives of radio and television stations broadcasting in or into Virginia, are also entitled to make a FOIA request. The motive of the requestor is irrelevant (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (A)).

IV.    A request for documents need not be in writing, and the requestor is not required to refer to the request as a FOIA request. The requestor must identify the records sought with “reasonable specificity.” The City may ask a requester to clarify their request.

V.    The Virginia Freedom of Information Act contains a list of more than 80 categories of documents that are excluded from its mandatory disclosure provisions. These exclusions must be narrowly construed. Examples include, but are not limited to, personnel records, medical and mental health records, library records of patrons, certain criminal records, and ongoing investigations.

VI.    Prior to conducting a search for records, the City shall inform the requester in writing that the public body may make reasonable charges not to exceed its actual cost incurred in accessing, duplicating, supplying, or searching for requested records and ask if the requester would like a cost estimate in advance of the supplying of the requested records. The public body shall provide the requester with a cost estimate if requested. The period within which the public body shall respond under this section shall be tolled for the amount of time that elapses between notice of the cost estimate and the response of the requester. If the public body receives no response from the requester within 30 days of sending the cost estimate, the request shall be deemed to be withdrawn (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (F)).

VII.    The City must respond to a FOIA request within five business days after receiving the request by doing one of the following in writing (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (B)):

a.    Provide the requested documents.

b.    Withhold the documents, cite the applicable statutes or other provisions of law that authorize withholding, and identify with reasonable particularity the volume and subject of the documents being withheld.

c.    Provide some documents and withhold others (or portions thereof) and identify with reasonable particularity the subject matter being withheld, citing the applicable statutes or other provisions of law that authorize the exemption.

d.    Advise the requester that the requested record(s) could not be found or does not exist.

e.    If it is practically impossible to provide the records within five business days, invoke the City’s right to a seven-workday extension. (Law Enforcement has a 60-day extension if the request is for criminal investigative material.)

Charges

I.    In accordance with applicable provisions of FOIA, the City may assess charges for staff time and other expenses incurred in searching for and supplying records in response to FOIA requests (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (F)). Examples of other expenses include, but are not limited to, copy fees, postage, thumb drive costs, and attorney review. Cost estimates provided to requesters will be itemized.

II.    If the estimated cost to respond to a request exceeds $200, the City shall, before continuing to process the request, require the requesting party to pay the estimated deposit (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (H)). The deposit shall be credited toward the final cost of supplying the requested records if the final cost exceeds the estimate. If the final cost is less than the estimate, any amount paid exceeding the estimate shall be refunded to the requester. Whenever the City requires the payment of a deposit, the time in which the Department must respond to the request stops running until the day the deposit is received (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (H)). Deposit request letters should provide requesters with the option of narrowing the scope of the request to minimize costs.

III.    Neither law firms, attorneys, nor members of the press are exempt from FOIA charges.

IV.    If a FOIA response invoice remains unpaid 30 days or more after billing, the City shall refuse to process additional requests from the requester until the requester has paid the amount owed (Va. Code Ann. § 2.2-3704 (I)).

 

If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA. Alternatively, you may contact the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council for a nonbinding advisory opinion at foiacouncil@dls.virginia.gov, or by phone at 804-698-1810.