FOIA; officers, employees, or members of a public body, alleged willful and knowing violations.
About This Bill
Latest Action · Jul 21, 2026
Continued from last session
Session
2027
Introduced
Jan 6, 2026
Primary Sponsor
Marcus B. Simon· primary
Summary
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A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 2.2-3714 and 2.2-3715 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Virginia Freedom of Information Act; officers, employees, or members of a public body; alleged willful and knowing violations; mitigating factors to be considered.
Virginia Freedom of Information Act; officers, employees, or members of a public body; alleged willful and knowing violations; mitigating factors to be considered. Specifies that civil penalties may only be imposed on officers, employees, or members of a public body in actions brought against them in their individual capacity for certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The bill further requires a court, when determining whether an officer, an employee, or a member of a public body has committed certain violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act willfully and knowingly, to consider certain mitigating factors, including good faith reliance on (i) opinions of the Attorney General; (ii) court cases substantially supporting such officer's, employee's, or member's actions; (iii) advisory opinions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; and (iv) advice of counsel for the public body, as evidence that such officer, employee, or member did not willfully and knowingly commit such violation. Current law provides any officer, employee, or member of a public body the right to introduce at any proceeding regarding such willful and knowing violation a copy of a relevant advisory opinion issued by the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.