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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2025 -- S 0909 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002603 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS |
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| 16 | 16 | | Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Ciccone, LaMountain, Lawson, Bissaillon, Rogers, |
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| 17 | 17 | | Paolino, E Morgan, McKenney, and Sosnowski |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: March 27, 2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Judiciary |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Sections 38-2-1, 38-2-2, 38-2-3, 38-2-3.2, 38-2-3.16, 38-2-4, 38-2-7, 38-2-9, 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | 38-2-14 and 38-2-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 38-2 entitled "Access to Public Records" are 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | hereby amended to read as follows: 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | 38-2-1. Purpose. 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | The public’s right to access to public records and the individual’s right to dignity and 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | privacy are both recognized to be principles of the utmost importance in a free society. The purpose 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | of this chapter is to facilitate public access to public records. It is also the intent of this chapter to 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | protect from disclosure information about particular individuals maintained in the files of public 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | bodies when disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy as specified 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | by the exemptions contained in this chapter. 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | 38-2-2. Definitions. 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | As used in this chapter: 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) “Agency” or “public body” means any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, or 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | administrative body of the state, or any political subdivision thereof; including, but not limited to: 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | any department, division, agency, commission, board, office, bureau, authority; any school, fire, or 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | water district, or other agency of Rhode Island state or local government that exercises 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | governmental functions; any authority as defined in § 42-35-1(b); or any other public or private 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of and/or in place of 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | any public agency, and shall also include the police department of any private educational 19 |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | |
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| 44 | 44 | | LC002603 - Page 2 of 15 |
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| 45 | 45 | | institution of higher learning employing any special police officers pursuant to § 12-2.1-1 or peace 1 |
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| 46 | 46 | | officers as defined in § 12-7-21. 2 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (2) “Chief administrative officer” means the highest authority of the public body. 3 |
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| 48 | 48 | | (3) “Public business” means any matter over which the public body has supervision, 4 |
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| 49 | 49 | | control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. 5 |
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| 50 | 50 | | (4) “Public record” or “public records” shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, 6 |
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| 51 | 51 | | books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data 7 |
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| 52 | 52 | | processing records, computer stored data (including electronic mail messages, except specifically 8 |
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| 53 | 53 | | for any electronic mail messages of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent 9 |
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| 54 | 54 | | and correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities as otherwise exempt under 10 |
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| 55 | 55 | | this chapter), or other material regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received 11 |
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| 56 | 56 | | pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any 12 |
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| 57 | 57 | | agency. For the purposes of this chapter, and subject to the provisions of § 38-2-3(b), the following 13 |
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| 58 | 58 | | records shall not be deemed public: 14 |
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| 59 | 59 | | (A)(I)(a)(i) All records relating to a client/attorney relationship and to a doctor/patient 15 |
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| 60 | 60 | | relationship, including all medical records and information protected by state or federal healthcare 16 |
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| 61 | 61 | | confidentiality laws relating to an individual in any files. 17 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (ii) All records protected by the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product 18 |
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| 63 | 63 | | privilege. 19 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (b) Personnel and other personal individually identifiable records otherwise deemed 20 |
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| 65 | 65 | | confidential by federal or state law or by federal law or regulation, or the disclosure of which would 21 |
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| 66 | 66 | | constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq.; 22 |
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| 67 | 67 | | provided, however, with respect to employees, and employees of contractors and subcontractors 23 |
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| 68 | 68 | | working on public works projects that are required to be listed as certified payrolls, the name, gross 24 |
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| 69 | 69 | | salary, salary range, total cost of paid fringe benefits, gross amount received in overtime, and any 25 |
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| 70 | 70 | | other remuneration in addition to salary, job title, job description, dates of employment and 26 |
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| 71 | 71 | | positions held with the state, municipality, or public works contractor or subcontractor on public 27 |
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| 72 | 72 | | works projects, employment contract, work location, and/or project, business telephone number, 28 |
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| 73 | 73 | | the city or town of residence, and date of termination shall be public. For the purposes of this section 29 |
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| 74 | 74 | | “remuneration” shall include any payments received by an employee as a result of termination, or 30 |
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| 75 | 75 | | otherwise leaving employment, including, but not limited to, payments for accrued sick and/or 31 |
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| 76 | 76 | | vacation time, severance pay, or compensation paid pursuant to a contract buy-out provision. For 32 |
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| 77 | 77 | | purposes of this section, the city or town residence shall not be deemed public for peace officers, 33 |
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| 78 | 78 | | as defined in § 12-7-21, and shall not be released. For purposes of this section, "employee" means 34 |
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| 79 | 79 | | |
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| 80 | 80 | | |
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| 81 | 81 | | LC002603 - Page 3 of 15 |
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| 82 | 82 | | those individuals currently employed by a public body and those previously employed by a public 1 |
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| 83 | 83 | | body. 2 |
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| 84 | 84 | | (II) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, or any other provision of the general 3 |
