John Flaherty Sends Along Good News From The State House - Unanimous Passage Of The FOIA Bill!

BENNETT FOIA BILL UNANIMOUSLY PASSES HOUSE
HB 5 sets deadline for governments to respond to requests
DOVER – Legislation setting a deadline for government entities and other public bodies to respond to a Freedom of Information request unanimously passed the House Tuesday.
Under House Bill 5, sponsored by Rep. E. Bradford “Brad” Bennett, any FOIA request for a public record must be granted within 15 business days from the receipt of the request. However, the public entity can extend that deadline if the request is for “voluminous records, requires legal advice” or if the record is in storage. In those situations, the agency or entity must inform the person making the request within 15 business days of the need for additional time.
Currently, state law does not include any time limit for public bodies to respond to or fulfill FOIA requests.
“A request can sit for months without a response,” said Rep. Bennett, D-Dover South. “Public information should be readily accessible to any citizen, and any person who makes a FOIA request for public records deserves a prompt response. This bill further improves the FOIA legislation passed last session. It makes us a more transparent and open state. By adding these provisions, we will go from being one of the least transparent states to one of the more transparent.”
HB 5 is similar to legislation that passed the House last session, with a couple small changes. Rep. Bennett said he extended the deadline – it was 10 business days in the previous measure – after hearing some concerns raised last session.