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Subcommittee amends and reports FOIA clarification bill after OES request; vote 9–0
Summary
A House subcommittee unanimously reported House Bill 159 as amended to clarify that expedited petitions to enforce FOIA rights do not require formal service of process, after the Office of the Executive Secretary asked an enactment‑clause line be struck as redundant.
The subcommittee on procurement and open government of the House General Laws Committee on the first subcommittee meeting of the 2026 session advanced House Bill 159, approving an amendment and reporting the bill as amended by a recorded 9–0 vote.
Delegate Simon presented the measure, saying it grew from work by the FOIA Council, which he chairs. "We asked for some guidance to the judges," he said, arguing some circuit and district court judges had been requiring formal service of process for petitions seeking mandamus or injunctions to enforce Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) rights, a step he said was delaying the expedited hearings that statute contemplated. "So what the bill does is it adds one sentence ... that says nothing in this section shall be construed to require service of process or a summons for a hearing when a petition for mandamus or injunction to enforce rights granted under this chapter has been filed," he said.
An advocate identified as Miss Ryan spoke in support, recounting the provision's origins: a case more than a decade ago involving enforcement against a school district that prompted the original expedited procedure. Miss Ryan said some judges' recent practices have led to dismissals and that the bill restores the intended, quicker remedy for citizens seeking FOIA enforcement.
Jamie Melidas, a staff attorney in the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES), told the subcommittee OES was not opposed to the bill but asked that an enactment clause (lines 55–57) be removed as redundant because OES routinely highlights statutory changes for judges and the bench book is produced by volunteer judges. Delegate Simon moved to strike lines 55–57; the motion was seconded and incorporated into the motion to move and report the bill as submitted. The subcommittee recorded a vote and the measure reported as amended passed 9–0.
The amendment and recorded vote mean House Bill 159 will move forward from the subcommittee with the technical clarification intended to ensure expedited FOIA petitions are not delayed by formal service requirements. The subcommittee did not change substantive FOIA rights in debate; members framed the change as aligning practice with the original intent of the statute.