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| 85 | 85 | | laws to the contrary, the pension records of all persons who are either current or retired members 4 |
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| 86 | 86 | | of any public retirement systems, as well as all persons who become members of those retirement 5 |
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| 87 | 87 | | systems after June 17, 1991, shall be open for public inspection. “Pension records” as used in this 6 |
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| 88 | 88 | | section, shall include all records containing information concerning pension and retirement benefits 7 |
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| 89 | 89 | | of current and retired members of the retirement systems and future members of said systems, 8 |
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| 90 | 90 | | including all records concerning retirement credits purchased and the ability of any member of the 9 |
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| 91 | 91 | | retirement system to purchase retirement credits, but excluding all information regarding the 10 |
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| 92 | 92 | | medical condition of any person and all information identifying the member’s designated 11 |
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| 93 | 93 | | beneficiary or beneficiaries unless and until the member’s designated beneficiary or beneficiaries 12 |
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| 94 | 94 | | have received or are receiving pension and/or retirement benefits through the retirement system. 13 |
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| 95 | 95 | | (B) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person, firm, 14 |
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| 96 | 96 | | or corporation that is of a privileged or confidential nature. 15 |
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| 97 | 97 | | (C) Child custody and adoption records, records of illegitimate births, and records of 16 |
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| 98 | 98 | | juvenile proceedings before the family court. 17 |
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| 99 | 99 | | (D) All records maintained by law enforcement agencies for criminal law enforcement and 18 |
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| 100 | 100 | | all records relating to the detection and investigation of crime, including those maintained on any 19 |
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| 101 | 101 | | individual or compiled in the course of a criminal investigation by any law enforcement agency. 20 |
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| 102 | 102 | | Provided, however, such records shall not be deemed public only to the extent that the disclosure 21 |
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| 103 | 103 | | of the records or information (a) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with investigations of 22 |
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| 104 | 104 | | criminal activity or with enforcement proceedings; (b) Would deprive a person of a right to a fair 23 |
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| 105 | 105 | | trial or an impartial adjudication; (c) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted 24 |
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| 106 | 106 | | invasion of personal privacy; (d) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a 25 |
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| 107 | 107 | | confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or authority, or any private institution 26 |
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| 108 | 108 | | that furnished information on a confidential basis, or the information furnished by a confidential 27 |
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| 109 | 109 | | source; (e) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or 28 |
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| 110 | 110 | | prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions; or 29 |
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| 111 | 111 | | (f) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual. Records 30 |
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| 112 | 112 | | relating to management and direction of a law enforcement agency and records or reports reflecting 31 |
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| 113 | 113 | | and describing the initial arrest of an adult and the charge or charges brought against an adult shall 32 |
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| 114 | 114 | | be public. A police report of an incident that does not lead to an arrest shall not be deemed 33 |
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| 115 | 115 | | presumptively exempt from disclosure. 34 |
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| 116 | 116 | | |
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| 117 | 117 | | |
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| 118 | 118 | | LC002603 - Page 4 of 15 |
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| 119 | 119 | | (I) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any final reports of investigations 1 |
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| 120 | 120 | | conducted by internal affair units or their equivalent, regardless of how or by whom the 2 |
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| 121 | 121 | | investigation was initiated, shall be public records; provided, however, names, addresses and other 3 |
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| 122 | 122 | | personal identifiers may be redacted from the reports to the extent their disclosure would constitute 4 |
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| 123 | 123 | | a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The name and underlying activity of any law 5 |
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| 124 | 124 | | enforcement officer who has been found to have engaged in misconduct that has required 6 |
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| 125 | 125 | | prosecutorial disclosure to a criminal defendant shall be public. Provided, however, no personally 7 |
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| 126 | 126 | | identifiable information shall be released to the extent its release would be in conflict with chapter 8 |
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| 127 | 127 | | 28.6 or title 42 (the "law enforcement officers' bill of rights"). 9 |
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| 128 | 128 | | (II) All police body-worn camera recordings shall be subject to this chapter; provided, 10 |
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| 129 | 129 | | however, any recordings of incidents involving police use of force in which an investigation is 11 |
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| 130 | 130 | | ongoing shall be made available within thirty (30) days of a request in full or redacted form. 12 |
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| 131 | 131 | | Notwithstanding the foregoing, a law enforcement agency may petition the superior court for a 13 |
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| 132 | 132 | | twenty (20) day extension if it can demonstrate that release within the thirty (30) day period would 14 |
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| 133 | 133 | | substantially interfere with completion of its investigation. 15 |
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| 134 | 134 | | (E) Any records that would not be available by law or rule of court to an opposing party in 16 |
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| 135 | 135 | | litigation. 17 |
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| 136 | 136 | | (F) Scientific and technological secrets and the security plans of military and law 18 |
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| 137 | 137 | | enforcement agencies, the disclosure of which would endanger the public welfare and security. 19 |
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| 138 | 138 | | (G) Any records that disclose the identity of the contributor of a bona fide and lawful 20 |
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| 139 | 139 | | charitable contribution to the public body whenever public anonymity has been requested of the 21 |
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| 140 | 140 | | public body with respect to the contribution by the contributor. 22 |
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| 141 | 141 | | (H) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation involving labor negotiations or 23 |
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| 142 | 142 | | collective bargaining. 24 |
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| 143 | 143 | | (I) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation with respect to the investment or 25 |
