Delaware Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Delaware, with full citations and the original source on every page.
No Delaware opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
If a Delaware town's meeting agenda lists a 'Second Reading: Resolution' on a property tax rate, but the council actually does the first reading of an ordinance instead, is that a FOIA violation?
No. AG opinion 25-IB63 found that the Town of Blades did NOT violate FOIA when its November 10, 2025 meeting agenda listed 'Second Reading: Resolution 2025.10.27.0001 Real Estate Property Tax Rate' bu…
Does a Delaware town meeting agenda have to say it will hold a 'first reading' of a tax-rate proposal, or is 'New Tax Rate' specific enough?
'New Tax Rate' was specific enough. The AG found the Town of Blades did not violate FOIA when its October 27, 2025 special-meeting agenda listed 'New Tax Rate' without stating that the Council would h…
If a Delaware zoning agenda lists a parking variance for one property, does it also have to list the off-site parking lot the developer plans to use to meet the parking requirement?
No FOIA violation. Rehoboth Beach's agenda for the September 30, 2024 Board of Adjustment hearing identified the applicant, the property at 2 Rehoboth Avenue, and the four code sections involved (incl…
Can a Delaware city use a vague 'matters discussed in executive session' agenda item to vote on hiring a new city solicitor with no public discussion?
No. Rehoboth Beach violated Delaware's open-meeting law twice: by voting on a new city solicitor without putting that decision on the agenda in 'plain and comprehensible' language, and by discussing t…
Can a Delaware town council ban rebuttals during public comment, and is it enough to list executive-session reasons by statute subsection?
The Town Council of Ellendale did not violate FOIA. A public comment period that allows two minutes per speaker and disallows rebuttals still gives the public a meaningful opportunity to engage. FOIA …
Can a Delaware village hold a fully virtual public meeting during the COVID emergency, and is an agenda that just lists 'officer reports' and 'old business' enough to satisfy FOIA?
Two of the three FOIA claims succeeded. The Village was allowed to hold a fully virtual meeting in March 2022 because Delaware was still under a public-health state of emergency. But it failed to prov…
Can a Delaware school board hold no-confidence and mask-mandate votes under a vague '2021-2022 School Year' agenda heading without separate notice?
The Indian River School District Board of Education violated FOIA. Its August 22, 2021 agenda listed only '2021-2022 School Year (D)' for discussion. Two votes followed: one expressing no confidence i…
Can a Delaware city add the name of a Board nominee to a meeting agenda only a few days before the vote, without explaining the late amendment?
No. Delaware FOIA requires agendas seven days in advance and amendments only up to six hours before with a stated reason for the delay. Rehoboth Beach amended the August 21, 2020 agenda to add the nom…
Can a Delaware charter-school board hold a meeting in a locked building, and can it go into executive session without putting that on the agenda?
Mostly no. The Odyssey Charter School Board violated FOIA by holding an executive session at the December 3, 2019 meeting without including it on the agenda. The locked-building location did not viola…
Does a Delaware county council violate FOIA if it votes on 'recommendations from executive session' without specifically noticing that vote on the agenda?
Not necessarily. The AG found New Castle County Council's Personnel Subcommittee did not violate FOIA by voting to direct legal research after an executive session, even though the agenda didn't flag …
If a public meeting agenda lists "public comments," does the board have to let anyone from the public speak?
Not necessarily, according to this opinion. A county Board of Adjustment listed "Public Comments" on its agenda but meant only a farewell tribute to a retiring county employee, then declined to let a …
If a city council's agenda only lists a general comment period, can a council member use it to trigger real debate and action on a land-use project?
No, under the law as it stood in 2006. The AG found Newark City Council violated FOIA when a councilman's comment during the 'Council Members' portion of a meeting's agenda turned into an extended, su…
Can a Delaware town withhold months of executive session minutes just by labeling the sessions Personnel and Legal Issues?
No, under the law as it stood in 2005. The AG found the Town of Middletown had no lawful basis to withhold months of executive session minutes, since most of what its council actually discussed behind…
If a city council member raises an off-agenda topic during the public comment portion of a meeting, can the council act on it right then?
No, and that's what Dover correctly did, under the law as it stood in 2005. The AG found the City of Dover did not violate FOIA when a councilman raised pension plan investment concerns during the cou…
Can a Delaware town call a rushed special meeting to fire its solicitor if the agenda just says "Town Solicitor"?
No, under the law as it stood in 2005. The AG found the Town of Frederica violated FOIA when it called a special meeting on three days' notice to vote out its Town Solicitor without stating why the no…
Can a school board add a last-minute construction change order to its meeting agenda by just voting to amend the agenda that day?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Woodbridge School District violated FOIA by approving a $30,373 construction change order added to the agenda the same day, without giving the six h…
Can a town council vote to remove a member from office under a vague 'New Business' agenda item?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Odessa violated FOIA by voting to declare a councilman's office forfeited and appoint his replacement under a bare 'New Business' agenda label, inva…
Is $10 for a 68-page copy of a county's comprehensive land use plan a reasonable public records fee?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County's $10.00 charge for a 68-page comprehensive land use plan, under seven cents a page, was a reasonable copying fee under FOIA, and tha…
Where does a county council have to post its meeting notice, and how specific does the agenda need to be?
