{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/30-179.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/30-179.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/30-179.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/30-179.html"}],"law_id":70810,"edition_id":1,"section_id":70810,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-179","catch_line":"Powers and duties of the Council","history":"2000, cc. 917, 987, \u00a7 2.1-346.3; 2001, c. 844; 2004, cc. 730, 1000; 2013, c. 694; 2017, c. 645; 2018, cc. 55, 56; 2019, c. 354; 2022, cc. 325, 597.","full_text":"The Council shall:\n\n1\n\nFurnish, upon request, advisory opinions or guidelines, and other appropriate information regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) to any person or public body, in an expeditious manner;2\n\nConduct training seminars and educational programs for the members and staff of public bodies and other interested persons on the requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);3\n\nPublish such educational materials as it deems appropriate on the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);4\n\nRequest from any public body such assistance, services, and information as will enable the Council to effectively carry out its responsibilities. Information provided to the Council by a public body shall not be released to any other party unless authorized by such public body;5\n\nAssist in the development and implementation of the provisions of § 2.2-3704.1;6\n\nDevelop an online public comment form to be posted on the Council’s official public government website, as defined in § 2.2-3701, to enable any requester to comment on the quality of assistance provided to the requester by a public body; and7\n\nReport annually on or before December 1 of each year on its activities and findings regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.), including recommendations for changes in the law, to the General Assembly and the Governor. The annual report shall be published as a state document.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":255379,"text":"The Council shall:","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1,"next_prefix":"1"},"1":{"id":255380,"text":"Furnish, upon request, advisory opinions or guidelines, and other appropriate information regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) to any person or public body, in an expeditious manner;","type":"section","prefixes":["1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"1","prefix_anchor":"1","level":1,"prior_prefix":"","next_prefix":"2"},"2":{"id":255381,"text":"Conduct training seminars and educational programs for the members and staff of public bodies and other interested persons on the requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);","type":"section","prefixes":["2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"2","prefix_anchor":"2","level":1,"prior_prefix":"1","next_prefix":"3"},"3":{"id":255382,"text":"Publish such educational materials as it deems appropriate on the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);","type":"section","prefixes":["3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"3","prefix_anchor":"3","level":1,"prior_prefix":"2","next_prefix":"4"},"4":{"id":255383,"text":"Request from any public body such assistance, services, and information as will enable the Council to effectively carry out its responsibilities. Information provided to the Council by a public body shall not be released to any other party unless authorized by such public body;","type":"section","prefixes":["4"],"prefix":"4","entire_prefix":"4","prefix_anchor":"4","level":1,"prior_prefix":"3","next_prefix":"5"},"5":{"id":255384,"text":"Assist in the development and implementation of the provisions of § 2.2-3704.1;","type":"section","prefixes":["5"],"prefix":"5","entire_prefix":"5","prefix_anchor":"5","level":1,"prior_prefix":"4","next_prefix":"6"},"6":{"id":255385,"text":"Develop an online public comment form to be posted on the Council’s official public government website, as defined in § 2.2-3701, to enable any requester to comment on the quality of assistance provided to the requester by a public body; and","type":"section","prefixes":["6"],"prefix":"6","entire_prefix":"6","prefix_anchor":"6","level":1,"prior_prefix":"5","next_prefix":"7"},"7":{"id":255386,"text":"Report annually on or before December 1 of each year on its activities and findings regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.), including recommendations for changes in the law, to the General Assembly and the Governor. The annual report shall be published as a state document.","type":"section","prefixes":["7"],"prefix":"7","entire_prefix":"7","prefix_anchor":"7","level":1,"prior_prefix":"6"}},"ancestry":[{"id":15688,"edition_id":1,"name":"Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council","identifier":"21","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12738,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:57:55","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:57:55","permalink":{"id":199827,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15688,"identifier":"21","token":"30\/21","url":"\/30\/21\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12738,"edition_id":1,"name":"General Assembly","identifier":"30","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":199019,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12738,"identifier":"30","token":"30","url":"\/30\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":60080,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-178","catch_line":"Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; membership; terms; quorum; expenses","url":"\/30-178\/","token":"30\/21\/30-178","metadata":false},{"id":70810,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-179","catch_line":"Powers and duties of the Council","url":"\/30-179\/","token":"30\/21\/30-179","metadata":false},{"id":72953,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-180","catch_line":"Staff","url":"\/30-180\/","token":"30\/21\/30-180","metadata":false},{"id":70488,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-181","catch_line":"Cooperation of agencies of state and local government","url":"\/30-181\/","token":"30\/21\/30-181","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":60080,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-178","catch_line":"Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council; membership; terms; quorum; expenses","url":"\/30-178\/","token":"30\/21\/30-178","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":72953,"structure_id":15688,"section_number":"30-180","catch_line":"Staff","url":"\/30-180\/","token":"30\/21\/30-180","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/30-179\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2000. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapters 917<\/a> and 987<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 7 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2001, chapter 844<\/a>; in 2004, chapters 730<\/a> and 1000<\/a>; in 2013, chapter 694<\/a>; in 2017, chapter 645<\/a>; in 2018, chapters 55<\/a> and 56<\/a>; in 2019, chapter 354<\/a>; in 2022, chapters 325<\/a> and 597<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":71321,"section_number":"2.2-3715","catch_line":"Effect of advisory opinions from the Freedom of Information Advisory Council on liability for willful and knowing violations","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3715\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":55569,"section_number":"2.2-3700","catch_line":"Short title; policy","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3700\/"},{"id":62411,"section_number":"2.2-3701","catch_line":"Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3701\/"},{"id":85069,"section_number":"2.2-3704.1","catch_line":"Posting of notice of rights and responsibilities by state and local public bodies; assistance by the Freedom of Information Advisory Council","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-3704.1\/"}],"permalink":{"id":199833,"object_type":"law","relational_id":70810,"identifier":"30-179","token":"30\/21\/30-179","url":"\/30-179\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/30-179\/","token":"30\/21\/30-179","dublin_core":{"Title":"Powers and duties of the Council","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 30-179","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Council shall:<\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> Furnish, upon request, advisory opinions<\/span> or guidelines, and other appropriate information regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700<\/a> et seq.) to any person or public body, in an expeditious manner; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> Conduct training seminars and educational programs for the members and staff of public bodies and other interested persons on the requirements of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700<\/a> et seq.); <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> Publish such educational materials<\/span> as it deems appropriate on the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700<\/a> et seq.); <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

