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1997 SESSION

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 639 Requesting the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) to amend its interstate compact with Maryland and the District of Columbia to require WMATA to be subject to the Freedom of Information statutes of Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and the federal government.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 2, 1997 Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 1997

WHEREAS, WMATA is supported by public funds from Virginia, the District of Columbia, Maryland, and entities of the federal government; and

WHEREAS, WMATA operates metro rail and bus service as public transportation in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia; and

WHEREAS, the board of directors of WMATA is largely composed of public representatives; and

WHEREAS, the administration, operation, expenditures, and income from WMATA is of a concern to the public in the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, public agencies and governmental entities in the Commonwealth are generally subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and

WHEREAS, WMATA is an entity created through an interstate compact between the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland, with the consent of the United States Congress; and

WHEREAS, it has been the policy of the Commonwealth to provide access to information held by public agencies of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, although largely a public agency, WMATA takes the position that it is not subject to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act nor the federal Freedom of Information Act; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) be requested to amend its interstate compact with Maryland and the District of Columbia to require WMATA to be subject to the Freedom of Information statutes of Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia and the federal government; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit a copy of this resolution to WMATA, the Governor of the State of Maryland, the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the Congressional Delegation of Virginia in order that they may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly in this matter.