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.
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Is a Delaware charter school subject to public records requests for its budgets and financial reports?
Yes, according to this opinion, at least for records the charter school actually keeps in its own files, even if a state agency also holds a copy. The AG found the charter school was a proper FOIA cus…
Can a city call an emergency meeting to impose a rental permit moratorium right after a court strikes down its housing ordinance?
Mostly yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found the City of Newark had genuine exigent circumstances to call a next-day special meeting after a Chancery Court ruling struck down its studen…
Can a zoning board of adjustment refuse to let ordinary citizens speak at a quasi-judicial hearing but let one citizen argue as a party representative?
Mixed, under the law as it stood in 2004. The AG found Rehoboth Beach's Board of Adjustment could lawfully limit its quasi-judicial hearing to legal argument from the parties, but violated FOIA once i…
If I request records shortly before filing a Delaware administrative appeal, can the agency refuse just because it couldn't gather everything right away?
Yes, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG reaffirmed that an administrative appeal before a Planning Board counts as 'litigation' under FOIA's litigation exemption even without formal discovery,…
Can I demand 'all books, checking accounts and papers' a town has kept since a certain year under a public records request?
Mixed, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found a request for "all books, checking accounts and papers" a Delaware town kept since 1994 was too broad to honor, but ordered the town to release t…
If a school board adjourns its meeting and later reconvenes in executive session, does it need a fresh public vote to go back into closed session?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Sussex Technical School District violated FOIA because it adjourned its meeting, then went back into executive session twenty minutes later without…
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…
Are the names of insurance carriers that cover a Delaware county's public officials public records?
Usually yes, according to this opinion, since routine policy details like the insurer's name and coverage terms relate to how public funds are spent. But the AG found this specific request was exempt …
If a town labels an executive session 'personnel' but actually discusses a volunteer board candidate, is that a FOIA violation?
Yes but harmless, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found South Bethany invoked the wrong FOIA exemption when it labeled a closed session on a Board of Adjustment candidate as "personnel," but…
Can a Delaware town hold a special meeting on only three days' notice to switch contractors on a road project?
Yes, according to this opinion, as long as there's a genuine reason the normal seven-day notice couldn't be met. The AG found a town's three-day notice for a special meeting to fire an unresponsive ro…
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 a 15-business-day response to a public records request too slow under Delaware's FOIA?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found New Castle County's 15-business-day response to a records request wasn't unreasonable given a legitimate legal review, clarified that the 10-day gui…
Can members of a Delaware public body violate the open meeting law by discussing business over email instead of meeting in person?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found, as a matter of first impression, that a quorum of a committee actively exchanging opinions and reaching consensus by email over two days counted as a 'mee…
Can a school board hold a meeting with only 24 hours' notice if weather delayed its scheduling?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Christina School District properly gave only 24 hours' notice of a meeting because a week of snow closures had prevented earlier scheduling with de…
Does Delaware's public records law let a county withhold documents while an administrative appeal about a subdivision is pending?
Yes, according to this opinion, when the appeal is filed close in time to the records request and the documents relate directly to the issue on appeal. The AG found a quasi-judicial administrative app…
How late can a town council wait to approve its meeting minutes before it violates Delaware's open meeting law?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found Fenwick Island violated FOIA by leaving the minutes of fifteen 2002 meetings unapproved for two to seven months, but found no violation in how the …
Can a town council let some residents speak at a public meeting while refusing to let a non-property-owner respond to criticism about him?
No, under the law as it stood in 2003. The AG found FOIA doesn't require public bodies to allow public comment at all, but once a town opens the floor for public participation, it can't pick and choos…
Can I get copies of federal grand jury subpoenas sent to a Delaware county government through a public records request?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that federal grand jury secrecy rules count as a statute that specifically exempts records from disclosure, so county grand jury subpoenas are not …
Can I get the name and home address of the president of a homeowners' maintenance corporation from a Delaware county?
