I would like to let
everyone know about the process for the review this year of the Virginia Public
Records Act. A joint House/Senate Subcommittee was established under HJ6. This
subcommittee is composed of the following members:
The Honorable M.
Kirkland Cox, patron
The Honorable J.
Brandon Bell, Vice Chair
The Honorable Ryan
T. McDougle
The Honorable Thomas
C. Wright, Jr
The Honorable R.
Edward Houck
Rosanna L. Bencoach,
State Board of Elections
Frank D. Hargrove,
Hanover Circuit Court Clerk
William E. Wilson,
LIS Information Services Head
Valerie Jean Mayo,
Member of the LVA Library Board.
Robert F. Nawrocki,
State Records Administrator
The Subcommittee is
responsible for reviewing the Virginia Public Records Act in light of the many
issues raised by electronic records. The goal is to modernize the act so that it
will be continue to be the foundation dealing with public records into the 21st
century.
The subcommittee
will establish "working groups" to meet with stakeholders to discuss the
VPRA and to make recommendations regarding possible changes to the VPRA. The
working group is made up of members of the subcommittee. Lisa Wallmeyer who is
the staff attorney to the committee has said that the practice is that
the working group
with meet with stakeholders to discuss the issues related to the working groups
tasking. The members of the working group are the ones who will make the
ultimate decision as to what recommendations are forwarded to the whole
subcommittee for discussion and approval.
I would like to
create a focus group that would begin working now to identify the issues of the
VPRA that we need to address, possible changes and recommendations. I think that
this focus group process will help us achieve consensus on
the changes that need to be made.
Participation in the
focus group in no way will keep you from participating in the discussions of the
"working group". If you don't agree with the result of the focus group you can
bring your concerns to the "working group". Additionally the meetings of the HJ6
Subcommittee are open to the public and there will be time there for public
comment.
Lori Maynard is the
Committee Coordinator and she can put you on a notification list so you will be
aware of any upcoming meetings. Her e-mail is [log in to unmask].
The Subcommittee will not meet until after the legislative session ends and
probably not until after the veto session. Delegate Cox is the one to call
for the meeting. It is my understanding that the next meeting will be devoted to
issues related to electronic government documents.
I hope this capsule
description helps everyone with the process. I would like any suggestions about
how to handle the focus group since we have folks from around the state who are
interested in working on this process. Everyone may not be able to come to a
central location for a meeting. We could do some of the preliminary work via a
listserv which I would be happy to set up. Let me know what you think.
Bob
Robert F. Nawrocki CRM
State Records Administrator
Library of Virginia
800 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23219
804.692.3505
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