The Complainant alleged that the Police Department violated the APRA when it withheld a requested arrest report pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-1-12 and R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(D)(c). We noted that a 1984 letter from then-Attorney General Dennis J. Roberts to then-Superintendent of the Rhode...

The Providence Board of Licenses ("Board") sought an Open Meetings Act ("OMA") Advisory Opinion from this Department concerning whether the Board may meet in executive session for deliberation during or at the conclusion of the presentation of evidence in a show-cause hearing. We found no...

The Town of Lincoln violated the APRA when it failed to respond to the Complainant's APRA request within ten (10) business days. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7. As the Complainant was in possession of the responsive documents, injunctive relief was not appropriate. Based upon the specific facts,...

The Complainant alleged the Department of Environmental Management ("DEM") violated the Access to Public Records Act ("APRA") when the Complainant requested copies of certain written conservation management plans for farmland property and DEM provided four written conservation plans but did not...

Complainant alleged that the RISCA violated the APRA when it produced information responsive to his request but redacted information concerning the "Anticipated Amount of Motion Picture Tax Credit" pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(B). We observed that another statute – R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 44-31.

The Davies Career and Technical High School ("School") violated the OMA when it convened into executive session pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-5(a)(1), yet did not discuss any person's job performance, character, or physical or mental health. Rather, the School's discussion centered on the...

The Complainant alleged the Pawtucket School Department violated the APRA because the document it provided in response to his request was not the document Complainant sought. This Department found no violation of the APRA because it was the Complainant's duty as requestor to frame his request...

The Complainant alleged the Corporation violated the OMA when it failed to timely post the minutes for its April 23, 2018 meeting on the Secretary of State's website in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-7(d). The Complainant presented insufficient evidence that he had been aggrieved by this...

Complainant alleged that the City violated the APRA when it failed to provide a 2017 version of a particular document. Because the Complainant already had the 2017 document responsive to his request, we investigated whether the Complainant's allegations represented a knowing and willful, or...

The Complainant alleged the North Kingstown School Bond Subcommittee ("Subcommittee") violated the Open Meetings Act ("OMA") when its members met without providing public notice for its meetings. This Department found that the group described by the Complainant as a "Subcommittee" was not a "...