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| 144 | 144 | | borrowing of public funds, until such time as those transactions are entered into. 26 |
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| 145 | 145 | | (J) Any minutes of a meeting of a public body that are not required to be disclosed pursuant 27 |
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| 146 | 146 | | to chapter 46 of title 42. 28 |
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| 147 | 147 | | (K) Preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and work 29 |
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| 148 | 148 | | products, including those involving research at state institutions of higher education on commercial, 30 |
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| 149 | 149 | | scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issues, whether in electronic or other format; provided, 31 |
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| 150 | 150 | | however, any documents submitted at a public meeting of a public body shall be deemed public. 32 |
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| 151 | 151 | | (L) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing 33 |
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| 152 | 152 | | examination, examination for employment or promotion, or academic examinations; provided, 34 |
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| 153 | 153 | | |
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| 154 | 154 | | |
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| 155 | 155 | | LC002603 - Page 5 of 15 |
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| 156 | 156 | | however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or her examination. 1 |
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| 157 | 157 | | (M) Correspondence of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent and 2 |
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| 158 | 158 | | correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities that has no demonstrable 3 |
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| 159 | 159 | | connection to the exercise of official acts or duties. 4 |
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| 160 | 160 | | (N) The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering, or feasibility estimates and 5 |
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| 161 | 161 | | evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the acquisition of property or to prospective public 6 |
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| 162 | 162 | | supply and construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been acquired or all 7 |
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| 163 | 163 | | proceedings or transactions have been terminated or abandoned; provided the law of eminent 8 |
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| 164 | 164 | | domain shall not be affected by this provision. 9 |
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| 165 | 165 | | (O) All tax returns. 10 |
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| 166 | 166 | | (P) All investigatory records of public bodies, with the exception of law enforcement 11 |
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| 167 | 167 | | agencies, pertaining to possible violations of statute, rule, or regulation other than records of final 12 |
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| 168 | 168 | | actions taken, provided that all records prior to formal notification of violations or noncompliance 13 |
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| 169 | 169 | | shall not be deemed to be public, except that, upon good cause shown, such records may be released 14 |
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| 170 | 170 | | upon the completion of formal notification. 15 |
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| 171 | 171 | | (Q) Records of individual test scores on professional certification and licensing 16 |
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| 172 | 172 | | examinations; provided, however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or 17 |
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| 173 | 173 | | her examination. 18 |
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| 174 | 174 | | (R) Requests for advisory opinions until such time as the public body issues its opinion. 19 |
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| 175 | 175 | | (S) Records, reports, opinions, information, and statements required to be kept confidential 20 |
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| 176 | 176 | | by federal law or regulation or state law or rule of court; provided that, the public body shall provide 21 |
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| 177 | 177 | | a citation to the law, regulation or rule relied upon in withholding any records under this exception. 22 |
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| 178 | 178 | | (T) Judicial bodies are included in the definition only in respect to their administrative 23 |
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| 179 | 179 | | function provided that records kept pursuant to the provisions of chapter 16 of title 8 are exempt 24 |
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| 180 | 180 | | from the operation of this chapter. 25 |
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| 181 | 181 | | (U) Library records that, by themselves or when examined with other public records, would 26 |
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| 182 | 182 | | reveal the identity of the library user requesting, checking out, or using any library materials. 27 |
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| 183 | 183 | | (V) Printouts from TELE — TEXT devices used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing 28 |
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| 184 | 184 | | or speech impaired. 29 |
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| 185 | 185 | | (W) All records received by the insurance division of the department of business regulation 30 |
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| 186 | 186 | | from other states, either directly or through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 31 |
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| 187 | 187 | | if those records are accorded confidential treatment in that state. Nothing contained in this title or 32 |
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| 188 | 188 | | any other provision of law shall prevent or be construed as prohibiting the commissioner of 33 |
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| 189 | 189 | | insurance from disclosing otherwise confidential information to the insurance department of this 34 |
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| 190 | 190 | | |
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| 191 | 191 | | |
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| 192 | 192 | | LC002603 - Page 6 of 15 |
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| 193 | 193 | | or any other state or country, at any time, so long as the agency or office receiving the records 1 |
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| 194 | 194 | | agrees in writing to hold it confidential in a manner consistent with the laws of this state. 2 |
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| 195 | 195 | | (X) Credit card account numbers in the possession of state or local government are 3 |
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| 196 | 196 | | confidential and shall not be deemed public records. 4 |
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| 197 | 197 | | (Y) Any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony 5 |
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| 198 | 198 | | provided under any subpoena issued under § 9-1.1-6. Notwithstanding this provision and absent a 6 |
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| 199 | 199 | | court order to the contrary, a subpoena issued by a governmental entity to a public body or a public 7 |
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| 200 | 200 | | official regarding official business shall be public record. 8 |
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| 201 | 201 | | (Z) Any individually identifiable evaluations of public school employees made pursuant to 9 |
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| 202 | 202 | | state or federal law or regulation. 10 |
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| 203 | 203 | | (AA) All documents prepared by school districts intended to be used by school districts in 11 |
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| 204 | 204 | | protecting the safety of their students from potential and actual threats. 12 |
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| 205 | 205 | | (BB) The list of teachers terminated for good and just cause maintained by the department 13 |
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| 206 | 206 | | of education pursuant to § 16-13-9. 14 |
