DOVER, Del. (AP) - A bill making the University of Delaware and Delaware State University subject to more public scrutiny has been released from a House committee, but with an amendment that guts the intent of the bill and may even weaken existing open-government provisions.
The bill discussed Thursday revises Delaware's Freedom of Information Act to remove an exemption for the two schools, which receive millions of dollars in taxpayer money each year but are mostly exempt from open records and open meetings laws.
Previous efforts to end the FOIA exemption have failed. And an amendment to the current bill crafted by Democratic House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst adds new conditions to the current law that give the university more leeway in deciding whether to disclose information about spending state funds.