Yes for the name and mailing address, according to this opinion, but not the home or work phone number. The AG found a maintenance corporation president has only a minimal privacy interest in the name…
Can a town council secretly decide a zoning application in private meetings labeled 'legal advice' and then vote on it in public?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Camden Town Council violated FOIA by holding closed-door meetings labeled 'legal advice' to actually discuss and reach consensus on a developer'…
Can a town raise its FOIA copying fees and cap staff time on records requests specifically because one resident keeps asking?
Mixed, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found South Bethany's document access itself complied with FOIA and that council members' personal notes weren't public records, but the town's resolut…
Can a Delaware government withhold documents as related to 'potential litigation' with someone else entirely?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found New Castle County could not use the requester's own threatened lawsuit over one matter to withhold unrelated correspondence with a newspaper about a complet…
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…
Does a government employee's personal notes for a meeting count as a public record under Delaware's FOIA?
No, according to this opinion, as long as the notes were made only to help the employee remember things, kept in personal files, never shared, and could be discarded at any time. The AG separately fou…
Can a county keep the minutes of an executive session about buying land confidential while negotiations are still ongoing?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County Council properly used executive session to discuss a preliminary land purchase and could keep the session's minutes confidential whil…
If a city council secretly meets with a developer about annexing land, can it fix the violation before making a final decision?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the City of New Castle violated FOIA by meeting with a developer about annexation plans without public notice, but commended the city for voluntari…
Can a Delaware physical therapist work for or accept patient referrals from a physician who profits from those referrals?
No, according to this opinion. Delaware law bars a physical therapist from splitting fees or accepting money, wages, discounts, or gratuities from anyone who refers patients to them, including a physi…
Does Delaware's public records law require a county to hand out every draft of a comprehensive plan update as it's being revised?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Sussex County Planning & Zoning made the revised comprehensive plan draft and meeting minutes reasonably available on its website and in its office…
Can I get a copy of a Delaware government's settlement agreement with a fired or departing employee?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found that a settlement agreement and related payment records between a public employer and an employee are public records under FOIA, rejecting personnel-file, …
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 …
Did Fenwick Island properly fix its earlier open-meeting violations by publicly re-voting on a police salary decision?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Town of Fenwick Island properly remediated its earlier open-meeting violations by publicly discussing and ratifying its police salary decision,…
If representatives from several Delaware school boards meet regularly outside of any official board meeting, does that group have to follow the open meeting law?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG applied a 'functional equivalent' test and found that a joint group of school board members and administrators who met monthly to discuss shared concerns counted…
Can I file a Delaware FOIA complaint if a town simply doesn't have the planning document I asked for yet?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that a town did not violate FOIA by failing to hand over a comprehensive development plan that did not yet exist, since FOIA does not require a pub…
Can a school board pick a new superintendent almost entirely behind closed doors?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found a school board could interview finalists for superintendent in a properly limited executive session, but violated the open meeting law by using clo…
Can a Delaware county withhold its correspondence with an outside law firm from a public records request?
Yes, according to this opinion. The county released the firm's engagement letter and its billing statements, but the AG reviewed the remaining correspondence between the county and the firm in camera …
Can a town council go into a closed executive session to discuss police salaries or get legal advice about the police department?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Fenwick Island Town Council improperly used executive session three times to discuss police salary increases and general police department issue…
Can Delaware's 60-day deadline to sue over a records denial stop the Attorney General from investigating an older complaint?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG concluded that FOIA's 60-day deadline only limits when citizens can sue in court, not when the Attorney General can investigate, and separately found that…
Does Delaware's open meeting law require a public body to move a meeting to a bigger room if a large crowd is expected?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG concluded that if a public body has reason to expect a large turnout, FOIA requires it to find a larger meeting space, though a speaker system in an adjo…
Does a county attorney violate Delaware's open meeting law by privately consulting outside individuals while drafting a redistricting ordinance?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Sussex County Attorney's private consultations with an elections official and an independent consultant while drafting a redistricting ordinance…
Does a county council's lunch meeting with an outside group count as a public meeting under Delaware's open meeting law?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found a lunch between Sussex County Council members and a land trust group was part of a public meeting because it was listed on the meeting's agenda, so…
Does Delaware's public records law require a school district to create records it doesn't have or get records from a private contractor?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found Cape Henlopen School District did not violate FOIA by failing to hand over a bus schedule, claim forms, or zoning-inquiry records it did not possess…
Can a county council fold its executive session minutes into the minutes of the open portion of the same meeting?
