2024 -- H 7846

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LC005566

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS

     Introduced By: Representatives Lima, Cardillo, and Costantino

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2024

     Referred To: House State Government & Elections

     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” means 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 that exercises

governmental functions; any authority as defined in § 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.

     (3) “Public business” means any matter over which the public body has supervision,

control, jurisdiction, or advisory power.

     (4) “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)(a) All records relating to a client/attorney relationship and to a doctor/patient

relationship, including all medical information relating to an individual in any files.

     (b) Personnel and other personal individually identifiable records otherwise deemed

confidential by federal or state law or regulation, or the disclosure of which would constitute a

clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq.; provided,

however, with respect to employees, and employees of contractors and subcontractors working on

public works projects that 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 any other

remuneration in addition to salary, job title, job description, dates of employment and positions

held with the state, municipality, or public works contractor or subcontractor on public works

projects, employment contract, work location, and/or project, business telephone number, the city

or town of residence, and date of termination shall be public. For the purposes of this section

“remuneration” shall include any payments received by an employee as a result of termination, or

otherwise leaving employment, including, but not limited to, payments for accrued sick and/or

vacation time, severance pay, or compensation paid pursuant to a contract buy-out provision. For

purposes of this section, the city or town residence shall not be deemed public for peace officers,

as defined in § 12-7-21, and shall not be released.

     (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 any public retirement systems, 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 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 unless and until the member’s designated beneficiary or beneficiaries

have received or are receiving pension and/or retirement benefits through the retirement system.

     (B) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person, firm,

or corporation that is of a privileged or confidential nature; provided, however, that the records of

any person, firm, or corporation that enters into a contract with the state, shall be considered public

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records pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and no records used in any proposal, bid or other

proffer to the state, when any taxpayer money is spent, shall be protected from disclosure.

     (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

that 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 that 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 that 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 that are not required to be disclosed pursuant

to chapter 46 of title 42.

     (K) Preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and work

products, including those involving research at state institutions of higher education on commercial,

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scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issues, whether in electronic or other format; 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 that, 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

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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 § 9-1.1-6.

     (Z) Any individually identifiable evaluations of public school employees made pursuant to

state or federal law or regulation.

     (AA) All documents prepared by school districts intended to be used by school districts in

protecting the safety of their students from potential and actual threats.

     (BB) The list of teachers terminated for good and just cause maintained by the department

of education pursuant to § 16-13-9.

     SECTION 2. Chapter 38-2 of the General Laws entitled "Access to Public Records" is

hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     38-2-2.1. Non-disclosure agreements prohibited.

     (a) No employee, officer, agent or representative of the State of Rhode Island shall enter

into a non-disclosure agreement with any person, firm, or corporation with respect to any contract

in which the state is a party to the contract; provided, however, that only the records of the person,

firm, or corporation that successfully competes for a state contract or business shall be a public

record and those records shall include, but not be limited to, any proprietary material, trade secrets,

commercial and/or financial information provided to the state by the person, firm or corporation in

any proposal which induced the state to select that person, firm, or corporation to conduct any

business with or enter into a contract with the state.

     (b) Any contract provision in violation of the provisions of subsection (a) of this section

shall be void as violating the public policy of the state.

     SECTION 3. Section 42-90-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-90 entitled "Disclosure

of Names of State Government Consultants" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     42-90-1. Public disclosure required.

     (a) All departments, commissions, boards, councils, other agencies in the government of

the state and public corporations shall annually prepare and submit to the budget office by October

1 a list containing:

     (1) The name of any person privatization contractor, or vendor who performed legal,

medical, accounting, engineering, or any other professional, technical or consultant service to the

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department, commission, board, council, agency or public corporation on a contractual basis during

the previous fiscal year; and

     (2) The amount of compensation received by each consultant during the previous fiscal

year; and

     (3) All records including, but not limited to, any proprietary material, trade secrets,

commercial and/or financial information provided to the state by any person privatization

contractor, or vendor who performed legal, medical, accounting, engineering, or any other

professional, technical or consultant service to the department, commission, board, council, agency

or public corporation that performs work for the state on a contractual basis.

     (b) All departments, commissions, boards, councils, other agencies in the government of

the state and public corporations shall prepare and submit to the budget office on an annual basis

by October 1 a contracting report containing:

     (1) Digital/Electronic copies of all contracts or agreements by which a nongovernmental

person or entity agrees with the department, commission, board, council, agency or public

corporation to provide services, valued at one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) or more,

which are substantially similar to and in replacement of work normally performed by an employee

of the department, commission, board, council, agency or public corporation.

     (2) [Deleted by P.L. 2014, ch. 145, art. 9, § 4].

     (c) The budget office shall post electronic/digital copies of all contracts and reports online

using the state’s transparency portal or an equivalent website, available for public inspection,

annually no later than December 1 of each year.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS

***

     This act would make any record of any person, firm, or corporation that successfully

competes for a state contract or business, a public record, prohibits the state from entering into any

non-disclosure agreements when taxpayer money is utilized and public records shall include, but

not be limited to, any proprietary material, trade secrets, commercial and/or financial information

provided to the state by the person, firm or corporation in any proposal which induces the state to

select that person, firm, or corporation to conduct any business with or enter into a contract with

the state. This act would also apply to any person, contractor or vendor who performs any services

for the state on a contractual basis.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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