From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Earlier this year, Delaware state Rep. Madinah Wilson-Anton became curious about the financial interests of a fellow Delaware lawmaker.

So she went to the website of the state’s Public Integrity Commission. That’s the government body, known as the PIC, which receives and keeps the financial disclosure statements filed annually by some 350 elected and appointed state officials and candidates for Delaware office.

Beyond politicians, those who must file include judges, members of the governor’s cabinet and directors of state divisions.

The reports contain oodles of information, though not exact dollar amounts, about the economic situation of the official and their spouse: sources of income, investments, business ventures, creditors, gifts received and positions on boards.

Under Delaware law, the filings are public documents. But when Wilson-Anton searched the PIC’s website for the lawmaker’s reports, they were nowhere to be found.

That’s because to see the reports, the Bear-area Democrat had to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the state.

Wilson-Anton said that requirement is ridiculous — that the reports should be posted online, for viewing by anyone, at any time.

“That kind of weirded me out because I’ve submitted reports now for five years, maybe even six years at this point,” Wilson-Anton said. “And I always filled them out with the understanding that they were public documents and they were meant for the public to understand where I make money from.”

“I didn’t realize that it was behind a FOIA wall,” she said. “I thought it was just online the way that lobbyist reports are online and searchable. It seems like a no-brainer to me. I think Delawareans should be able to just go online and look and not have to know something’s up and then request to learn more.”

So Wilson-Anton, now in her third two-year term in the House, decided to seek a change. In May, she introduced a bill that would require the PIC to post all financial disclosure reports on its website.

Her effort gained a powerful ally — Senate President Pro-Tem Dave Sokola — who signed on as a sponsor. The PIC also supports the bill.

Sokola told WHYY News in a written statement that the “straightforward bill increases transparency and public trust. As elected officials, we must hold ourselves to the highest standard of objectivity and transparency.”

“But from time to time, there may be something in our personal lives or among the lives of our relatives that presents a conflict of interest,” the statement reads. “I sponsored this legislation to simply say that we owe it to the public to be transparent about any conflicts of interest — whether perceived or real.”

Source link