The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA) is the state law governing access by citizens of Virginia, and representatives of the media, to public records and to meetings of public bodies.
VFOIA provides that, with some specific exemptions and exceptions, all meetings of public bodies shall be open to the public and all public records open for public inspection.
All meetings of all public bodies, as defined in VFOIA, are generally required to be open meetings, subject to certain exceptions spelled out in VFOIA.
For there to be a "meeting" subject to the Act, there must be at least three members of the body, or a quorum of the public body if less than three, present for the purpose of discussing or transacting public business. A gathering of public employees is not a meeting under VFOIA.
An open meeting is a meeting open to members of the public. During the course of a public meeting, a public body may go into a closed meeting to discuss certain specific types of matters set forth in VFOIA. In order to do so, the public body must follow the specific procedures set forth in VFOIA to go into and come out of closed session.
VFOIA permits members of the public to photograph or record (audio, visual, or audio-visual) public meetings. It also permits public bodies to adopt reasonable rules concerning the use of cameras and recorders, designed to prevent disruption.
