The following resolution was passed at the 1978 Session of the General Assembly and requested a joint subcommittee from the House and Senate General Laws Committees to conduct a study of the laws of the Commonwealth dealing with public information. Specifically such study was to deal with tbe Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act.

AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12

Requesting the Committees on General Laws of the House of Delegates and the Senate to conduct a study of the laws of the Commonwealth dealing with public information.

WHEREAS, it was the intent of the General Assembly, in adopting the Freedom of Information Act, to provide the public free access to the information needed by the electorate and tje news media to keep the citizenry informed about tbe activities of government and of public officials; and

WHEREAS, it was the intent of the General Assembly, in adopting the Privacy Protection Act, to restrict access to and dissemination of personal data, in endeavor to protect personal privacy; and

WHEREAS, in addition to these two major Acts, the General Assembly has, from time to time, enacted other statutes designed either to assure or restrict access to certain kinds of personal information; and

it is highly desirable that citizens, while having access to the information about public officials which is needed to keep government honest, efficient, and responsible, be simultaneously protected from unwarranted intrusions into their private lives; and

WHEREAS, one increasingly encounters instances in which statutory measures designed to guarantee freedom of information and protect individual privacy are apparently in conflict; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Committees on General Laws of the Hosue of Delegates and the Senate are requested to conduct a study of the laws of the Commonwealth dealing with public information.

The Committees are requested to study all present statutory provisions designed to restrict or guarantee access to information about individuals, public officials, and public agencies and bodies, with the goal of formulating such legislative recommendations as will best resolve any conflicts between the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Protection Act and also serve to strike the proper balance between the public's "need to know" and the individual's right to privacy.

The office of the Attorney General and all other agencies of the State are requested to assist the Committees in their work.

The Committees are requested to meet to begin work no later than April one, nineteen hundred seventy-eight, and to submit their findings and recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly no later than October one, nineteen hundred seventy-eight.

At the initial organizational meeting of the Joint Subcommittee, held on June 27, 1978, it was decided that the scope of the study should be limited to the statutory conflicts between the Freedom of Information and Privacy Protection Act.

Briefly, the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Protection Act do the following:

1. The Virginia Freedom of Information Act guarantees to the public certain rights relative to the conduct of public business by governmental bodies, agencies and institutions. The Act focuses upon the transaction of public business by governmental bodies at two critical points. First, the Act addresses record keeping, guaranteeing in § 2.1-342(a) that all official records, except as provided in the Act itself or other provisions of law, shall be open to public inspection. Secondly, the Act addresses meetings of public bodies, providing § 2.1-343 that all "meetings" shall be open to the public except as provided by specific statutory exception.

2. The Privacy Protection Act establishes "principles of information practice," enforces these principles both by mandating compliance with specific administrative procedures and by creating specified individual rights, and provides a remedy for statutory violations.

The administrative procedures guard against the unwarranted collection, use, maintenance and dissemination of personal information. Information must be obtained, to the greatest extent possible, from the individuals to whom the data pertains. Prior to disseminating records to another information system, the transferor must receive assurances that the transferee intends to comply with specified security and usage requirements. The administrative procedures also require an agency to compile various lists, records and reports concerning the existence of and access to its information systems. Finally, the Act prohibits the collection of certain political and religious data without explicit statutory authorization.

Consistent with the narrow scope of the study as agreed to by the Joint Subcommittee, information relative to existing conflicts between these two Acts was requested. Public hearings were held and a substantive number of persons raised issues for consideration during the deliberations of the Joint Subcommittee.

In addition, the Chairman of the Joint Subcommittee had requested the opinion of the Honorable Marshall Coleman, Attorney General of Virginia in regard to existing conflicts between these two Acts.