Exhibit 9_West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency Vendor Guidance on redaction for FOIA requests.pdf

West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency Vendor Guidance on redaction for FOIA requests

Vendors who submit proposals to the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) are hereby notified that their proposal submissions are subject to public disclosure under provisions of the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), West Virginia Code §29B-1-1, et seq. In accordance with that statutory requirement, the following guidance is offered to all vendors:

1. All vendor proposals are required to include a redacted copy of their submissions redacting any information which they believe in good faith meets one or more legal exemptions from disclosure pursuant to West Virginia Code §29B-1-4.

2. PEIA is not responsible for the defense against the release of vendor submissions regarding a response to a FOIA request.

3. PEIA is not responsible for making any redactions or determinations regarding information in a vendor’s submission which the vendor believes is legally exempt from disclosure in response to a FOIA request.

4. Vendor must be sensitive to the State of West Virginia’s deadlines to respond to FOIA requests.

5. Vendor must be specific as to why a FOIA exemption applies, expressing reasonably likely harms from disclosure.

6. FOIA exemptions must be narrowly construed and tailored, keeping the presumption of public accessibility in mind.

7. Vendor should ensure consistent redaction across all formats (Word, PDF, Excel, CSV, other).

8. Wherever possible, redactions shall be “surgical”, so that redactions represent the minimum text or data possible as to ensure the protection of proprietary, trade secret, confidential, and/or personal information otherwise protected from disclosure in a FOIA request.

a. Example #1: Redaction of pricing for a particular product or service which vendor believes is a trade secret should be redacted leaving the “$” but redacting the cost(s) - $ 1.00 per unit – it shows that there was a per unit cost in U.S. dollars

b. Example #2: Redaction based on a percentage which vendor believes is a trade secret – “The vendor will be reimbursed based on a 99 % member utilization.” – it shows that the proposal was based on a defined percentage for reimbursement.

c. These minimalistic examples apply whether the data or information to be redacted is in text format or embedded in tables, spreadsheets, or graphics.

9. If the vendor elects to redact a whole page, paragraph, or sections of their submission then they must submit a written substantiation to PEIA that the format – i.e. language, graph, graphic, text, data, pricing, or included information, data, or material meets the statutory definition of proprietary, trade secret, confidential, or otherwise protected from disclosure in a FOIA request. That substantiation will be forwarded to the FOIA requestor, and it shall be the responsibility of the vendor to defend any challenges of said redaction.

10. The failure of a vendor to: (a) submit a redacted copy of their proposal submissions; (b) respond to PEIA regarding a FOIA request within the established timeframe; or (c) respond to PEIA regarding questions for clarification, substantiation, or explanation for any redactions in a timely manner, may result in PEIA releasing the unredacted vendor submission to the FOIA requestor.