4.<\/span> Request from any public body such assistance, services, and information as will enable the Council to effectively carry out its responsibilities. Information provided to the Council by a public body shall not be released to any other party<\/span> unless authorized by such public body; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

5.<\/span> Assist in the development and implementation of the provisions of § 2.2-3704.1<\/a>; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

6.<\/span> Develop an online public comment form to be posted on the Council’s official public government website, as defined in § 2.2-3701<\/a>, to enable any requester to comment on the quality of assistance provided to the requester by a public body; and <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

7.<\/span> Report annually on or before December 1 of each year on its activities and findings<\/span> regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700<\/a> et seq.), including recommendations for changes in the law<\/span>, to the General Assembly and the Governor. The annual report shall be published as a state document. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nPOWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COUNCIL (\u00a7 30-179)\n\nThe Council shall:\n\n1. Furnish, upon request, advisory opinions or guidelines, and other appropriate\ninformation regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700\net seq.) to any person or public body, in an expeditious manner;\n\n2. Conduct training seminars and educational programs for the members and staff\nof public bodies and other interested persons on the requirements of the\nVirginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);\n\n3. Publish such educational materials as it deems appropriate on the provisions\nof the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.);\n\n4. Request from any public body such assistance, services, and information as\nwill enable the Council to effectively carry out its responsibilities.\nInformation provided to the Council by a public body shall not be released to\nany other party unless authorized by such public body;\n\n5. Assist in the development and implementation of the provisions of §\n2.2-3704.1;\n\n6. Develop an online public comment form to be posted on the Council’s\nofficial public government website, as defined in § 2.2-3701, to enable any\nrequester to comment on the quality of assistance provided to the requester by a\npublic body; and\n\n7. Report annually on or before December 1 of each year on its activities and\nfindings regarding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et\nseq.), including recommendations for changes in the law, to the General Assembly\nand the Governor. The annual report shall be published as a state document.\n\nHISTORY: 2000, cc. 917, 987, \u00a7 2.1-346.3; 2001, c. 844; 2004, cc. 730, 1000;\n2013, c. 694; 2017, c. 645; 2018, cc. 55, 56; 2019, c. 354; 2022, cc. 325, 597.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}