HB1476 Opposition, VFOIA Concerns
My name is Alice Minium. While I share the goal of creating empowered accountability bodies with full access to necessary records, I am writing to express my opposition to this bill in its current form.
My concerns center on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA) provisions, which make up a significant portion of this text. I am not convinced these specific exemptions are necessary to achieve the bill’s purpose. If they are deemed essential, they require far more detailed study than they have received.
I oppose the inclusion of allowances that could be used to exclude the public from the oversight process. These provisions would effectively mandate secrecy for many future and present bodies, regardless of whether those bodies actually desire such a restrictive framework. Access rights and accountability are intertwined; you cannot have one without the other.
Furthermore, I am concerned that we are granting broad privileges and "pre-set constraints" on public engagement to bodies that, at present, have not yet proven their effectiveness for the communities they serve. We should not overcomplicate the oversight process by adding barriers to entry—the ability of a citizen to simply "be in the room"—based on the hypothetical promise of future action.
Until there is further clarification and a deeper study of how police oversight boards intersect with VFOIA, I cannot support this legislation. We must ensure that in our rush to create oversight, we do not accidentally dismantle the public’s right to witness that oversight in action should it ever occur.
I have no issue with the portion of this bill regarding the access to juvenile records being sought here, and I am thrilled that discussions about these Boards are being had period. Thank you for hearing my concerns about the access.
HB1476 Opposition, VFOIA Concerns My name is Alice Minium. While I share the goal of creating empowered accountability bodies with full access to necessary records, I am writing to express my opposition to this bill in its current form. My concerns center on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA) provisions, which make up a significant portion of this text. I am not convinced these specific exemptions are necessary to achieve the bill’s purpose. If they are deemed essential, they require far more detailed study than they have received. I oppose the inclusion of allowances that could be used to exclude the public from the oversight process. These provisions would effectively mandate secrecy for many future and present bodies, regardless of whether those bodies actually desire such a restrictive framework. Access rights and accountability are intertwined; you cannot have one without the other. Furthermore, I am concerned that we are granting broad privileges and "pre-set constraints" on public engagement to bodies that, at present, have not yet proven their effectiveness for the communities they serve. We should not overcomplicate the oversight process by adding barriers to entry—the ability of a citizen to simply "be in the room"—based on the hypothetical promise of future action. Until there is further clarification and a deeper study of how police oversight boards intersect with VFOIA, I cannot support this legislation. We must ensure that in our rush to create oversight, we do not accidentally dismantle the public’s right to witness that oversight in action should it ever occur. I have no issue with the portion of this bill regarding the access to juvenile records being sought here, and I am thrilled that discussions about these Boards are being had period. Thank you for hearing my concerns about the access.