Deal gives Amazon early notice when citizen requests public records.
By Patricia Sullivan Patricia Sullivan Reporter covering government, politics and other regional issues in Arlington County and Alexandria Email Bio Follow March 15 at 6:00 AM Arlington County’s agreement with Amazon has drawn the scrutiny of both activists and a leading Virginia open-records advocate over a clause that gives the company at least two business days to refute, redact or file a lawsuit when someone seeks records of its interaction with the county.
She found that Amazon’s gives the company the ability not just to work with the government to tailor what information it provides in response to citizens’ requests, which is common, but also allows time for the company to go to court to prevent the release of the information. “We’ve never had a situation where a company felt threatened and ran to court or tried to prevent [a document’s] release,” MacIsaac said. “It’s a standard courtesy we extend, and it hasn’t turned into an issue at all.”The clause says the county and its Industrial Development Authority, an agency that encourages and supports economic activity, will release only what is mandatory under FOIA or other laws. Similar clauses appear in agreements Arlington has with other companies.
Language in the state agreement, which provides up to $750 million in grants for Amazon, says the delay in releasing information is “to allow the Company to seek a protective order or other appropriate remedy … limit disclosure, refuse to disclose, and redact and/or omit portions of materials to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.”
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