title
To amend City Code § 2-1351, concerning definitions related to open data and a transparency program, and to amend ch. 2, art. VII, div. 4 of the City Code by adding therein a new section 2-1361, concerning a Freedom of Information Act request library, for the purpose of establishing an online Freedom of Information Act library. (As Amended)
body
THE CITY OF RICHMOND HEREBY ORDAINS:
§ 1. That section 2-1351 of the Code of the City of Richmond (2020) be and is hereby amended and reordained as follows:
Sec. 2-1351. Definitions.
For the purposes of this division, the words or terms used in this division shall be interpreted as set forth in this section, except where the context clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended:
Agency means a board, commission, department, office, or like organizational unit of the City.
Agency head means the highest ranking appointed, elected, or designated authority for an agency.
Data means factual, geospatial, narrative, qualitative, quantitative, statistical, tabular, or textual information, and datasets that are maintained or created by or on behalf of the City.
Dataset means a named collection containing related data, including metadata, formatted or organized in a prescribed or specific manner, such as in tabular form.
Freedom of Information Act Request Library means a publicly available webpage to publish public records requests, provided documentation, and associated costs.
Legal encumbrance means a restriction on the use of data deriving from intellectual property rights under Federal or State law or from a contract to which the City is a party.
Machine-readable means any widely accepted, nonproprietary, platform-independent method for formatting data that permits automated processing of such data and facilitates search capabilities.
Open data means data that is made available to the public on the internet in an open format with no fee, legal encumbrance, or registration requirement.
Open data coordinator means a City employee designated by a deputy chief administrative officer for all of the agencies that deputy chief administrative officer is assigned to coordinate, or by the Chief Administrative Officer to represent those agencies the heads of which no deputy chief administrative officer is assigned to coordinate, to perform the duties set forth in Section 2-1355 <https://library.municode.com/va/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICICO_CH2AD_ARTVIIPURE_DIV4OPDATRPR_S2-1355DUOPDAPRMAOPDACOOPDAREOFOPDAMATE>(b) and elsewhere in this division.
Open data management team means the open data program manager and all open data coordinators.
Open data portal means https://data.richmondgov.com/ or a successor website established and maintained by or on behalf of the City.
Open data program manager means the Chief Administrative Officer or the designee thereof.
Open data review officer means a City employee designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to identify and resolve questions related to the appropriateness of the publication of data.
Open dataset means a dataset, published on the open data portal, access to which is free and open to the public without a requirement for registration.
Open format means a widely accepted, machine-readable, nonproprietary, platform-independent method of formatting and transmitting data that provides automated processing, analysis, and search functions.
Protected data means data access to which an agency is required by law to deny.
Sensitive data means data access to which an agency is allowed by law to deny.
§ 2. That Chapter 2, Article VII, Division 4 of the Code of the City of Richmond (2020) be and is hereby amended by adding therein a new section numbered 2-1361 as follows:
Sec. 2-1361. Freedom of Information Act Request Library.
(a) All requests for public records made pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia, §2.2-3700 et seq.) shall be made available to the Open Data Program Manager. The Open Data Program Manager shall ensure that all requests for public records made pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act [(Code of Virginia, § 2.2-3700 et seq.)], including requests made of the City Council, Mayor, city departments, and city boards and commissions, are published on the city’s website via a Freedom of Information Act Request Library, with the exception of request for public records in the possession of the Richmond Police Department, the Richmond Fire Department, the Department of Social Services, or the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response.
(b) The Freedom of Information Act Request Library shall include the following for each request received:
(1) The receival date for each request;
(2) The completion date for each request, if applicable;
(3) A copy or summary of each request;
(4) The department or departments responsible for fulfilling each request;
(5) Any fees or costs assigned for fulfilling each request; and
(6) Access to any materials produced in response to each request.
In the event that the requester [is] or their minor dependents are the subject of any materials produced in response to a request, the Open Data Program Manager may entirely withhold or withhold in part those materials from publication to the Freedom of Information Act Request Library consistent with any applicable exclusion found in the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, as amended, or any other law. For purposes of this subsection, a request made by an attorney on behalf of a client shall be treated as a request made by the client.
§ 3. This ordinance shall be in force upon adoption.