Virginias Freedom of Information Act begins with a proclamation that government officials should not be allowed to conduct their work under a veil of secrecy from the public they serve.

The law is often used by reporters during the course of their work, but its also an important tool for any Virginia citizen seeking records about how state or local governments are spending money and making decisions.

To kick off our coverage of Sunshine Week, we asked open-government experts to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Virginias FOI law.

On the plus side, Virginia presumes that government records are public and has a narrowly drawn list of exemptions. It also has stiff penalties to discourage public officials from illegally withholding information.

Our law has teeth, said Ginger Stanley, executive director of the Virginia Press Association.

But there are also deficiencies. Virginias FOIA gives law enforcement officials complete discretion in releasing criminal files, complaints and court orders. It allows agencies wide leeway in determining how much to charge people for producing requested records. And the lengthy law, with its many exemptions, might be difficult for the layman to understand.

To see how Virginias FOIA stacks up, we compared it with similar laws in Connecticut and Florida, two states that are recognized by experts for their strong open-government laws. Virginia generally held up well, but there is room for improvement.

Who can access records?

Virginias FOIA applies only to Virginia residents and media outlets that publish or broadcast here. The laws in Connecticut and Florida are much more open, allowing anyone state resident or not to access government records.

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld Virginias in-state restriction last year in a case that arose, in part, from Chesterfield Countys refusal to make real estate records available to a California business. The court ruled that the law had only an incidental effect on the business and did not abridge interstate commerce.

More here:

PolitiFact: Theres sunshine and darkness in Virginias open government laws