16-IB20 9/30/2016 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Russell Carollo re: FOIA Complaint Concerning the Office of the State Bank Commissioner
Petitioner alleged that the Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC) violated FOIA by denying his request because he is not a citizen of Delaware. HELD: FOIA permits but does not require public bodies to fulfill FOIA requests from citizens of other states.
Read More16-IB19 9/30/2016 FOIA Opinion Letter to Mr. Nicolas Krawitz re: the Hon. Chipman Flowers' FOIA Complaint Concerning the Office of the State Treasurer
Petitioner alleged that the Office of the State Treasurer had violated FOIA in the following ways: inflating estimates of legal review and printing charges for his initial request; improperly including photocopying charges in its estimate; failing to provide an estimate of administrative fees for the February 5 request ; asking Petitioner to perform an initial review of the records for exemptions; circumscribing access based on the belief that Petitioner had certain requested records already; and employing “obstinate tactics”. HELD: OST violated FOIA by including a charge for legal review in their estimated administrative fees. They are asked to remedy this violation by providing Petitioner with a revised itemized written estimate. ALSO HELD: Because the parties had an ongoing and unresolved discussion of the parameters of the request until shortly before the petition was filed, the failure to provide an estimate of administrative fees did not violate FOIA under the circumstances. ALSO HELD: OST offered Petitioner the opportunity to perform an initial review of records, but did not demand that he do so. This did not constitute a FOIA violation. ALSO HELD: OST did not circumscribe or deny Petitioner access to records based on a belief that he has a copy of some or all of the requested records. ALSO HELD: The record demonstrates that the FOIA Coordinator did not fail to fulfill his FOIA obligations.
Read More16-IB18 9/28/2016 FOIA Opinion Letter to Ms. Donna Means re: FOIA Complaint Concerning Newark City Council
Petitioner alleged that the Newark City Council violated FOIA by denying her the opportunity to participate in public comment; removing her from the meeting without justification; and the passing of notes between the Mayor and other individuals. HELD: FOIA does not require an opportunity for public comment, but when offered, this office has determined that such opportunities must comport with the First Amendment. In this instance, the Council’s actions and rule against “personal affronts” survived First Amendment scrutiny in the “limited public forum.” ALSO HELD: The passing of notes among the Mayor and her staff did not violate FOIA because those individuals were not Councilmembers, and the allegation that notes were previously passed to Council members in other meetings was too vague to warrant consideration.
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