2006 Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.2 - Exclusions to application of chapter; records relating to public safety

2.2-3705.2. Exclusions to application of chapter; records relating topublic safety.

The following records are excluded from the provisions of this chapter butmay be disclosed by the custodian in his discretion, except where suchdisclosure is prohibited by law:

1. Confidential records, including victim identity, provided to or obtainedby staff in a rape crisis center or a program for battered spouses.

2. Those portions of engineering and construction drawings and planssubmitted for the sole purpose of complying with the Building Code inobtaining a building permit that would identify specific trade secrets orother information, the disclosure of which would be harmful to thecompetitive position of the owner or lessee. However, such information shallbe exempt only until the building is completed. Information relating to thesafety or environmental soundness of any building shall not be exempt fromdisclosure.

Those portions of engineering and construction drawings and plans that revealcritical structural components, security equipment and systems, ventilationsystems, fire protection equipment, mandatory building emergency equipment orsystems, elevators, electrical systems, telecommunications equipment andsystems, and other utility equipment and systems submitted for the purpose ofcomplying with the Uniform Statewide Building Code ( 36-97 et seq.) or theStatewide Fire Prevention Code ( 27-94 et seq.), the disclosure of whichwould jeopardize the safety or security of any public or private commercialoffice, multifamily residential or retail building or its occupants in theevent of terrorism or other threat to public safety, to the extent that theowner or lessee of such property, equipment or system in writing (i) invokesthe protections of this paragraph; (ii) identifies the drawings, plans, orother materials to be protected; and (iii) states the reasons why protectionis necessary.

Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent the disclosure of informationrelating to any building in connection with an inquiry into the performanceof that building after it has been subjected to fire, explosion, naturaldisaster or other catastrophic event.

3. Documentation or other information that describes the design, function,operation or access control features of any security system, whether manualor automated, which is used to control access to or use of any automated dataprocessing or telecommunications system.

4. Plans and information to prevent or respond to terrorist activity, thedisclosure of which would jeopardize the safety of any person, including (i)critical infrastructure sector or structural components; (ii) vulnerabilityassessments, operational, procedural, transportation, and tactical planningor training manuals, and staff meeting minutes or other records; and (iii)engineering or architectural records, or records containing informationderived from such records, to the extent such records reveal the location oroperation of security equipment and systems, elevators, ventilation, fireprotection, emergency, electrical, telecommunications or utility equipmentand systems of any public building, structure or information storagefacility, or telecommunications or utility equipment or systems. The samecategories of records of any governmental or nongovernmental person or entitysubmitted to a public body for the purpose of antiterrorism response planningmay be withheld from disclosure if such person or entity in writing (a)invokes the protections of this subdivision, (b) identifies with specificitythe records or portions thereof for which protection is sought, and (c)states with reasonable particularity why the protection of such records frompublic disclosure is necessary to meet the objective of antiterrorismplanning or protection. Such statement shall be a public record and shall bedisclosed upon request. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed toprohibit the disclosure of records relating to the structural orenvironmental soundness of any building, nor shall it prevent the disclosureof information relating to any building in connection with an inquiry intothe performance of that building after it has been subjected to fire,explosion, natural disaster or other catastrophic event.

5. Information that would disclose the security aspects of a system safetyprogram plan adopted pursuant to 49 C.F.R. Part 659 by the Commonwealth'sdesignated Rail Fixed Guideway Systems Safety Oversight agency; andinformation in the possession of such agency, the release of which wouldjeopardize the success of an ongoing investigation of a rail accident orother incident threatening railway safety.

6. Engineering and architectural drawings, operational, procedural, tacticalplanning or training manuals, or staff meeting minutes or other records, thedisclosure of which would reveal surveillance techniques, personneldeployments, alarm or security systems or technologies, or operational andtransportation plans or protocols, to the extent such disclosure wouldjeopardize the security of any governmental facility, building or structureor the safety of persons using such facility, building or structure.

7. Security plans and specific assessment components of school safety audits,as provided in 22.1-279.8.

Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the disclosure ofrecords relating to the effectiveness of security plans after (i) any schoolbuilding or property has been subjected to fire, explosion, natural disasteror other catastrophic event, or (ii) any person on school property hassuffered or been threatened with any personal injury.

8. [Expired.]

9. Records of the Commitment Review Committee concerning the mental healthassessment of an individual subject to commitment as a sexually violentpredator under Chapter 9 ( 37.2-900 et seq.) of Title 37.2; except that inno case shall records identifying the victims of a sexually violent predatorbe disclosed.

10. Subscriber data, which for the purposes of this subdivision, means thename, address, telephone number, and any other information identifying asubscriber of a telecommunications carrier, provided directly or indirectlyby a telecommunications carrier to a public body that operates a 911 or E-911emergency dispatch system or an emergency notification or reverse 911 system,if the data is in a form not made available by the telecommunications carrierto the public generally. Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent therelease of subscriber data generated in connection with specific calls to a911 emergency system, where the requester is seeking to obtain public recordsabout the use of the system in response to a specific crime, emergency orother event as to which a citizen has initiated a 911 call.

11. Subscriber data, which for the purposes of this subdivision, means thename, address, telephone number, and any other information identifying asubscriber of a telecommunications carrier, collected by a local governingbody in accordance with the Enhanced Public Safety Telephone Services Act (56-484.12 et seq.), and other identifying information of a personal, medical,or financial nature provided to a local governing body in connection with a911 or E-911 emergency dispatch system or an emergency notification orreverse 911 system, if such records are not otherwise publicly available.Nothing in this subdivision shall prevent the release of subscriber datagenerated in connection with specific calls to a 911 emergency system, wherethe requester is seeking to obtain public records about the use of the systemin response to a specific crime, emergency or other event as to which acitizen has initiated a 911 call.

(1999, cc. 485, 518, 703, 726, 793, 849, 852, 867, 868, 881, 2.1-342.01;2000, cc. 66, 237, 382, 400, 430, 583, 589, 592, 594, 618, 632, 657, 720,932, 933, 947, 1006, 1064; 2001, cc. 288, 518, 844, 2.2-3705; 2002, cc. 87,155, 242, 393, 478, 481, 499, 522, 571, 572, 633, 655, 715, 798, 830; 2003,cc. 274, 307, 327, 332, 358, 704, 801, 884, 891, 893, 897, 968; 2004, cc.398, 482, 690, 770; 2005, c. 410.)