First Foundation adopts public access policy as bill to require transparency stalls

Stakeholders and members of the West Virginia First Foundation met for the first time in the Truist building in Charleston, W.Va., on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023. (Caity Coyne | West Virginia Watch)

Months after its first meeting, the board of the West Virginia First Foundation on Friday adopted an official public access policy outlining how it will publish information and communicate with the public and media.

The policy comes as lawmakers in the West Virginia House have halted progress on a bill that would make the private nonprofit comply with the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act .

House Bill 4593 was passed unanimously by the House Committee on Health and Human Resources on Jan. 10 . The bill was double referenced to House Judiciary, where it has yet to be brought to an agenda.

The policy adopted by First Foundation members last week details how the board will conduct executive sessions, respond to requests for information and notify the public of board meetings. It is not a replication of the codified Open Meetings Act.

Regular meetings of the board will, moving forward, be held at least once every three months but — according to comments made in Friday’s meeting — will likely be more often. At the beginning of each fiscal year, according to the policy, the board will approve and publish its expected meeting dates.

There is no listed time frame for the announcement of special meetings. Agendas for meetings can be posted and disseminated up to three hours before the beginning of the meeting.

Per the policy, the board — which has called extensive executive sessions in meetings since November — can hold executive sessions for personnel matters, discussion of certain financial matters and legal counseling, among other things. People requesting funding from the board can also, “with credible and sufficient cause,” ask that their applications be considered and discussed in an executive session to protect confidentiality of the request or the people involved.

The foundation will regularly post information on its website, according to the policy, including a dashboard documenting programs receiving funds from the foundation and related outcomes from those programs. Also posted will be a list of applicants seeking money from the organization, meeting information and periodic operations reports.

Records kept by the foundation could be released upon request by a member of the public or press, with exceptions for confidential and personnel information as well as “notes or materials” taken by board members during subcommittee meetings.

Communications between board members outside of formal, official meetings “are not subject to public disclosure.” Under FOIA laws, any public official conducting business or having conversations relating to their official work — even outside of meetings or formal proceedings — is subject to disclosing requested records.

The First Foundation policy, comparatively, urges board members to communicate about official business outside of formal meetings.

“[M]embers of the Board are encouraged to foster professional relationships with each other and communicate outside of formal Foundation meetings for the benefit of the Foundation and the expeditious furtherance of the Foundation’s purposes,” the policy reads.

The board, as a private organization, is not subject to FOIA requests. As such, there is no legal enforcement mechanism for the board to make any materials or records public. There is also not a formal process for people to challenge a denial like there would be with FOIA requests.

Per the policy, people asking for information from the First Foundation can revise a request if it’s denied, and the board must provide an explanation for denials.

The adoption of the foundation’s public access policy comes after lawmakers , local officials , members of the public and the press have voiced concerns over a potential lack of transparency.

The board, repeatedly, has urged patience while they learn more about the technicalities of running a nonprofit.

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