Establishes four advisory committees to make recommendations to the Marine Resources Commission on issues relating to the management of, respectively, crab, finfish, shellfish, and habitat. The bill also alters two existing advisory boards that deal with commercial fishing and recreational fishing, respectively, one existing advisory committee that deals with the Virginia Saltwater Sport Fishing Tournament, and one existing board that advises on the awarding of fishery resource grants. The bill provides that once appointed, no member of any of the seven committees and boards shall be removed except for malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty. The provisions of the bill establishing the four new committees expire on July 1, 2020.
Excludes from the mandatory disclosure provisions of FOIA trade secrets, as defined in the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (§ 59.1-336 et seq.), submitted to the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy that identify the amount or concentration of chemicals or ingredients used to stimulate a well pursuant to § 45.1-361.29 or Department regulations concerning such ground-disturbing activities. The bill requires that for such records to be protected, the submitting party must (i) invoke this FOIA exclusion upon submission of the data or materials for which protection from disclosure is sought, (ii) identify the data or materials for which protection is sought, and (iii) state the reasons why protection is necessary. The bill requires the Department to determine whether the information claimed to be a trade secret is entitled to such protection.