After an outcry from several media outlets, John Carney modified the State of Emergency (SOE) on Friday to allow Freedom of Information Act requests to be answered.
Prior to Friday’s modification of the SOE, the statutory time periods for responses to requests for public records made pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10003 and for the filing of and response to petitions filed pursuant to 29 Del. C. § 10005 (e), whether such requests or petitions are presently pending or submitted hereafter, had been extended until fifteen (15) business days following the termination of any active Declaration of a State of Emergency. That language has been removed from the governor’s order.
Several media outlets had taken to social media in recent weeks to shine a light on the FIOA request restrictions.
The issue was also highlighted by gubernatorial candidate Julianne Murray when she faced off with Carney at the 2020 Candidate’s Forum hosted by the Jewish Federation of Delaware last week.
Read the full order here.
