Does a Delaware city have to announce the Attorney General's FOIA rulings at a public council meeting?

Official title

17-IB43 8/29/2017 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Frank "Dan" Cannon re: FOIA Complaint concerning the City of Seaford

Plain-English summary

Frank "Dan" Cannon complained that the Mayor and Council of the City of Seaford violated FOIA by not presenting two earlier AG FOIA determinations (17-IB17 and 17-IB27) to the public during regular Council meetings. The AG found nothing in Delaware's FOIA that obligates a public body to share or discuss the AG's own FOIA determinations at a public meeting, and noted that both underlying opinions were already publicly available on the AG's opinions website. The petition was denied on that basis.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Is a city council required to read or present AG FOIA rulings at its meetings?

No. This opinion found nothing in FOIA imposing such a duty. A public body that complies with an AG determination is not separately required to announce or discuss that determination at a public meeting.

Does that mean the public has no way to find out about FOIA rulings involving their local government?

The opinion pointed out that Delaware AG FOIA opinions, including the two at issue here, are published on the Attorney General's opinions website, which the AG treated as sufficient public access regardless of whether the city also discussed them at a meeting.

Background and statutory framework

Delaware's Freedom of Information Act sets out what public bodies must do to conduct open meetings and respond to records requests, but the AG found it does not impose an additional obligation to publicize the AG's own prior determinations at a public meeting. AG opinions themselves are published at the Attorney General's opinions website, which the AG treated as the relevant public-access channel for this purpose.

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/2017/08/29/no-17-ib43/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2017/08/Attorney-General-Opinion-No.-17-IB43.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain, the linked PDF is authoritative.

CIVIL DIVISION (302) 577-8400
FAX: (302) 577-6630
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CRIMINAL DIVISION (302) 577-8500
NEW CASTLE COUNTY FAX: (302) 577-2496
MATTHEW P. DENN 820 NORTH FRENCH STREET FRAUD DIVISION (302) 577-8600
ATTORNEY GENERAL WILMINGTON, DELAWARE 19801 FAX: (302) 577-6499

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE
Attorney General Opinion No. 17-IB43

August 29, 2017
VIA U.S. MAIL AND EMAIL

Frank "Dan" Cannon
411 Nylon Blvd.
Seaford, DE 19973
[email protected]

RE: August 28, 2017 Correspondence Regarding the City of Seaford

Dear Mr. Cannon:

We are in receipt of your August 28, 2017 correspondence alleging that the Mayor and
the Council of the City of Seaford (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the City") have
violated Delaware's Freedom of Information Act ("FOIA"). Specifically, you allege that the
City has violated FOIA by failing to present this Office's July 11 and 18, 2017 FOIA
determinations, Del. Op. Att'y Gen. 17-IB17 and Del. Op. Att'y Gen. 17-IB27, to the public
during the regular meetings of the City Council. However, as we see nothing in Delaware's
FOIA that requires a public body to share or otherwise discuss this Office's FOIA determinations
at a public meeting, it is our determination that the City did not violate FOIA as alleged. Indeed,
we note that both opinions are publicly available at
http://opinions.attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/.

Very truly yours,

Michelle E. Whalen

Deputy Attorney General

Aaron R. Goldstein, State Solicitor (via email)

CC: James Fuqua, Esq. (via email)