2020 -- H 7411 | |
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LC003956 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Canario, Edwards, Johnston, Morin, and Noret | |
Date Introduced: January 31, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 38-2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 38-2 entitled "Access to |
2 | Public Records" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 38-2-2. Definitions. |
4 | As used in this chapter: |
5 | (1) "Agency" or "public body" means any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, or |
6 | administrative body of the state, or any political subdivision thereof; including, but not limited to: |
7 | any department, division, agency, commission, board, office, bureau, authority; any school, fire, |
8 | or water district, or other agency of Rhode Island state or local government that exercises |
9 | governmental functions; any authority as defined in § 42-35-1(b); or any other public or private |
10 | agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of and/or in place of |
11 | any public agency. |
12 | (2) "Chief administrative officer" means the highest authority of the public body. |
13 | (3) "Public business" means any matter over which the public body has supervision, |
14 | control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. |
15 | (4) "Public record" or "public records" shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, |
16 | books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data |
17 | processing records, computer stored data (including electronic mail messages, except specifically |
18 | for any electronic mail messages of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent |
19 | and correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities), or other material |
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1 | regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in |
2 | connection with the transaction of official business by any agency. For the purposes of this |
3 | chapter, the following records shall not be deemed public: |
4 | (A)(I)(a) All records relating to a client/attorney relationship and to a doctor/patient |
5 | relationship, including all medical information relating to an individual in any files. |
6 | (b) Personnel and other personal individually identifiable records otherwise deemed |
7 | confidential by federal or state law or regulation, or the disclosure of which would constitute a |
8 | clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq.; provided, |
9 | however, with respect to employees, and employees of contractors and subcontractors working on |
10 | public works projects that are required to be listed as certified payrolls, the name, gross salary, |
11 | salary range, total cost of paid fringe benefits, gross amount received in overtime, and any other |
12 | remuneration in addition to salary, job title, job description, dates of employment and positions |
13 | held with the state, municipality, or public works contractor or subcontractor on public works |
14 | projects, employment contract, work location, and/or project, business telephone number, the city |
15 | or town of residence, and date of termination shall be public. For the purposes of this section |
16 | "remuneration" shall include any payments received by an employee as a result of termination, or |
17 | otherwise leaving employment, including, but not limited to, payments for accrued sick and/or |
18 | vacation time, severance pay, or compensation paid pursuant to a contract buy-out provision. For |
19 | the purposes of this section, the city or town of residence shall not be deemed public for city and |
20 | town police officers and shall not be released. |
21 | (II) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, or any other provision of the general |
22 | laws to the contrary, the pension records of all persons who are either current or retired members |
23 | of any public retirement systems, as well as all persons who become members of those retirement |
24 | systems after June 17, 1991, shall be open for public inspection. "Pension records" as used in this |
25 | section, shall include all records containing information concerning pension and retirement |
26 | benefits of current and retired members of the retirement systems and future members of said |
27 | systems, including all records concerning retirement credits purchased and the ability of any |
28 | member of the retirement system to purchase retirement credits, but excluding all information |
29 | regarding the medical condition of any person and all information identifying the member's |
30 | designated beneficiary or beneficiaries unless and until the member's designated beneficiary or |
31 | beneficiaries have received or are receiving pension and/or retirement benefits through the |
32 | retirement system. |
33 | (B) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person, firm, |
34 | or corporation that is of a privileged or confidential nature. |
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1 | (C) Child custody and adoption records, records of illegitimate births, and records of |
2 | juvenile proceedings before the family court. |
3 | (D) All records maintained by law enforcement agencies for criminal law enforcement |
4 | and all records relating to the detection and investigation of crime, including those maintained on |
5 | any individual or compiled in the course of a criminal investigation by any law enforcement |
6 | agency. Provided, however, such records shall not be deemed public only to the extent that the |
7 | disclosure of the records or information (a) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with |
8 | investigations of criminal activity or with enforcement proceedings; (b) Would deprive a person |
9 | of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication; (c) Could reasonably be expected to |
10 | constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; (d) Could reasonably be expected to |
11 | disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or |