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| 207 | 207 | | 38-2-3. Right to inspect and copy records — Duty to maintain minutes of meetings — 15 |
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| 208 | 208 | | Procedures for access. 16 |
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| 209 | 209 | | (a) Except as provided in § 38-2-2(4), all records maintained or kept on file by stored by 17 |
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| 210 | 210 | | or for any public body, whether or not those records are required by any law or by any rule or 18 |
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| 211 | 211 | | regulation, and regardless of physical location, shall be public records and every person or entity 19 |
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| 212 | 212 | | shall have the right to inspect and/or copy those records at such reasonable time as may be 20 |
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| 213 | 213 | | determined by the custodian thereof. 21 |
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| 214 | 214 | | (b) Any reasonably segregable portion of a public record excluded by § 38-2-2(4), 22 |
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| 215 | 215 | | including the reasonably segregable portion of any record deemed confidential pursuant to any 23 |
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| 216 | 216 | | other state law, shall be available for public inspection after the deletion of the information which 24 |
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| 217 | 217 | | is the basis of the exclusion. If an entire document or record is deemed non-public, the public body 25 |
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| 218 | 218 | | shall state in writing that no portion of the document or record contains reasonable segregable 26 |
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| 219 | 219 | | information that is releasable. In withholding any document or any portion of a document, the 27 |
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| 220 | 220 | | public body shall identify the amount of information withheld and the exemption under which it 28 |
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| 221 | 221 | | was withheld, and in the case of redactions, the exemption under which any redaction is made shall 29 |
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| 222 | 222 | | be indicated on the released portion of the record or shall be clearly delineated in a privilege log 30 |
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| 223 | 223 | | that reasonably apprises the requester of the specific basis for the redaction of any particular 31 |
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| 224 | 224 | | document. 32 |
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| 225 | 225 | | (c) All documents to be discussed at an open meeting of a public body shall be posted or 33 |
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| 226 | 226 | | linked with the electronic filing of the agenda submitted to the secretary of state pursuant to § 42-34 |
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| 227 | 227 | | |
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| 228 | 228 | | |
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| 229 | 229 | | LC002603 - Page 7 of 15 |
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| 230 | 230 | | 46-6(f). Notwithstanding the provisions of § 38-2-2(4), any documents reviewed, considered, or 1 |
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| 231 | 231 | | submitted at a public meeting of a public body shall be deemed public and shall also be made 2 |
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| 232 | 232 | | available upon request to any member of the public present at the meeting. 3 |
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| 233 | 233 | | (c)(d) Each public body shall make, keep, and maintain written or recorded minutes of all 4 |
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| 234 | 234 | | meetings. 5 |
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| 235 | 235 | | (d)(e) Each public body shall establish written procedures regarding access to public 6 |
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| 236 | 236 | | records but shall not require written requests for public information available pursuant to § 42-35-7 |
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| 237 | 237 | | 2 or for other documents prepared for or readily available to the public, including any documents 8 |
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| 238 | 238 | | reviewed, considered, or submitted at a public meeting of a public body. 9 |
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| 239 | 239 | | These procedures must include, but need not be limited to, the identification of a designated 10 |
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| 240 | 240 | | public records officer or unit, how to make a public records request, and where a public record 11 |
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| 241 | 241 | | request should be made, and a copy of these procedures shall be posted on the public body’s website 12 |
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| 242 | 242 | | if such a website is maintained and shall be made otherwise readily available to the public. The 13 |
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| 243 | 243 | | unavailability of a designated public records officer shall not be deemed good cause for failure to 14 |
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| 244 | 244 | | timely comply with a request to inspect and/or copy public records pursuant to subsection (e). A 15 |
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| 245 | 245 | | link to the public body's procedures shall be prominently displayed on the home page of its website, 16 |
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| 246 | 246 | | including a link to the appropriate webpage if the public body requires that requests be submitted 17 |
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| 247 | 247 | | to another public body of the state or municipality. A written request for public records need not 18 |
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| 248 | 248 | | be made on a form established by a public body if the request is otherwise readily identifiable as a 19 |
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| 249 | 249 | | request for public records. The procedures shall allow requests for public records to be submitted 20 |
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| 250 | 250 | | in person, by regular and electronic mail, and, at the public body's discretion, by fax or online 21 |
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| 251 | 251 | | portal. 22 |
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| 252 | 252 | | (f) A requester's failure to follow the written procedures established by a public body shall 23 |
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| 253 | 253 | | not, by itself, serve as a basis to fail to comply with a request for public records. 24 |
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| 254 | 254 | | (g) If a request for records is sent to a public body other than through the designated public 25 |
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| 255 | 255 | | records officer or unit, the recipient of the request shall be responsible for forwarding it to the 26 |
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| 256 | 256 | | designated officer or unit. In such circumstances, the public body shall have an additional five (5) 27 |
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| 257 | 257 | | days to respond to the request, notwithstanding the provisions of § 38-2-7, but shall not be found 28 |
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| 258 | 258 | | in violation of this chapter for responding beyond this timeframe if the public body has acted in 29 |
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| 259 | 259 | | good faith in responding. 30 |
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| 260 | 260 | | (e)(h) A public body receiving a request shall permit the inspection or copying within ten 31 |
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| 261 | 261 | | (10) business days after receiving a request. If the inspection or copying is not permitted within ten 32 |
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| 262 | 262 | | (10) business days, the public body shall forthwith explain in writing the need for additional time 33 |
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| 263 | 263 | | to comply with the request. Any such explanation must be particularized to the specific request 34 |
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| 264 | 264 | | |
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| 265 | 265 | | |
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| 266 | 266 | | LC002603 - Page 8 of 15 |
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| 267 | 267 | | made. In such cases the public body may have up to an additional twenty (20) business days to 1 |
