× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

The following is a Sunday feature that highlights the work of media organizations and residents across the state to promote open government and access to public information, courtesy of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. Read more at VCOG’s website, www.opengovva.org.

Last week at the General Assembly, a House subcommittee advanced to the full Committee on Rules a recommendation that the FOIA Council study the continued usefulness of the Freedom of Information Act’s 172 exemptions for records or meetings.

FOIA has not been comprehensively reviewed since 1999. At that time, there were 102 exemptions. Only 16 current members of the House of Delegates were serving in 1999.

The bill requires the FOIA Council to report back to the legislature in December 2016 on which exemptions should be eliminated or changed.

In other FOIA news at the legislature, a divided House FOIA subcommittee passed a bill to open up Virginia’s FOIA to use by out-of-state requesters.

The bill is strongly supported by VCOG and equally strongly opposed by the Virginia Association of Counties.

The bill will be heard by the full committee next week.