Rhode Island Lawmakers Seek to Expand RI’s Public Records Law
By Antonia Noori Farzan, The Provincial Journal, February 23, 2023
Lawmakers have filed a bill to update Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act to expand access to emails from elected officials and police body-camera footage – and also boost fines on those who do not comply with the law.
State Senator Louis DiPalma told The Providence Journal that he’d experienced some of the challenges of obtaining public records firsthand in his previous role as the chair of the Senate Oversight Committee. He also noted that the Access to Public Records Act has not been updated in 10 years, and in that time “technology has certainly changed.”
The legislation proposes that police body-cam footage, internal affairs investigations and 911 calls become public record, Subpoenas issued to public bodies or public officials regarding official business would be public records. Also, police departments at colleges and universities
would be considered a public body and subject to record requests.