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| 268 | 268 | | comply with the request if it can demonstrate with specificity that the voluminous nature of the 2 |
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| 269 | 269 | | request, the number of requests for records pending (in which case the number of pending requests 3 |
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| 270 | 270 | | shall be cited in the response), or the difficulty in searching for and retrieving or copying the 4 |
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| 271 | 271 | | requested records, is such that additional time is necessary to avoid imposing an undue burden on 5 |
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| 272 | 272 | | the public body. The response times established by this subsection, §§ 38-2-3.2(a), and 38-2-6 |
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| 273 | 273 | | 2(4)(D)(II) may be further extended only with the explicit written consent of the requester. 7 |
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| 274 | 274 | | (i) The unavailability of a designated public records officer shall not be deemed good cause 8 |
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| 275 | 275 | | for failure to timely comply with a request to inspect and/or copy public records pursuant to 9 |
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| 276 | 276 | | subsection (h) of this section. 10 |
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| 277 | 277 | | (f)(j) If a public record is in active use or in storage and, therefore, not available at the time 11 |
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| 278 | 278 | | a person or entity requests access, the custodian shall so inform the person or entity and make an 12 |
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| 279 | 279 | | appointment for the person or entity to examine such records as expeditiously as they may be made 13 |
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| 280 | 280 | | available. 14 |
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| 281 | 281 | | (g)(k) Any person or entity requesting copies of public records may elect to obtain them in 15 |
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| 282 | 282 | | any and all media in which the public agency is capable of providing them. Any public body which 16 |
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| 283 | 283 | | maintains its records in a computer storage system shall provide any data properly identified in a 17 |
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| 284 | 284 | | printout or other reasonable format, as requested, including a format allowing the documents to be 18 |
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| 285 | 285 | | searchable electronically where feasible. 19 |
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| 286 | 286 | | (h)(l) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a public body to reorganize, 20 |
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| 287 | 287 | | consolidate, or compile data not maintained by the public body in the form requested at the time 21 |
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| 288 | 288 | | the request to inspect the public records was made except to the extent that such records are in an 22 |
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| 289 | 289 | | electronic format and the public body would not be unduly burdened in providing such data. 23 |
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| 290 | 290 | | (i)(m) Nothing in this section is intended to affect the public record status of information 24 |
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| 291 | 291 | | merely because it is stored in a computer. 25 |
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| 292 | 292 | | (j)(n) No public records shall be withheld based on the purpose for which the records are 26 |
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| 293 | 293 | | sought, nor shall a public body require, as a condition of fulfilling a public records request, that a 27 |
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| 294 | 294 | | person or entity provide a reason for the request or provide personally identifiable information 28 |
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| 295 | 295 | | about him/herself. 29 |
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| 296 | 296 | | (k)(o) At the election of the person or entity requesting the public records, the public body 30 |
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| 297 | 297 | | shall provide copies of the public records electronically, by facsimile, or by mail in accordance 31 |
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| 298 | 298 | | with the requesting person or entity’s choice, unless complying with that preference would be 32 |
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| 299 | 299 | | unduly burdensome due to the volume of records requested or the costs that would be incurred. The 33 |
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| 300 | 300 | | person requesting delivery shall be responsible for the actual cost of delivery, if any. 34 |
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| 301 | 301 | | |
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| 302 | 302 | | |
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| 303 | 303 | | LC002603 - Page 9 of 15 |
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| 304 | 304 | | (p) Any provision in a contractual or other agreement entered into by a public body with a 1 |
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| 305 | 305 | | third party that purports to keep records confidential that are otherwise public under this chapter 2 |
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| 306 | 306 | | shall be deemed null and void; nor shall a public body delegate to a private party the determination 3 |
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| 307 | 307 | | as to what information provided by that party is exempt from disclosure under this chapter. 4 |
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| 308 | 308 | | 38-2-3.2. Arrest logs. 5 |
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| 309 | 309 | | (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 38-2-3(e), the following information reflecting an 6 |
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| 310 | 310 | | initial arrest of an adult and charge or charges shall be made available within forty-eight (48) hours 7 |
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| 311 | 311 | | after receipt of a request unless a request is made on a weekend or holiday, in which event the 8 |
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| 312 | 312 | | information shall be made available within seventy-two (72) hours, to the extent such information 9 |
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| 313 | 313 | | is known by the public body: 10 |
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| 314 | 314 | | (1) Full name of the arrested adult; 11 |
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| 315 | 315 | | (2) Home address of the arrested adult, unless doing so would identify a crime victim; 12 |
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| 316 | 316 | | (3) Year of birth of the arrested adult; 13 |
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| 317 | 317 | | (4) Charge or charges; 14 |
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| 318 | 318 | | (5) Date of the arrest; 15 |
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| 319 | 319 | | (6) Time of the arrest; 16 |
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| 320 | 320 | | (7) Gender of the arrested adult; 17 |
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| 321 | 321 | | (8) Race of the arrested adult; and 18 |
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| 322 | 322 | | (9) Name of the arresting officer, unless doing so would identify an undercover officer. 19 |
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| 323 | 323 | | (b) The provisions of this section shall apply to arrests made within five (5) thirty (30) days 20 |
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| 324 | 324 | | prior to the request, and the attorney general shall prepare a uniform log form for public bodies to 21 |
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| 325 | 325 | | use to facilitate compliance with this section. 22 |
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| 326 | 326 | | 38-2-3.16. Compliance by agencies and public bodies. 23 |
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| 327 | 327 | | Not later than January 1, 2013, and annually thereafter, the chief administrator of each 24 |
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| 328 | 328 | | agency and each public body shall state in writing to the attorney general that all officers and 25 |
