Virginia
General Assembly
Internet
Privacy Policy Statement and Disclaimer
(Last
updated on April 28, 2003)
Privacy
Information
It
is the policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia that personal
information about citizens will be collected only to the
extent necessary to provide the service or benefit desired;
that only appropriate information will be collected; that
the citizen shall understand the reason the information is
collected and be able to examine their personal record which
is maintained by the Virginia General Assembly.
This
document explains how the Virginia General Assembly gathers
information on its web site (http://legis.virginia.gov), and
with whom and under what conditions it shares this information.
The following is intended to explain current Internet privacy
practices but shall not be construed as a contractual promise. The
Virginia General Assembly reserves the right to amend its
Internet Privacy Policy Statement at any time without notice.
Information
Collection
Virginia
law requires that state bodies not collect personal information
about citizens unless it is required to provide services
for the citizen. When personal information is collected,
it must be protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure,
and Virginia General Assembly is required to provide a prescribed
procedure by which you may learn the purpose for which information
has been recorded and how it will be used and disseminated.
In General
The
Virginia General Assembly does not capture personal information
about any visitor to its site without their permission. When
you browse the web site without logging on to any of the
interactive online services, you do so anonymously. Personal
information, such as your name, address, phone number, or
e-mail address, is not collected as you browse. Information,
such as your domain name, Internet Protocol number, browser
type, and date and time of your visit, is collected, but
not tied to your personal identity. The Virginia General Assembly uses this
information to track the number of customers who visit the
site and identify the most popular pages in order to improve
site content and accessibility.
Online
Transactions
Though
personal information may be required either by law or in
order for the Virginia General Assembly to provide a requested
service, in doing so it is subject to the requirements for
administering information systems as established in the Government
Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, Chapter
38 of Title 2.2 of the Code of Virginia. A different agency or entity, whose practices are not under
the control of the Virginia General Assembly, may regulate
pages that appear after you click on a link. When you log on to one of the current
online services, such as the “Lobbyist-In-A-Box” service,
personal information that you submit is captured to enable
you to conduct business with the Virginia General Assembly.
In addition, the following information is collected about
your visit: Internet Protocol address, browser type, the
name of the domain from which you access the Internet, and
the date and time of your visit. This additional information is used to
track the number of customers who visit the site and identify
the most popular pages to improve site content and accessibility.
The personal information you provide is required to enable
you to complete various online transactions and for the Virginia
General Assembly to deliver the requested services. Once
registered with the Virginia General Assembly, you are eligible
to request additional services that may require you to provide
additional personal information. The Virginia General Assembly
only collects, retains and uses personal information when
it believes it is essential, and allowed by law, to conduct
business and provide products and services. Should you not
desire to provide the requested personal information, the
Virginia General Assembly will not be able to provide you
with online services.
Personal
information that you provide is safeguarded according to
the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Information that you provide on the online
surveys is used to improve the online services that are offered
and to determine your level of satisfaction with the Virginia
General Assembly site and services. This information is not
stored with any other records of the Virginia General Assembly.
Contacting
Us
When
visiting the site, the Virginia General Assembly encourages
you to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or
concerns, or would like a return call. The
Virginia General Assembly will request your name, the subject
of your question or comment, and your e-mail address or telephone
number. This information is used solely to respond to your
inquiry. If you would like materials mailed to you , the
Virginia General Assembly will request your mailing address
so that it may provide the appropriate materials. Personal information that you provide
to the Virginia General Assembly is safeguarded according
to the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Information
Access
Any
personal information that is collected and retained by the
Virginia General Assembly is maintained in compliance with
the Government
Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, Chapter
38 of Title 2.2. E-mail addresses, information collected
on surveys or any other information about its online customers
are not shared, sold or traded to any entity except as provided
for or required by the Code of Virginia, Title 2.2, Chapter
38, the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), or other
law. Under FOIA, any records in the Virginia General Assembly’s
possession at the time of a Freedom of Information Request
might be subject to being inspected by or disclosed to members
of the public. If necessary, the Virginia General Assembly
may disclose user information if it has reason to believe
that disclosing such information is necessary to identify,
contact, or bring legal action against an individual who
attempts, even unintentionally, to unauthorized access to
Virginia General Assembly information or to disrupt our web
site.
Use of
"Cookies"
In certain applications, user information is stored as "cookies,"
which are then sent back and stored on your hard drive. Cookies
allow information to be saved that you input while progressing
through an online transaction. If your browser is not configured
to accept cookies, you will still be able to access the
information on the web site, but you may not be able to
complete many of the online transactions. No user information
is gathered through cookies except for that needed to run
the specific application. Any application or web page that
uses cookies will identify itself as such.
Security
The
Virginia General Assembly maintains security standards and
procedures regarding unauthorized access to customer information
to prevent unauthorized removal or alteration of data. When
you browse public areas of the Virginia General Assembly
web site, none of your personal information is captured or
stored. The Virginia General Assembly protects its records
in accordance with its obligations as defined by applicable
Virginia statues, including, but not limited to, the Government
Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act, Chapter
38 of Title 2.2, the Virginia Freedom of Information
Act, and by any applicable U.S. federal laws.
Information
Accuracy and Your Rights
The
Virginia General Assembly has established procedures to ensure
that information is as accurate and current as is practical
to enable us to conduct business with you. It also responds
to requests to correct inaccurate information in a timely
manner. You have the right to review the record that the
Virginia General Assembly maintains about you in order to
verify its accuracy. You may do this by contacting the individual
listed below. If you find errors in your personal record,
or desire that your data be purged, you must contact the
individual listed below. Virginia General Assembly employee
access to personally identifiable information is restricted
to only those employees who need access in order to perform
their assigned duties.
Contact
Us
The
Virginia General Assembly welcomes your comments and invites
you to contact us if you have any questions or concerns:
R. Jay Landis, Acting Director
Division of Legislative Automated Systems
6th floor General Assembly Building
910 Capitol Square, Richmond, VA 23219
email: jlandis@leg.state.va.us
Disclaimer
The
Virginia General Assembly provides links to web sites that
are not controlled, maintained, or regulated by the Virginia
General Assembly or any organization affiliated with the
Virginia General Assembly, and as such the Virginia General
Assembly is NOT responsible for the content of those web
sites. Use of information obtained from those web sites is
voluntary, and reliance on that information should only be
undertaken after an independent review of its accuracy. Reference
at those web sites to any specific commercial product, process,
or service by trade name, trademark, or otherwise DOES NOT
constitute or imply endorsement, recommendation, or preference
by the Virginia General Assembly. All sites included on its
web site are screened, but the content they possess cannot
be controlled. Any
inappropriate information or links they have on their site
that pertains to the Virginia General Assembly, or related
activities, should be reported to the Virginia General Assembly
and can be emailed to jlandis@leg.state.va.us.
|
