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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Does a public body violate Delaware's open meetings law if the hearing room turns out to be too small for everyone who shows up?
Not necessarily, according to the AG. Delaware's FOIA requires a public body to pick a reasonably sized venue when it knows a meeting will draw a crowd, but it does not require the body to guarantee s…
Can town council members discuss an issue informally over several public meetings without violating the open meetings law?
No violation, according to the AG. Because the Frankford Town Council's discussion of the charter amendment happened across several public meetings, and there was no evidence of any private quorum mee…
What happens when a Delaware town council repeatedly holds closed-door meetings without explaining why?
It can't. Delaware's FOIA requires town councils to state the specific reason for any closed executive session and to list major agenda items in advance. The AG found Dewey Beach's Town Council violat…
Does a nonprofit animal cruelty society have to hold open board meetings if it gets a small state grant?
Yes, the AG found. The Kent County SPCA is a "public body" under Delaware's FOIA because it is empowered by the state to enforce animal cruelty laws and receives a state grant-in-aid, so its board mee…
Did a Delaware high school athletic association violate open-meetings law by giving only one day's notice of a special board meeting?
No, the AG found. DIAA's posted notice listed the wrong date, but state records confirmed it actually went up on the website 24 hours before the meeting as FOIA requires, and DIAA's boilerplate explan…
If Delaware council members privately agreed how to vote before a public meeting, who has to prove it happened?
The person alleging the secret meeting has to come forward with real evidence, not just suspicion, that a quorum actually met; only then does the burden shift to the public body to prove no FOIA viola…
If a newly formed Delaware county committee gathers on just 24 hours' notice but doesn't actually discuss any county business, does that violate the open meeting law?
No, according to this opinion. The AG found the county should have given the normal seven days' notice rather than treating the committee's first gathering as a 'special' meeting, but that the gatheri…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
Does a closed-door kickoff meeting between city staff, state officials, and a hired consultant violate Delaware's open-meetings law?
No, under the law as it stood in 1999. The AG found that a meeting between City of Newark employees, state transit officials, and a private engineering consultant to review a parking study contract aw…
Can a school board hold a planning retreat if it labels the meeting as a closed executive session?
No, under the law as it stood in 1998, not when the topics discussed don't fall under an authorized reason for going into executive session. The AG found the Appoquinimink School District violated FOI…
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…
Does a Delaware zoning board violate open-meetings law by saying it will take a matter 'under advisement,' or by holding a hearing in a room too small for everyone who shows up?
No violation, under the law as it stood in 1996, though the AG found the practice risked confusing the public. Taking a matter 'under advisement' after a public hearing, or holding a hearing in a room…
Can a town council retroactively legalize meetings that violated Delaware's open-meetings law just by taking a follow-up vote?
Not the way Georgetown tried it, under the law as it stood in 1996. After finding numerous separate violations, mostly missing 7-day meeting notices without an explanation and an improper executive-se…
Do school board members violate Delaware's open-meetings law by chatting informally in the hallway before or after a meeting?
It depends on what was discussed, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG cleared two hallway gatherings where the evidence showed separate, unrelated conversations, but found a violation where boar…
Does discussing employee salary and personnel policy count as 'public business' that Delaware's open-meetings law covers?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG denied Georgetown's request for reconsideration, holding that a memo setting employee salary, pay-docking, and leave policy was clearly 'public business'…
Can a town council avoid Delaware's open-meetings law by having members review and sign a policy memo one at a time instead of meeting together?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found that when Georgetown's mayor and council members discussed, drafted, and individually signed a memo setting employee policy without ever noticing a…
Can a city council avoid Delaware's open-meetings law by splitting one discussion into several small groups, each below a quorum?
No, under the law as it stood in 1996. The AG found that when Newark's city council split into three separate sub-quorum groups to meet with the same university officials about the same building-plan …
Did a Delaware school board give proper notice when its meeting agenda just said 'Personnel' before interviewing principal candidates in closed session?
No, under the law as it stood in 1995. The AG found the Woodbridge Board of Education violated FOIA by listing its executive session only as "Personnel" without citing the specific statutory ground fo…
If a Delaware town council votes on something that wasn't on the meeting agenda, can it fix the problem by voting again the right way?
Yes, under the law as it stood in 1995. The AG found that Georgetown's Town Council violated FOIA when it voted to evict the Chamber of Commerce from Town Hall without listing the matter on the meetin…
Can a Delaware governor's advisory council hold private meetings with invited guests under the state's open-meetings law?
No, under the law as it stood in 1995. The AG concluded that the Governor's Council on Equal Employment Opportunity qualified as a public body under FOIA because it was partly funded with public money…
If only two of five school board members attend an informal staff meeting, does that violate Delaware's open meeting law?
Not on this record. The opinion found that two of the Woodbridge School District's five board members attending an informal 'administrative-staff meeting' did not violate the open meeting law, since t…
If a Delaware town council posts a revised meeting agenda late without explaining why, does that void what the council voted on?
Under the law as it stood in 1995, yes. The AG found that the City of New Castle violated FOIA's open-meetings requirements when it posted a revised agenda adding an ordinance item just one day before…
If Delaware school board members meet with fewer than a quorum present, can that still violate the state's open meeting law?
The opinion found that the Woodbridge School District's January 1995 breakfast meeting again violated Delaware's open meeting law for the same reasons as a prior decision, and warned that even a small…
Can a Delaware school board avoid the state's open meeting law by calling a gathering an informal 'breakfast meeting'?
Yes. The opinion found that when a quorum of the Woodbridge School District's Board attended a monthly staff breakfast where invited employees discussed suggestions for the school system in their offi…
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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.