Virginia Freedom of Information Act; administrative investigations, local inspectors general. (HB174)

Introduced By

Del. Peter Farrell (R-Henrico)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; administrative investigations; local inspectors general. 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. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
12/23/2013Committee
12/23/2013Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/14 14100734D
12/23/2013Referred to Committee on General Laws
01/16/2014Stricken from docket by General Laws

Comments

Editor’s Pick
John Tayloe Emery writes:

The note below was sent to me by Del. Peter Farrell in response to my question, first asked by Bearing Drift, “At whose behest have you submitted these bills? What malfeasance are they trying to hide from us, and why are you abetting them?”

He's actually blaming Legislative Services for the miscue. Seriously? Is that a first? JTE

--
John, I wanted to let you know that I have posted a response to the Bearing Drift article on the webpage, and here is a copy of that response for your convenience: First and foremost I want to thank you for taking time to look over my bill, HB174, which relates to FOIA exemptions. This bill was poorly drafted by Legislative Services. It is too broad and does not properly address the bill’s initial intention. I am striking the bill from consideration. The intention of the bill, as requested by Goochland County for my introduction, is to put protections into place for whistleblowers that report fraud or abuse within their local government agency from retaliation. Currently similar protections are already in place for state-level employees. Perhaps in a later year we can try to address whistleblower protections more specifically, but at this time I think the best course of action is to strike this bill. Thanks again for pointing out this mistake on my part, and please always feel free to give us a call if we can be of assistance. - Peter