It depends, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found New Castle County Council had to post meeting notice at its own principal office regardless of where a joint meeting was actually held, but …
Does a county have to specifically describe a multi-million dollar bond application on its meeting agenda before voting to approve it?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2001. The AG found Sussex County's agenda item, which only said "Application - PATS Inc." and later just "IRB Committee Report," failed to alert the public that the c…
Does a city have to produce a funding statement under FOIA if it never actually wrote one?
No, under the law as it stood in 2000. The AG found Newark didn't violate FOIA by not producing a written funding statement for a new power project because the city never actually created that documen…
Does a public body have to let people speak at its meetings, and does a vague agenda item like committee meeting notices need to list every topic?
No to public comment, under the law as it stood in 2000, and yes to a real agenda requirement. The AG found FOIA doesn't require a public body to accept public comment at an open meeting, and that a m…
Does a town have to give special notice before voting to make trash collection mandatory for all residents?
No special notice was required beyond FOIA's normal agenda rules, under the law as it stood in 1999. The AG found the Town of Townsend properly listed "Mandatory Trash Collection For All Residents" as…
Can a city council add a $675,000 budget vote to its meeting agenda on the day of the meeting?
No, under the law as it stood in 1999, when the issue wasn't actually new. The AG found the City of Newark violated FOIA by amending its March 22, 1999 meeting agenda at the last minute to add a $675,…
Does a town's meeting agenda have to name the specific job candidate it plans to discuss in a closed personnel session?
No, under the law as it stood in 1999. The AG found Bethany Beach's three executive sessions were all held for the authorized purpose of discussing personnel matters, and that FOIA doesn't require nam…
Is it a FOIA violation if a public body briefly strays into an improper topic during executive session but stops as soon as someone objects?
No, according to this opinion. The AG cleared Woodbridge's school district of any FOIA violation across five executive-session topics, finding that personnel and labor-negotiation items fit within FOI…
Can a town agenda say a council will consider 'nominations' for a vacant seat and then hold an actual election at the same meeting?
No, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found the Town of Townsend violated FOIA by posting notice of its meeting only six days ahead of the required seven, and by listing the agenda item as "no…
Can a town's vote to adopt a land-use plan be voided because of notice problems earlier in the planning process?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1998. The AG found Middletown committed a series of FOIA notice violations, unadvertised planning workshops, public input sessions not properly noticed by the town, a…
Does a city's advisory board have to give public notice of its meetings even if it hasn't taken any formal action yet?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found that Wilmington's Residency Review Board violated FOIA's open-meeting notice rules by holding five meetings with no public notice or agenda, even t…
Can a school board vote to spend money on a new item that wasn't on the posted meeting agenda?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1997, when the new item grows naturally out of a topic that was already on the agenda. The AG found Cape Henlopen's vote to fund new teaching positions didn't violate…
What does a city council have to do before it can legally close a meeting to the public?
The council violated FOIA, under the law as it stood in 1997, by going into executive session at two meetings without announcing its intent in the agenda, without a public vote to close the session, a…
Is it enough for a city to just announce that a committee will meet, without saying what it will discuss?
No, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found the City of New Castle violated FOIA by giving less than seven days' notice for two Public Safety Review Committee meetings and by failing to includ…
If a city's personnel committee posts meeting notices for two years without ever listing an agenda or keeping minutes, does that void whatever the committee recommended?
Yes, a serious violation, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found the City of Lewes violated FOIA by posting notices without an agenda and without keeping minutes for seventeen meetings of its…
Can a city council meet with a state transportation agency on less than seven days' notice if the delay was caused by waiting on legal advice?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG advised that Newark's city council could meet with DelDOT officials on 24-hour notice, rather than the usual seven days, because stating that the delay w…
If a town gives five days' notice of a meeting instead of the required seven, but sixty residents still show up, is that a FOIA violation that undoes the meeting?
Yes, a technical violation, under the law as it stood in 1997. The AG found the Town of Laurel's newspaper notice giving only five days' advance warning of a Planning Commission meeting, instead of th…
Can a town council go into a closed executive session during a rezoning hearing without a public vote or a stated reason?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found the Camden Town Council violated FOIA by not disclosing in its agenda that it intended to hold an executive session or vote on a rezoning request, b…
If a zoning board chairman's comments mislead the public into thinking a vote is deferred, but the board decides that same night, is that a FOIA violation?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found the board violated the Act when its chairman's ambiguous comment that a decision would have to 'wait' led attendees to reasonably believe the matte…
Browse Delaware opinions by topic
Attorney general opinions in Delaware are written by the Delaware Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.