Chapter 423
2012 -- S 3040 AS AMENDED
Enacted 06/25/12
A N A C T
RELATING TO
PUBLIC RECORDS - ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS
Introduced By: Senator Michael J. McCaffrey
Date Introduced: June 05, 2012
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 38-2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter
38-2 entitled "Access to
Public Records" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
38-2-2.
Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:
(1) "Agency"
or "public body" shall mean any executive, legislative, judicial,
regulatory,
or administrative body of the state, or any political
subdivision thereof; including, but not limited
to, any department, division, agency, commission, board,
office, bureau, authority, any school,
fire, or water district, or other agency of Rhode Island
state or local government which exercises
governmental functions, any authority as defined in section
42-35-1(b), or any other public or
private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business
entity acting on behalf of and/or in
place of any public agency.
(2) "Chief
administrative officer" means the highest authority of the public body as
defined in subsection (a) of this section.
(3) "Prevailing
plaintiff" means and shall include those persons and entities deemed
prevailing parties pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section 1988.
(4) "Public
business" means any matter over which the public
body has supervision,
control, jurisdiction, or advisory power.
(5) (i) "Public record" or
"public records" shall mean all documents, papers, letters,
maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings,
magnetic or other tapes, electronic data
processing records, computer stored data (including electronic
mail messages, except specifically
for any electronic mail messages of or to elected
officials with or relating to those they represent
and correspondence of or to elected officials in their
official capacities) or other material
regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received
pursuant to law or ordinance or in
connection with the transaction of official business by any
agency. For the purposes of this
chapter, the following records shall not be deemed public:
(A) (I) All records which
are identifiable to an individual applicant for benefits, client,
patient, student, or employee, including, but not limited to,
personnel, medical treatment, welfare,
employment security, pupil records, all records relating to a
client/attorney relationship and to a
doctor/patient relationship, and all personal or medical information
relating to an individual in
any files, including information relating to medical or
psychological facts, personal finances,
welfare, employment security, student performance, or
information in personnel files maintained
to hire, evaluate, promote, or discipline any employee
of a public body; provided, however, with
respect to employees, and employees of contractors and
subcontractors working on public works
projects which are required to be listed as certified
payrolls, the name, gross salary,
salary range,
total cost of paid fringe benefits, gross amount received
in overtime, and other remuneration in
addition to salary, job title, job description, dates of employment
and positions held with the state
or,
municipality, or public works contractor or subcontractor on public works
projects work
location, and/or project, business telephone number,
the city or town of residence, and date of
termination shall be public.
(II) Notwithstanding
the provisions of this section, or any other provision of the general
laws to the contrary, the pension records of all persons
who are either current or retired members
of the retirement systems established by the general laws
as well as all persons who become
members of those retirement systems after June 17, 1991 shall
be open for public inspection.
"Pension records" as used in this section
shall include all records containing information
concerning pension and retirement benefits of current and
retired members of the retirement
systems established in title 8, title 36, title 42, and title
45 and future members of said systems,
including all records concerning retirement credits purchased
and the ability of any member of
the retirement system to purchase retirement credits, but
excluding all information regarding the
medical condition of any person and all information
identifying the member's designated
beneficiary or beneficiaries.
(B) Trade secrets and
commercial or financial information obtained from a person, firm,
or corporation which is of a privileged or confidential
nature.
(C) Child custody and
adoption records, records of illegitimate births, and records of
juvenile proceedings before the family court.
(D) All records
maintained by law enforcement agencies for criminal law enforcement
and all records relating to the detection and
investigation of crime, including those maintained on
any individual or compiled in the course of a criminal
investigation by any law enforcement
agency. Provided, however, such records shall not be deemed
public only to the extent that the
disclosure of the records or information (a) could reasonably be
expected to interfere with
investigations of criminal activity or with enforcement proceedings,
(b) would deprive a person of
a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication,
(c) could reasonably be expected to constitute an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (d) could reasonably be
expected to disclose the
identity of a confidential source, including a state, local,
or foreign agency or authority, or any
private institution which furnished information on a
confidential basis, or the information
furnished by a confidential source, (e) would disclose
techniques and procedures for law
enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose
guidelines for law enforcement
investigations or prosecutions or (f) could reasonably be expected
to endanger the life or physical
safety of any individual. Records relating to management and
direction of a law enforcement
agency and records or reports reflecting the initial arrest
of an adult and the charge or charges
brought against an adult shall be public.