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| 329 | 329 | | employees who have the authority to grant or deny persons or entities access to records under this 26 |
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| 330 | 330 | | chapter have been provided orientation and training regarding this chapter. The attorney general 27 |
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| 331 | 331 | | may, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 35 of title 42, promulgate rules and regulations 28 |
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| 332 | 332 | | necessary to implement the requirements of this section, and shall annually, and not later than 29 |
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| 333 | 333 | | March 1, post online a list of those public bodies that have provided the statement required by this 30 |
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| 334 | 334 | | section, and those public bodies that, having submitted a statement in any previous year, have failed 31 |
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| 335 | 335 | | to do so for the current year. 32 |
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| 336 | 336 | | 38-2-4. Cost. 33 |
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| 337 | 337 | | (a) Subject to the provisions of § 38-2-3, a public body must allow copies to be made or 34 |
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| 338 | 338 | | |
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| 339 | 339 | | |
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| 340 | 340 | | LC002603 - Page 10 of 15 |
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| 341 | 341 | | provide copies of public records. The cost per copied page of written documents provided to the 1 |
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| 342 | 342 | | public shall not exceed fifteen cents ($.15) five cents ($.05) per page for documents copyable on 2 |
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| 343 | 343 | | common business or legal size paper. A public body may not charge more than the reasonable 3 |
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| 344 | 344 | | actual cost for providing electronic records or retrieving records from storage where the public 4 |
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| 345 | 345 | | body is assessed a retrieval fee. 5 |
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| 346 | 346 | | (b) A reasonable charge may be made for the search or retrieval of documents. Hourly costs 6 |
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| 347 | 347 | | for a search and retrieval shall not exceed fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour and no costs shall be 7 |
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| 348 | 348 | | charged for the first hour two (2) hours of a search or retrieval or for the first two (2) hours used 8 |
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| 349 | 349 | | for the redaction of documents. No charge shall be imposed for the denial of a request for records. 9 |
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| 350 | 350 | | For the purposes of this subsection, multiple requests from any person or entity to the same public 10 |
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| 351 | 351 | | body within a thirty (30) day time period shall be considered one request. 11 |
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| 352 | 352 | | (c) Copies of documents shall be provided and the search and retrieval of documents 12 |
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| 353 | 353 | | accomplished within a reasonable time after a request. A public body upon request, shall provide 13 |
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| 354 | 354 | | an estimate of the costs of a request for documents prior to providing copies. 14 |
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| 355 | 355 | | (d) Upon request, the public body shall provide a detailed itemization of the costs charged 15 |
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| 356 | 356 | | for search and retrieval. 16 |
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| 357 | 357 | | (e) A public body, the attorney general, and the court may shall reduce or waive the fees 17 |
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| 358 | 358 | | for costs charged for search or retrieval if it determines that the requester demonstrates that the 18 |
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| 359 | 359 | | information requested is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public 19 |
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| 360 | 360 | | understanding of the operations or activities of the government and affirms that the request is not 20 |
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| 361 | 361 | | primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. Any requester denied a reduction or waiver 21 |
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| 362 | 362 | | of fees, or seeking to contest the amount of a reduction, by a public body or the attorney general 22 |
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| 363 | 363 | | may file suit pursuant to the provisions of § 38-2-9. The matter shall be reviewed de novo by the 23 |
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| 364 | 364 | | court. 24 |
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| 365 | 365 | | 38-2-7. Denial of access. 25 |
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| 366 | 366 | | (a) Any denial of the right to inspect or copy records, in whole or in part provided for under 26 |
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| 367 | 367 | | this chapter shall be made to the person or entity requesting the right in writing giving the specific 27 |
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| 368 | 368 | | reasons for the denial within ten (10) business days of the request and indicating the procedures for 28 |
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| 369 | 369 | | appealing the denial. Except for good cause shown, any reason not specifically set forth in the 29 |
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| 370 | 370 | | denial shall be deemed waived by the public body. 30 |
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| 371 | 371 | | (b) Failure to comply with a request to inspect or copy the public record within the ten (10) 31 |
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| 372 | 372 | | business day period shall be deemed to be a denial. Except that for good cause shown, this limit 32 |
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| 373 | 373 | | may be extended in accordance with the provisions of § 38-2-3(e) 38-2-3(h). All copying and search 33 |
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| 374 | 374 | | and retrieval fees shall be waived if a public body fails to produce requested records in a timely 34 |
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| 375 | 375 | | |
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| 376 | 376 | | |
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| 377 | 377 | | LC002603 - Page 11 of 15 |
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| 378 | 378 | | manner; provided, however, that the production of records shall not be deemed untimely if the 1 |
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| 379 | 379 | | public body is awaiting receipt of payment for costs properly charged under § 38-2-4. 2 |
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| 380 | 380 | | (c) A public body that receives a request to inspect or copy records that do not exist or are 3 |
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| 381 | 381 | | not within its custody or control shall, in responding to the request in accordance with this chapter, 4 |
|---|
| 382 | 382 | | state that it does not have or maintain the requested records. 5 |
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| 383 | 383 | | 38-2-9. Jurisdiction of superior court. 6 |
|---|
| 384 | 384 | | (a) Jurisdiction to hear and determine civil actions brought under this chapter is hereby 7 |
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| 385 | 385 | | vested in the superior court. 8 |
|---|
| 386 | 386 | | (b) The court may examine any record which is the subject of a suit in camera to determine 9 |
|---|
| 387 | 387 | | whether the record or any part thereof may be withheld from public inspection under the terms of 10 |
|---|
| 388 | 388 | | this chapter. 11 |
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| 389 | 389 | | (c) Actions brought under this chapter may be advanced on the calendar upon motion of 12 |
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| 390 | 390 | | any party, or sua sponte by the court made in accordance with the rules of civil procedure of the 13 |
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| 391 | 391 | | superior court. 14 |
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| 392 | 392 | | (d) The court shall impose a civil fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000) four 15 |
