Bill Text: DE HB322 | 2013-2014 | 147th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 29 Of The Delaware Code Relating To The Freedom Of Information Act.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)
Status: (Passed) 2014-06-26 - Signed by Governor [HB322 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2013-HB322-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Q. Johnson & Sen. Poore |
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Reps. Baumbach, Heffernan, Paradee, B. Short, D. Short, D.E. Williams; Sens. Bushweller, Ennis, Townsend |
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 147th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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HOUSE BILL NO. 322 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. |
Section 1. Amend §10003, Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§ 10003. Examination and copying of public records.
(e) All state agencies and public bodies shall provide a mailing address for receiving FOIA requests through the U.S. mail.
(e)(1) (f)
Form of request. —
(1) All FOIA requests shall be made in writing to the public body in person, by U.S. mail, by e-mail, by fax, or online in accordance with the provisions hereunder. FOIA requests may be submitted using the FOIA Request Form promulgated by the Office of the Attorney General provided, however, that any FOIA request that otherwise conforms with the policy hereunder shall not be denied solely because the request is not on the promulgated form. Copies of the FOIA request form may be obtained from the website of any state agency, school district, or other public body.
(2) All requests shall adequately describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable the public body to locate such records with reasonable effort. The requesting party shall be as specific as possible when requesting records. To assist the public body in locating the requested records, the public body may request that the requesting party provide additional information known to the requesting party, such as the types of records, dates, parties to correspondence, and subject matter of the requested records.
SYNOPSIS
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This Act clarifies that FOIA requests submitted via U.S. mail are valid, provided that the public records requested do not fall within the scope of the enumerated exceptions in the law. This Act is in response to a small number of complaints that FOIA requests submitted through the U. S. mail have been denied simply due to the method by which they were submitted. |
