Delaware Freedom of Information Act
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The Delaware Freedom of Information Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to the public records of governmental bodies in Delaware. The law was first enacted in 1977.
The philosophy behind the law is stated as, "It is vital in a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner so that our citizens shall have the opportunity to observe the performance of public officials and to monitor the decisions that are made by such officials in formulating and executing public policy; and further, it is vital that citizens have easy access to public records in order that the society remain free and democratic."[1]
The Delaware Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.
Statues 10001 through 10005 define these transparency laws.
[edit] Transparency report card
A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Delaware #43 in the nation with an overall percentage of 42.30%. [2]
A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Delaware 31 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 42 out of the 50 states.[3]
A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Delaware's law as the 38th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "D".[4]
[edit] Proposed changes
[edit] House Bill 1: Amending the Delaware Code Related to the Freedom of Information Act
Documents produced by the Delaware legislature are currently exempt under Delaware FOIA law. [5] House Bill 1 sponsored by House Speaker Robert F. Gilligan was introduced in the Delaware state legislature on January 6, 2009.[6] The bill proposes to end the exemption to all committee meetings and records generated by the General Assembly, excepting party caucuses.[5] According to Speaker Gilligan, "Without the openness represented by this bill, it will be all but impossible to persuade the public to buy into legislative actions needed to head off a budget deficit of up to $600 million expected for the year that begins July 1." [7]
An amendment to the bill was sponsored by House Majority Leader Pete Schwartzkopf (D-Rehoboth Beach).[8] The amendment seeks to exempt all e-mail "received and sent by members of the Delaware General Assembly or their staff", in effect closing off access to records that are currently subject to public disclosure.[8]
[edit] House Bill 90: Creating a Searchable Budget Database for State Spending
House Bill 90 [9] was introduced in the state legislature on March 24, 2009.[10] The bill, sponsored by Representative Greg Lavelle, states that "taxpayers should be able to easily access the details on how the State is spending their tax dollars and what performance results are achieved for those expenditures".[9] The bill seeks to create a searcheable budget database detailing all state expenditures, their purpose and results.[9] The bill is currently assigned to the House Administration Committee.[10]
[edit] Senate Bill 58: Amending the Delaware Code Related to the Freedom of Information Act
Senate Bill 58 [11] was introduced in the state legislature by Senator Karen Peterson on April 7, 2009.[12] The bill seeks to make various amendments to the Delaware Code relating to the Freedom of Information Act which would:
- Create consistency in the determination of whether a record is public by designating the public body that first created the document as responsible for determining if a record is subject to disclosure; [11]
- Clarify that the purpose for which a document is sought is irrelevant under the FOIA; [11]
- Increase the period of time the state's Attorney General has to investigate and determine whether there has been an FOIA violation; [11] and
- Permit the Attorney General to determine FOIA complaints made against state bodies and officers.[11]
The bill was referred to the Senate Executive Committee on April 7, 2009.[12]
[edit] Open meetings
The Open Meetings law declares that "Every meeting of all public bodies shall be open to the public" with some exceptions.[13]
[edit] Who May Request Delaware Records?
Any citizen of Delaware may request public documents. "All public records shall be open to inspection and copying by any citizen of the State". [14]
For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.
[edit] Relevant legal cases
- Lee v. Minner, 2005
- Guy v. Judicial Nominating Commission, 1995
- Delaware Solid Waste Authority v. News-Journal Co., 1984
- News-Journal Co. v. Billingsley, 1980
- New Castle County Vocational-Technical Education Association v. Board of Education, 1978
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ Delaware code, section 10001
- ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
- ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
- ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Text of HB 1
- ↑ State of Delaware, House Bill 1 - Bill History
- ↑ Bill to open up Assembly advances, News Journal, January 22, 2009
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Legislators may shield their e-mail, Delaware Online, February 6, 2009
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Text of HB 90
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 State of Delaware, House Bill 90 - Bill History
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Text of SB 58
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 State of Delaware, Senate Bill 58 - Bill History
- ↑ Delaware code, section 10004
- ↑ Delaware Code, search for 10003.
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