No, under the law as it stood in 2002. The AG found the Sussex County Council violated FOIA by not maintaining minutes of a July 17, 2001 executive session separate from the minutes of the meeting's p…
Can a Delaware city refuse to release the names and home addresses of its retired employees?
Yes, according to this opinion. The AG found the City of Dover could lawfully withhold the names and addresses of retired city employees under FOIA's privacy protections, following federal case law th…
Do a Delaware county administrator's private budget meetings with department heads have to be open to the public?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found a county administrator is a 'body of one' exempt from FOIA's open meeting rules, so meeting privately with department heads to gather facts for a budget pro…
If a city committee adds a known issue to its meeting agenda at the last minute, does a later public vote by the city council fix the problem?
No, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found a city safety committee violated FOIA by adding a matter it already knew about to its agenda without proper notice, and ruled that the city council…
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…
Can an out-of-state company use Delaware's public records law to get copies of local police accident reports?
No, according to this opinion. Delaware's FOIA only gives access rights to Delaware citizens, and a company that is not incorporated in Delaware and has no genuine Delaware presence does not count as …
Can a Delaware school board go into closed session to discuss collective bargaining, and does it have to say so on the agenda?
The board can hold the closed session, since collective bargaining records are exempt from FOIA's public records requirements, but the AG found the board violated the law by labeling those closed sess…
What can a state attorney general do when a cemetery is mismanaged and its perpetual care fund is drained?
The Delaware Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit filed a civil enforcement suit in the Court of Chancery against Riverview Cemetery Corp. and several fraternal organizations, alleging years of…
Does a town's special meeting notice still violate FOIA if there was a genuinely good reason for the short notice?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 2001, even when the underlying rush is legitimate. The AG found the Town of Odessa violated FOIA by posting notice of a December 23, 2000 special meeting, called to g…
Can a school board discuss disagreements between its own members in a closed personnel executive session?
No, under the law as it stood in 2001. The AG found the Indian River School District violated FOIA by discussing "Boardsmanship," personal disagreements among the board's own members that led to a boa…
Is a Delaware school district still in violation of FOIA if it eventually turns over records, just later than the requester wanted?
Not necessarily. The Delaware AG found no FOIA violation where a school district eventually provided everything a requester asked for, including enrollment figures, meeting minutes, and access to meet…
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 the University of Delaware have to follow the same FOIA open-meeting and records rules as a city council?
No, under the law as it stood in 2000. The AG found the University of Delaware's FOIA obligations are narrower than a typical public body's: it only has to disclose records tied to the expenditure of …
Does a school board's advisory committee have to give the public seven days' notice before it meets?
Yes, according to this opinion. The Delaware AG found that a school board's Raider Committee, made up partly of board members, counted as a public body once it discussed a matter it could recommend on…
Can I still file a FOIA complaint about a school board meeting that happened over a year ago?
No, under the law as it stood in 2000. The AG declined to act on a complaint about a Red Clay Consolidated School District executive session held in November 1998 because it was filed more than six mo…
Can a school district charge a records-request fee if it never adopted a formal fee policy?
No, under the law as it stood in 2000. The AG found the Brandywine School District may have violated FOIA by charging a resident $7.50 for records access without having a formal fee policy in place, b…
Is a town responsible for producing its old records if it already transferred them to the state archives?
No, under the law as it stood in 2000, once a town no longer has custody of the records. The AG found Bellefonte didn't violate FOIA by not producing pre-1970 town records already transferred to the S…
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…
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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.