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| 393 | 393 | | thousand dollars ($4,000) against a public body or official found to have committed a knowing and 16 |
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| 394 | 394 | | willful violation of this chapter, and a civil fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) two 17 |
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| 395 | 395 | | thousand dollars ($2,000) against a public body found to have recklessly violated this chapter and 18 |
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| 396 | 396 | | shall award reasonable attorney fees and costs to the prevailing plaintiff. In the instance of a court 19 |
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| 397 | 397 | | having found a knowing and willful violation, the court may also, taking into consideration any 20 |
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| 398 | 398 | | delays in the prosecution and appeal of a request denial, impose a fine of up to one hundred dollars 21 |
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| 399 | 399 | | ($100) per day for each day that records were improperly withheld, and may further award 22 |
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| 400 | 400 | | compensatory and punitive damages. The court shall further order a public body found to have 23 |
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| 401 | 401 | | wrongfully denied access to public records to provide the records at no cost to the prevailing party; 24 |
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| 402 | 402 | | provided, further, that in the event that the court, having found in favor of the defendant, finds 25 |
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| 403 | 403 | | further that the plaintiff’s case lacked a grounding in fact or in existing law or in good faith 26 |
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| 404 | 404 | | argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law, the court may award 27 |
|---|
| 405 | 405 | | attorney’s fees and costs to the prevailing defendant. A judgment in the plaintiff’s favor shall not 28 |
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| 406 | 406 | | be a prerequisite to obtaining an award of attorney’s fees and/or costs if the court determines that 29 |
|---|
| 407 | 407 | | the defendant’s case lacked grounding in fact or in existing law or a good faith argument for 30 |
|---|
| 408 | 408 | | extension, modification or reversal of existing law. 31 |
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| 409 | 409 | | (e) Any civil fines imposed under this section shall be placed in a restricted receipt account 32 |
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| 410 | 410 | | of the state and shall be used to provide grants to municipalities to support information technology 33 |
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| 411 | 411 | | capabilities that will increase the public's online access to public records. 34 |
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| 412 | 412 | | |
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| 413 | 413 | | |
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| 414 | 414 | | LC002603 - Page 12 of 15 |
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| 415 | 415 | | 38-2-14. Information relating to settlement of legal claims. 1 |
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| 416 | 416 | | Settlement agreements of any legal claims against or by a governmental entity shall be 2 |
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| 417 | 417 | | deemed public records. 3 |
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| 418 | 418 | | 38-2-15. Reported violations. 4 |
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| 419 | 419 | | Every year the attorney general shall prepare a report summarizing all the complaints 5 |
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| 420 | 420 | | received pursuant to this chapter, which shall be submitted to the legislature and which shall include 6 |
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| 421 | 421 | | information as to how many complaints were found to be meritorious and the action taken by the 7 |
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| 422 | 422 | | attorney general in response to those complaints. The attorney general shall publish on a keyword 8 |
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| 423 | 423 | | searchable website the full text of all findings and decisions issued by the attorney general in 9 |
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| 424 | 424 | | response to those complaints, all advisory opinions issued under this chapter, and the annual reports 10 |
|---|
| 425 | 425 | | issued pursuant to this section. 11 |
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| 426 | 426 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 38-2 of the General Laws entitled "Access to Public Records" is 12 |
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| 427 | 427 | | hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 13 |
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| 428 | 428 | | 38-2-17. Vexatious requests. 14 |
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| 429 | 429 | | (a) If a person makes a request to view or copy a public record that is part of a series of 15 |
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| 430 | 430 | | contemporaneous requests filed with the intent to disrupt government operations, the chief 16 |
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| 431 | 431 | | administrative officer of the public body may petition the superior court for an order to relieve the 17 |
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| 432 | 432 | | custodian of the records from fulfilling the request. 18 |
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| 433 | 433 | | (b) A chief administrative officer shall not petition a court for relief unless the officer or 19 |
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| 434 | 434 | | the custodian of the records has provided in writing to the person making the request the specific 20 |
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| 435 | 435 | | reasons that the request is considered an attempt to disrupt government operations in violation of 21 |
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| 436 | 436 | | this section, and the person has continued to engage in such conduct after the notification. Reliance 22 |
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| 437 | 437 | | solely on the number of requests filed or the number of records sought shall not be a basis for 23 |
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| 438 | 438 | | deeming the request an intent to disrupt government operations. 24 |
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| 439 | 439 | | (c) After a petition is filed and while the case is pending, the records custodian shall 25 |
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| 440 | 440 | | continue to comply with the request, but if the chief administrative officer prevails, the person 26 |
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| 441 | 441 | | making the requests shall reimburse the custodian for the reasonable costs incurred in producing 27 |
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| 442 | 442 | | the records during the pendency of the case, in accordance with § 38-2-4. 28 |
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| 443 | 443 | | (d) A court may, upon finding by clear and convincing evidence that a records request was 29 |
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| 444 | 444 | | made with the intent to disrupt government operations, issue an order authorizing the custodian of 30 |
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| 445 | 445 | | the records to ignore the request that is the subject of the complaint. 31 |
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| 446 | 446 | | (e) Upon a second finding that a person has filed a request with the intent to disrupt 32 |
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| 447 | 447 | | government operations, a court may provide additional appropriate relief including, but not limited 33 |
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| 448 | 448 | | to, an order that the custodian of the records need not comply with future requests from the person 34 |
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| 449 | 449 | | |
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| 450 | 450 | | |
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| 451 | 451 | | LC002603 - Page 13 of 15 |
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| 452 | 452 | | for a specified period of time, but not to exceed one year. 1 |
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| 453 | 453 | | (f) If a complaint brought under this section is dismissed by the court or the chief 2 |
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| 454 | 454 | | administrative officer without a requisite finding of an attempt to disrupt government operations, 3 |
