How West Virginia Republicans are exempting themselves from the state open records law

How West Virginia Republicans are exempting themselves from the state open records law

On the second to last day to introduce bills, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw dropped a proposal to exempt the Legislature from West Virginia’s broad and disclosure-friendly Freedom of Information Act. Instead of following the public records law that governs all other state and local officials in West Virginia, lawmakers would write a separate rule. Hanshaw’s press spokesperson, Ann Ali, told reporters in prepared statements that the intent was for …

WV House considers changes to public records access, what can be subject of FOIA

The West Virginia House of Delegates is considering a bill that would allow the Legislature to write its own rules for disclosing public records, but House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay said the intent is not to hide records. Journalists, researchers and members of the public use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain access to lawmakers’ emails, presentations and more that can shed light on how decisions are being made. The emails can reveal …

Bill moving to remove Legislature from FOIA law, set own public document policy

CHARLESTON — A bill moving in the final two weeks of the 2025 legislative session aims to allow the House of Delegates and state Senate to set their own policies on the kinds of documents made available to the public.

West Virginia House of Delegates considers changes to public records access

The West Virginia House of Delegates is considering a bill that would allow the Legislature to write its own rules for disclosing public records, but House Speaker Roger Hanshaw said the intent is not to hide records.

City Council discusses public records bill

SIDNEY – Sidney City Council approved revisions to the city’s public records policy to comply with House Bill 315 in Sidney at the regular meeting on Monday. House Bill 315 was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in early January and permits law enforcement to charge for the cost of production of videos that are requested from public records, such as body cam footage, dash cam footage and surveillance footage. The cost will be $75 per hour with …