2020 -- H 7741 | |
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LC004612 | |
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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 CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Noret, Vella-Wilkinson, Corvese, Place, and Hawkins | |
Date Introduced: February 26, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Chapter 11-47 of the General Laws entitled "Weapons" is hereby amended |
2 | by adding thereto the following section: |
3 | 11-47-64. Review and appeal of the decision of the police department, licensing |
4 | authority or attorney general. |
5 | (a) A decision denying a firearms transfer and/or permit pursuant to either §§ 11-47-11 or |
6 | 11-47-18 shall be final unless further review and/or appeal is initiated in writing within fifteen (15) |
7 | days after the decision has been mailed to the applicant at the address listed on the application. |
8 | (b) An aggrieved individual may submit a written request to reconsider the denial to the |
9 | local police department, licensing authority or the department of the attorney general. Any request |
10 | must be submitted within fifteen (15) days after the decision has been mailed to the address |
11 | provided by the applicant. |
12 | (1) The police department, licensing authority or the department of the attorney general |
13 | shall schedule and conduct an in-person meeting within fourteen (14) days of the request to review |
14 | and discuss the decision. The meeting shall only be scheduled or rescheduled beyond the initial |
15 | fourteen (14) day period by agreement of the parties and/or for good cause, but in no event exceed |
16 | sixty (60) days. |
17 | (2) The applicant may submit any supplemental documentation or written evidence relative |
18 | to the application, which shall become part of the application. |
19 | (3) The meeting shall be conducted as an informal meeting, not as an administrative |
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1 | hearing. The police department, licensing authority or the department of the attorney general shall |
2 | receive and consider documents and other evidence without regard to statutory and common law |
3 | rules. No stenographic record, transcription, video, audio or other recording is allowed. |
4 | (4) The applicant may be represented at this meeting by an attorney. |
5 | (5) The police department, licensing authority or the department of the attorney general |
6 | shall within seven (7) days after the meeting mail a decision to the applicant. Any denial shall be |
7 | in writing and state with specificity the reason(s) and evidence upon which the denial was based |
8 | and the rationale for the denial. |
9 | (c) An aggrieved individual may submit an appeal of the decision denying a firearms |
10 | transfer and/or permit pursuant to either §§ 11-47-11 or 11-47-18 or of the decision of the request |
11 | to reconsider to the superior court of the state of Rhode Island for the county in which the police |
12 | department, licensing authority or attorney general is located, in the form of a miscellaneous |
13 | petition, within fifteen (15) days after the decision has been mailed to the applicant at the address |
14 | listed on the application. |
15 | (1) The petition for review shall state the grounds upon which review is sought but need |
16 | not be verified. |
17 | (2) Upon appeal, the petitioner is entitled to a trial de novo before a justice of the superior |
18 | court without a jury. |
19 | (3) Within thirty (30) days of the notice of appeal the police department, licensing authority |
20 | or attorney general shall provide a full, complete and certified copy of the application and all |
21 | submitted documents to both the petitioner and the superior court. |
22 | (d) Pursuant to chapter 2 of title 38, the request to reconsider and the appeal to superior |
23 | court, shall not be deemed public. All documents, records and proceedings before the police |
24 | department, licensing authority, the department of the attorney general and the superior court are |
25 | not open to the public but may be accessed by law enforcement personnel to be used for law |
26 | enforcement purposes only and shall remain otherwise confidential. |
27 | (e) An applicant may have his or her hearing open to the public upon written request to the |
28 | superior court. |
29 | (f) The superior court shall award reasonable attorneys' fees, costs and filing fees to the |
30 | prevailing applicant if the court finds that there is no justiciable issue of either law of fact or to the |
31 | prevailing applicant if the police department, licensing authority or the department of the attorney |
32 | general did not have a good faith basis in the denial. |
33 | SECTION 2. Section 38-2-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 38-2 entitled "Access to Public |
34 | Records" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
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1 | 38-2-2. Definitions. |
2 | As used in this chapter: |
3 | (1) "Agency" or "public body" means any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory, or |
4 | administrative body of the state, or any political subdivision thereof; including, but not limited to: |
5 | any department, division, agency, commission, board, office, bureau, authority; any school, fire, or |
6 | water district, or other agency of Rhode Island state or local government that exercises |
7 | governmental functions; any authority as defined in § 42-35-1(b); or any other public or private |
8 | agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of and/or in place of |
9 | any public agency. |
