COMMENTARY: FOIA Costs Put Public Info out of Reach

City and College recently required hundreds of dollars to fill basic requests

Recent FOIA requests prove cost-prohibitive, limiting access to public information. (Graphic: George Arbogust, Williamsburg Independent)

Earlier this year in Richmond, a bill was introduced which would cap the amount of money that local governments in Virginia can charge for responses to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Unfortunately, the effort, led by State Senator Danica Roem (30th District), died once again in committee. A report by Charlotte Rene Woods in the Virginia Mercury noted that Senator Roem believes the high costs charged by local governments are a barrier for public oversight of their governments. “You’re making it so that your constituents of limited means don’t have a right to know what their government’s doing,” Roem said according to the reporting.

The fact is that much of the information people want to know is often hidden away from public view by matter of practice and policy. That’s where the FOIA request comes into the picture. Over the past month, I’ve…