---
type: "Bill"
title: "FOIA; public higher educational institutions, information related to pledges and donations."
description: "Virginia Freedom of Information Act; public institutions of higher education; information related to pledges and donations. Provides that no discretionary exclusion in FOIA shall apply to protect information relating to the amount, date, purpose, and terms of a pledge or donation made to a public institution of higher education. The bill provides that the identity of the donor shall be protected only if (i) the donor has requested anonymity in connection with or as a condition of making a pledge or donation and (ii) the pledge or donation does not impose terms or conditions directing academic decision-making. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is identical to SB 140."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2020"
identifier: "HB 510"
citation: "Virginia HB 510 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["David L. Bulova"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 28
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2020-01-04"
last_action: "2020-03-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/0753ee29-0066-4271-8ac3-7ec76f2ff2f6"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+sum+HB510"
source_hash: "eb05802e8b65369a8a30e583539e4482ac19e53041b804e03025509de79527f8"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia HB 510 (2020) — FOIA; public higher educational institutions, information related to pledges and donations.

Virginia Freedom of Information Act; public institutions of higher education; information related to pledges and donations. Provides that no discretionary exclusion in FOIA shall apply to protect information relating to the amount, date, purpose, and terms of a pledge or donation made to a public institution of higher education. The bill provides that the identity of the donor shall be protected only if (i) the donor has requested anonymity in connection with or as a condition of making a pledge or donation and (ii) the pledge or donation does not impose terms or conditions directing academic decision-making. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council. This bill is identical to SB 140.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0071)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+CHAP0071)
2. **Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB510ER)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB510ER)
3. **Engrossed by House as amended HB510E** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB510E)
4. **Impact statement from DPB (HB510)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?201+ful+HB510)

## Votes

- Passed Senate (37-Y 3-N) — **37–3** (pass) · upper
- Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N) — **40–0** (pass) · upper
- Reported from General Laws and Technology (12-Y 1-N) — **12–1** (pass) · upper
- Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment (8-Y 0-N) — **8–0** (pass) · lower
- Reported from General Laws with amendment (22-Y 0-N) — **22–0** (pass) · lower
- VOTE: (98-Y 0-N) — **97–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- David L. Bulova — primary (person)
- Danica A. Roem — cosponsor (person)
- Kaye Kory — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-01-04** Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/08/20 20101372D `introduction`
- **2020-01-04** Referred to Committee on General Laws `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-14** Impact statement from DPB (HB510)
- **2020-01-17** Assigned GL sub: Open Government/Procurement `referral-committee`
- **2020-01-21** House subcommittee amendments and substitutes offered
- **2020-01-21** Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment (8-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-23** Reported from General Laws with amendment (22-Y 0-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-01-27** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2020-01-28** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2020-01-28** Committee amendment agreed to
- **2020-01-28** Engrossed by House as amended HB510E
- **2020-01-28** Printed as engrossed 20101372D-E
- **2020-01-29** Read third time and passed House BLOCK VOTE (98-Y 0-N) `passage, reading-3`
- **2020-01-29** VOTE: (98-Y 0-N)
- **2020-01-30** Constitutional reading dispensed
- **2020-01-30** Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-04** Impact statement from DPB (HB510E)
- **2020-02-12** Reported from General Laws and Technology (12-Y 1-N) `committee-passage`
- **2020-02-14** Constitutional reading dispensed (40-Y 0-N)
- **2020-02-17** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2020-02-17** Passed Senate (37-Y 3-N) `passage`
- **2020-02-19** Enrolled
- **2020-02-19** Signed by Speaker
- **2020-02-20** Impact statement from DPB (HB510ER)
- **2020-02-20** Signed by President
- **2020-02-24** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on February 24, 2020
- **2020-02-24** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., March 2, 2020
- **2020-03-02** Approved by Governor-Chapter 71 (effective 7/1/20) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/0753ee29-0066-4271-8ac3-7ec76f2ff2f6`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).