10 | (2) "Chief administrative officer" means the highest authority of the public body. |
11 | (3) "Public business" means any matter over which the public body has supervision, |
12 | control, jurisdiction, or advisory power. |
13 | (4) "Public record" or "public records" shall mean all documents, papers, letters, maps, |
14 | books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data |
15 | processing records, computer stored data (including electronic mail messages, except specifically |
16 | for any electronic mail messages of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent |
17 | and correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities), or other material regardless |
18 | of physical form or characteristics made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection |
19 | with the transaction of official business by any agency. For the purposes of this chapter, the |
20 | following records shall not be deemed public: |
21 | (A)(I)(a) All records relating to a client/attorney relationship and to a doctor/patient |
22 | relationship, including all medical information relating to an individual in any files. |
23 | (b) Personnel and other personal individually identifiable records otherwise deemed |
24 | confidential by federal or state law or regulation, or the disclosure of which would constitute a |
25 | clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq.; provided, |
26 | however, with respect to employees, and employees of contractors and subcontractors working on |
27 | public works projects that are required to be listed as certified payrolls, the name, gross salary, |
28 | salary range, total cost of paid fringe benefits, gross amount received in overtime, and any other |
29 | remuneration in addition to salary, job title, job description, dates of employment and positions |
30 | held with the state, municipality, or public works contractor or subcontractor on public works |
31 | projects, employment contract, work location, and/or project, business telephone number, the city |
32 | or town of residence, and date of termination shall be public. For the purposes of this section |
33 | "remuneration" shall include any payments received by an employee as a result of termination, or |
34 | otherwise leaving employment, including, but not limited to, payments for accrued sick and/or |
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1 | vacation time, severance pay, or compensation paid pursuant to a contract buy-out provision. |
2 | (II) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, or any other provision of the general |
3 | laws to the contrary, the pension records of all persons who are either current or retired members |
4 | of any public retirement systems, as well as all persons who become members of those retirement |
5 | systems after June 17, 1991, shall be open for public inspection. "Pension records" as used in this |
6 | section, shall include all records containing information concerning pension and retirement benefits |
7 | of current and retired members of the retirement systems and future members of said systems, |
8 | including all records concerning retirement credits purchased and the ability of any member of the |
9 | retirement system to purchase retirement credits, but excluding all information regarding the |
10 | medical condition of any person and all information identifying the member's designated |
11 | beneficiary or beneficiaries unless and until the member's designated beneficiary or beneficiaries |
12 | have received or are receiving pension and/or retirement benefits through the retirement system. |
13 | (B) Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person, firm, |
14 | or corporation that is of a privileged or confidential nature. |
15 | (C) Child custody and adoption records, records of illegitimate births, and records of |
16 | juvenile proceedings before the family court. |
17 | (D) All records maintained by law enforcement agencies for criminal law enforcement and |
18 | all records relating to the detection and investigation of crime, including those maintained on any |
19 | individual or compiled in the course of a criminal investigation by any law enforcement agency. |
20 | Provided, however, such records shall not be deemed public only to the extent that the disclosure |
21 | of the records or information (a) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with investigations of |
22 | criminal activity or with enforcement proceedings; (b) Would deprive a person of a right to a fair |
23 | trial or an impartial adjudication; (c) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted |
24 | invasion of personal privacy; (d) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a |
25 | confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or authority, or any private institution |
26 | that furnished information on a confidential basis, or the information furnished by a confidential |
27 | source; (e) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or |
28 | prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions; or |
29 | (f) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual. Records |
30 | relating to management and direction of a law enforcement agency and records or reports reflecting |
31 | the initial arrest of an adult and the charge or charges brought against an adult shall be public. |
32 | (E) Any records that would not be available by law or rule of court to an opposing party in |
33 | litigation. |
34 | (F) Scientific and technological secrets and the security plans of military and law |
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1 | enforcement agencies, the disclosure of which would endanger the public welfare and security. |