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| 455 | 455 | | the requester of the records shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. If 4 |
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| 456 | 456 | | the court determines that the complaint lacked grounding in fact or law, the requester shall in 5 |
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| 457 | 457 | | addition be entitled to an award of damages not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). 6 |
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| 458 | 458 | | 38-2-18. Traffic accident and improvement data. 7 |
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| 459 | 459 | | Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or state law, any records that, under 23 8 |
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| 460 | 460 | | U.S.C. § 407, are not discoverable or admissible in court proceedings or allowed to be considered 9 |
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| 461 | 461 | | for other purposes in damages actions shall nonetheless be deemed public records; provided, 10 |
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| 462 | 462 | | however, the records may not be used for purposes prohibited by that federal statute. When making 11 |
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| 463 | 463 | | the records public, whether in response to a request pursuant to this chapter or otherwise, a public 12 |
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| 464 | 464 | | body may provide written notice of the aforementioned restrictions on their use. 13 |
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| 465 | 465 | | 38-2-19. Preferred license plates. 14 |
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| 466 | 466 | | Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter or state law, and to the extent not 15 |
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| 467 | 467 | | prohibited by the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq., the names of 16 |
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| 468 | 468 | | any individuals who obtain a preferred license plate shall be a public record available upon request. 17 |
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| 469 | 469 | | A "preferred license plate" means a license plate of one to four (4) digits, or a combination of one 18 |
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| 470 | 470 | | to two (2) letters and one to three (3) digits, whose issuance is approved by, or subject to the 19 |
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| 471 | 471 | | approval of, the office of the governor. 20 |
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| 472 | 472 | | SECTION 3. Section 39-21.1-17 of the General Laws in Chapter 39-21.1 entitled "911 21 |
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| 473 | 473 | | Emergency Telephone Number Act" is hereby amended to read as follows: 22 |
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| 474 | 474 | | 39-21.1-17. Confidentiality of calls. 23 |
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| 475 | 475 | | (a) All telephone calls and telephone call transmissions, including electronic text message, 24 |
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| 476 | 476 | | photos or videos, received pursuant to this chapter and all tapes containing records of telephone 25 |
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| 477 | 477 | | calls shall remain confidential and used only for the purpose of handling emergency calls and for 26 |
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| 478 | 478 | | public safety purposes as may be needed for law enforcement, fire, medical, rescue or other 27 |
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| 479 | 479 | | emergency services. The calls shall not be released to any other parties without the written consent 28 |
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| 480 | 480 | | of the caller whose voice is recorded, or upon order of the court. 29 |
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| 481 | 481 | | (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, calls shall be released to third parties: 30 |
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| 482 | 482 | | (1) Upon good cause shown; 31 |
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| 483 | 483 | | (2) Upon order of the court; or 32 |
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| 484 | 484 | | (3) Upon request, to: 33 |
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| 485 | 485 | | (i) The individual placing the call; 34 |
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| 486 | 486 | | |
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| 487 | 487 | | |
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| 488 | 488 | | LC002603 - Page 14 of 15 |
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| 489 | 489 | | (ii) Any individual who is heard on the call communicating information to or for the 1 |
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| 490 | 490 | | emergency responder or operator; and 2 |
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| 491 | 491 | | (iii) The subject(s) of the call who required emergency services or, if they are incapacitated 3 |
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| 492 | 492 | | or deceased, their next of kin. 4 |
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| 493 | 493 | | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. 5 |
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| 494 | 494 | | ======== |
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| 495 | 495 | | LC002603 |
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| 496 | 496 | | ======== |
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| 497 | 497 | | |
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| 498 | 498 | | |
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| 499 | 499 | | LC002603 - Page 15 of 15 |
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| 500 | 500 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 501 | 501 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 502 | 502 | | OF |
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| 503 | 503 | | A N A C T |
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| 504 | 504 | | RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS |
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| 505 | 505 | | *** |
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| 506 | 506 | | This act would make numerous changes to the access to public records act, including 1 |
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| 507 | 507 | | clarifying various provisions, increasing the sanctions for knowing and willful violations of the 2 |
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| 508 | 508 | | law, and making certain traffic accident data and preferred license plate information public. 3 |
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| 509 | 509 | | Additionally, this act would include a police report of an incident that does not lead to an arrest as 4 |
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| 510 | 510 | | accessible to public records request. Any final reports of investigations conducted by internal 5 |
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| 511 | 511 | | affairs would be accessible to public records request. All police worn body camera footage would 6 |
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| 512 | 512 | | be accessible to public records request and would be made available within thirty (30) days. Arrest 7 |
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| 513 | 513 | | logs made within thirty (30) days of arrest, changed from five (5) days previously, would be 8 |
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| 514 | 514 | | accessible to public records request. A civil fine for public officials who knowingly violate this 9 |
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| 515 | 515 | | chapter would increase from two thousand dollars ($2,000) to four thousand dollars ($4,000), and 10 |
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| 516 | 516 | | if a public official recklessly violates this chapter a fine of two thousand dollars ($2,000) this is a 11 |
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| 517 | 517 | | change from one thousand dollars ($1,000) previously. There would also be relief in the case of a 12 |
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| 518 | 518 | | person filing frivolous request with the intent to disrupt government operations. 13 |
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| 519 | 519 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 14 |
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| 520 | 520 | | ======== |
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| 521 | 521 | | LC002603 |
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| 523 | 523 | | |
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