Delaware legislators may soon be subject to FOIA

Promising news from Delaware:

A bill that would make the workings of the Delaware General Assembly more transparent to the public has cleared a House committee.

The bill, which subjects the legislature to the Freedom of Information Act, was released by the House administration committee on Wednesday. But lawmakers say amendments are likely, including one to prohibit public access to legislators' e-mails.

House Speaker Robert Gilligan said he hopes the bill will go to the House floor next week.

But it may have to clear the appropriations committee first because the legislature's controller general says at least one full-time staffer, at a cost of more than $61,000 a year, would be needed to handle FOIA requests.

More here.