(E) Any records which
would not be available by law or rule of court to an opposing
party in litigation.
(F) Scientific and
technological secrets and the security plans of military and law
enforcement agencies, the disclosure of which would endanger the
public welfare and security.
(G) Any records which
disclose the identity of the contributor of a bona fide and lawful
charitable contribution to the public body whenever public
anonymity has been requested of the
public body with respect to the contribution by the
contributor.
(H) Reports and
statements of strategy or negotiation involving labor negotiations or
collective bargaining.
(I) Reports and
statements of strategy or negotiation with respect to the investment or
borrowing of public funds, until such time as those
transactions are entered into.
(J) Any minutes of a
meeting of a public body which are not required to be disclosed
pursuant to chapter 46 of title 42.
(K) Preliminary drafts,
notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and work
products; provided, however, any documents submitted at a
public meeting of a public body shall
be deemed public.
(L) Test questions,
scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a
licensing examination, examination for employment or promotion,
or academic examinations;
provided, however, that a person shall have the right to
review the results of his or her
examination.
(M) Correspondence of
or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent and
correspondence of or to elected officials in their official
capacities.
(N) The contents of
real estate appraisals, engineering, or feasibility estimates and
evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the acquisition
of property or to prospective
public supply and construction contracts, until such time as
all of the property has been acquired
or all proceedings or transactions have been terminated
or abandoned; provided the law of
eminent domain shall not be affected by this provision.
(O) All tax returns.
(P) All investigatory
records of public bodies, with the exception of law enforcement
agencies, pertaining to possible violations of statute, rule,
or regulation other than records of final
actions taken provided that all records prior to formal
notification of violations or noncompliance
shall not be deemed to be public.
(Q) Records of
individual test scores on professional certification and licensing
examinations; provided, however, that a person shall have the
right to review the results of his or
her examination.
(R) Requests for
advisory opinions until such time as the public body issues its opinion.
(S) Records, reports,
opinions, information, and statements required to be kept
confidential by federal law or regulation or state law, or rule of
court.
(T) Judicial bodies are
included in the definition only in respect to their administrative
function provided that records kept pursuant to the provisions
of chapter 16 of title 8 are exempt
from the operation of this chapter.
(U) Library records
which by themselves or when examined with other public records,
would reveal the identity of the library user requesting,
checking out, or using any library
materials.
(V) Printouts from TELE
-- TEXT devices used by people who are deaf or hard of
hearing or speech impaired.
(W) All records
received by the insurance division of the department of business
regulation from other states, either directly or through the
National Association of Insurance
Commissioners, if those records are accorded
confidential treatment in that state. Nothing
contained in this title or any other provision of law shall
prevent or be construed as prohibiting
the commissioner of insurance from disclosing otherwise
confidential information to the
insurance department of this or any other state or country, at
any time, so long as the agency or
office receiving the records agrees in writing to hold it
confidential in a manner consistent with
the laws of this state.
(X) Credit card account
numbers in the possession of state or local government are
confidential and shall not be deemed public records.
(Y) Any documentary
material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony
provided under any subpoena issued under
(ii) However, any
reasonably segregable portion of a public record
excluded by this
section shall be available for public inspections after the
deletion of the information which is the
basis of the exclusion, if disclosure of the segregable portion does not violate the intent of this
section.
(6) "Supervisor of
the regulatory body" means the chief or head of a section having
enforcement responsibility for a particular statute or set of
rules and regulations within a
regulatory agency.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02787
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