2 | (G) Any records that disclose the identity of the contributor of a bona fide and lawful |
3 | charitable contribution to the public body whenever public anonymity has been requested of the |
4 | public body with respect to the contribution by the contributor. |
5 | (H) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation involving labor negotiations or |
6 | collective bargaining. |
7 | (I) Reports and statements of strategy or negotiation with respect to the investment or |
8 | borrowing of public funds, until such time as those transactions are entered into. |
9 | (J) Any minutes of a meeting of a public body that are not required to be disclosed pursuant |
10 | to chapter 46 of title 42. |
11 | (K) Preliminary drafts, notes, impressions, memoranda, working papers, and work |
12 | products, including those involving research at state institutions of higher education on commercial, |
13 | scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issues, whether in electronic or other format; provided, |
14 | however, any documents submitted at a public meeting of a public body shall be deemed public. |
15 | (L) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a licensing |
16 | examination, examination for employment or promotion, or academic examinations; provided, |
17 | however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or her examination. |
18 | (M) Correspondence of or to elected officials with or relating to those they represent and |
19 | correspondence of or to elected officials in their official capacities. |
20 | (N) The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering, or feasibility estimates and |
21 | evaluations made for or by an agency relative to the acquisition of property or to prospective public |
22 | supply and construction contracts, until such time as all of the property has been acquired or all |
23 | proceedings or transactions have been terminated or abandoned; provided the law of eminent |
24 | domain shall not be affected by this provision. |
25 | (O) All tax returns. |
26 | (P) All investigatory records of public bodies, with the exception of law enforcement |
27 | agencies, pertaining to possible violations of statute, rule, or regulation other than records of final |
28 | actions taken, provided that all records prior to formal notification of violations or noncompliance |
29 | shall not be deemed to be public. |
30 | (Q) Records of individual test scores on professional certification and licensing |
31 | examinations; provided, however, that a person shall have the right to review the results of his or |
32 | her examination. |
33 | (R) Requests for advisory opinions until such time as the public body issues its opinion. |
34 | (S) Records, reports, opinions, information, and statements required to be kept confidential |
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1 | by federal law or regulation or state law or rule of court. |
2 | (T) Judicial bodies are included in the definition only in respect to their administrative |
3 | function provided that records kept pursuant to the provisions of chapter 16 of title 8 are exempt |
4 | from the operation of this chapter. |
5 | (U) Library records that, by themselves or when examined with other public records, would |
6 | reveal the identity of the library user requesting, checking out, or using any library materials. |
7 | (V) Printouts from TELE -- TEXT devices used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing |
8 | or speech impaired. |
9 | (W) All records received by the insurance division of the department of business regulation |
10 | from other states, either directly or through the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, |
11 | if those records are accorded confidential treatment in that state. Nothing contained in this title or |
12 | any other provision of law shall prevent or be construed as prohibiting the commissioner of |
13 | insurance from disclosing otherwise confidential information to the insurance department of this |
14 | or any other state or country, at any time, so long as the agency or office receiving the records |
15 | agrees in writing to hold it confidential in a manner consistent with the laws of this state. |
16 | (X) Credit card account numbers in the possession of state or local government are |
17 | confidential and shall not be deemed public records. |
18 | (Y) Any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony |
19 | provided under any subpoena issued under Rhode Island general law § 9-1.1-6. |
20 | (Z) Any individually identifiable evaluations of public school employees made pursuant to |
21 | state or federal law or regulation. |
22 | (AA) All documents prepared by school districts intended to be used by school districts in |
23 | protecting the safety of their students from potential and actual threats. |
24 | (BB) All documents, records and proceedings pursuant to the firearms act, appeal section |
25 | § 11-47-64(d), before a police department, licensing authority, the department of the attorney |
26 | general and the superior court are not open to the public. |
27 | SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- WEAPONS | |
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1 | This act would create an appeal process, in which an applicant for a concealed firearms |
2 | permit or firearms transfer, could appeal to the agency which denied the permits and would allow |
3 | them an appeal to the superior court and would amend the access to public records act to classify |
4 | those records relative to any such appeal, as non-public records. |
5 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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