New ordinance aims to create Richmond FOIA library for all requested records
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Documents requested from Richmond's government under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) could become a lot more accessible to the public at large, should a newly-introduced ordinance be approved. City leaders say this is about increasing governmental transparency.
FOIA requests are powerful tools. Virginia FOIA law allows individuals or organizations to request that public records from local or state governments be compiled and released. It's considered a "sunshine law," named such because it shines a metaphorical light on governing agencies.
There are some restrictions on FOIA requests. For example, governments are allowed to redact certain types of protected information from documents. They are also not required to release records that do not exist -- meaning, they do not have to create a new document to fulfill a request.
Typically, when someone submits a FOIA request, the documents associated with that request are just issued to the person who asked for them.
On Monday, Sept. 8, a new ordinance was introduced to the Richmond City Council that would require the city to publish all FOIA-related documents within a publicly available library. The River City currently processes an average of 5,500 FOIA requests annually, per city council documents.
This new measure, patroned by councilwomen Kenya Gibson and Sarah Abubaker, aims to "promote transparency in government." It's modeled after recent action taken by Newport News, which established a FOIA Request Archive that contains the following information for every FOIA request the city receives:
- The date a FOIA request was received
- A copy or summary of the FOIA request
- The status of the FOIA request
- Any fees or costs associated with fulfilling the FOIA reqest
- A link allowing users to download the materials associated with the FOIA request
"Residents, civic associations and community organizations care about transparency in City Hall," the ordinance reads. "This ordinance is part of a broader push from Councilmember Gibson to improve trust in our local government."
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It's estimated that this FOIA library would cost Richmond between $300,000 and $350,000 annually. These funds would be used to hire and pay three full-time FOIA Librarians.
"I continue to focus on transparency policies, which I believe are critical to transforming our city," Gibson said in a Sept. 9 issue of her weekly 3rd District newsletter.