12 | authority, or any private institution that furnished information on a confidential basis, or the |
13 | information furnished by a confidential source; (e) Would disclose techniques and procedures for |
14 | law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement |
15 | investigations or prosecutions; or (f) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or |
16 | physical safety of any individual. Records relating to management and direction of a law |
17 | enforcement agency and records or reports reflecting the initial arrest of an adult and the charge |
18 | or charges brought against an adult shall be public. |
19 | (E) Any records that would not be available by law or rule of court to an opposing party |
20 | in litigation. |
21 | (F) Scientific and technological secrets and the security plans of military and law |
22 | enforcement agencies, the disclosure of which would endanger the public welfare and security. |
23 | (G) Any records that disclose the identity of the contributor of a bona fide and lawful |
24 | charitable contribution to the public body whenever public anonymity has been requested of the |
25 | public body with respect to the contribution by the contributor. |
26 | (H) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation involving labor negotiations or |
27 | collective bargaining. |
28 | (I) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation with respect to the investment or |
29 | borrowing of public funds, until such time as those transactions are entered into. |
30 | (J) Any minutes of a meeting of a public body that are not required to be disclosed |
31 | pursuant to chapter 46 of title 42. |
32 | (K) Preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and work |
33 | products, including those involving research at state institutions of higher education on |
34 | commercial, scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issues, whether in electronic or other |
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1 | format; provided, however, any documents submitted at a public meeting of a public body shall |
2 | be deemed public. |
3 | (L) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a |
4 | licensing examination, examination for employment or promotion, or academic examinations; |
5 | provided, however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or her |
6 | examination. |
7 | (M) Correspondence of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent and |
8 | correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities. |
9 | (N) The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering, or feasibility estimates and |
10 | evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the acquisition of property or to prospective |
11 | public supply and construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been acquired |
12 | or all proceedings or transactions have been terminated or abandoned; provided the law of |
13 | eminent domain shall not be affected by this provision. |
14 | (O) All tax returns. |
15 | (P) All investigatory records of public bodies, with the exception of law enforcement |
16 | agencies, pertaining to possible violations of statute, rule, or regulation other than records of final |
17 | actions taken, provided that all records prior to formal notification of violations or noncompliance |
18 | shall not be deemed to be public. |
19 | (Q) Records of individual test scores on professional certification and licensing |
20 | examinations; provided, however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or |
21 | her examination. |
22 | (R) Requests for advisory opinions until such time as the public body issues its opinion. |
23 | (S) Records, reports, opinions, information, and statements required to be kept |
24 | confidential by federal law or regulation or state law or rule of court. |
25 | (T) Judicial bodies are included in the definition only in respect to their administrative |
26 | function provided that records kept pursuant to the provisions of chapter 16 of title 8 are exempt |
27 | from the operation of this chapter. |
28 | (U) Library records that, by themselves or when examined with other public records, |
29 | would reveal the identity of the library user requesting, checking out, or using any library |
30 | materials. |
31 | (V) Printouts from TELE -- TEXT devices used by people who are deaf or hard of |
32 | hearing or speech impaired. |
33 | (W) All records received by the insurance division of the department of business |
34 | regulation from other states, either directly or through the National Association of Insurance |
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1 | Commissioners, if those records are accorded confidential treatment in that state. Nothing |
2 | contained in this title or any other provision of law shall prevent or be construed as prohibiting |
3 | the commissioner of insurance from disclosing otherwise confidential information to the |
4 | insurance department of this or any other state or country, at any time, so long as the agency or |
5 | office receiving the records agrees in writing to hold it confidential in a manner consistent with |
6 | the laws of this state. |
7 | (X) Credit card account numbers in the possession of state or local government are |
8 | confidential and shall not be deemed public records. |
9 | (Y) Any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony |
10 | provided under any subpoena issued under Rhode Island general law § 9-1.1-6. |
11 | (Z) Any individually identifiable evaluations of public school employees made pursuant |
12 | to state or federal law or regulation. |
13 | (AA) All documents prepared by school districts intended to be used by school districts |
14 | in protecting the safety of their students from potential and actual threats. |
15 | SECTION 2. 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 | |
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1 | This act would exempt municipalities from releasing information as to the residency of |
2 | police officers regarding public records requests. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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