John Jones, executive director of the Virginia Sheriffs’ Association, said he knows sheriffs who receive multiple requests for records every day.
“And many of these sheriff’s offices are very limited,” said Jones. “And the cost of it was maybe the only thing that put some of it off.”
Phyllis Errico, an attorney for the Virginia Association of Counties, said the group would not support Roem’s proposal, despite agreeing that FOIA fees could use a study, adding that it could take “hours and hours” to complete Governments will find records responding to a FOIA request given.
Martin Crim, a Northern Virginia attorney who represents several local governments, said he knew of a petitioner who requested all of the Lake Manassas documentation, which resulted in an estimate of around $ 20,000.
“The idea is if you give people carte blanche to have the local government hand out documents, they will be using this tool inappropriately,” Crim said, adding that he sees many FOIA inquiries as the result of personal vendettas. no matters of public interest.
Virginia police chief David Ostwinkle said his agency received nearly 5,000 FOIA requests in 2020, most of which took less than two hours.
“Under this proposal, essentially the entire cost of our operations for the requested materials would be covered free of charge,” said Ostwinkle.