Delaware Freedom of Information Act

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Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

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 Delaware Open Meetings Law legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

Statues 10001 through 10005 define these transparency laws.

Delaware's 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%. [1]

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.[2]

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".[3]

Public Records

"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."[4]

Open Meetings

The Open Meetings law declares that "Every meeting of all public bodies shall be open to the public" with some exceptions.[5]

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". [6]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Delaware code, section 10001
  5. ↑ Delaware code, section 10004
  6. ↑ Delaware Code, search for 10003.
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