The OMA requires that the "unofficial minutes shall be available to the public at the office of the public body, within thirty-five (35) days of the meeting or at the next regularly scheduled meeting, whichever is earlier." See R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-7(b)(1). The Coventry Charter Review...
The Fire District violated the OMA when it untimely filed a number of its unofficial and official and/or approved minutes on the Secretary of State's website for a number of its Board of Directors and Standard Administrative Procedures meetings. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-7(b)(2) and (d). While...
The Complainant alleged the City violated the APRA when it produced some documents in response to her APRA request, yet provided additional documents in response to a request filed by another individual that the Complainant claimed was responsive to her APRA request. The Complainant's APRA...
The Complainant alleged that the Town violated the APRA when it failed to fully respond to his APRA request by disclosing a document containing pagination irregularities that suggested pages were missing. We found no evidence that would lead us to conclude that additional portions of the requested...
Complainants alleged that the OMFD violated the APRA when it failed to adequately respond to three multi-part APRA requests. The evidence indicated that a number of the APRA requests were not proper requests for documents cognizable under the APRA, but instead interrogatories for which responsive...
Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced that the Albion Fire District settled a lawsuit acknowledging it violated the State's Access to Public Records Act (APRA) for failure to submit to the Office of Attorney General a form certifying that an individual(s) had been trained in APRA as...
The Complainant alleged that various meetings were convened without public notice by the Public Safety Complex Committee on unknown dates. No evidence was produced that the Complainant was aggrieved by these allegations or did not attend any meetings due to the lack of posting. In accordance...
The Complainant alleged that the City violated the APRA when it failed to timely respond to his APRA request and when it withheld a requested document pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(K) as a "working paper" and/or "work product." We found that the City timely responded to the APRA request...
ADV OM 16-03 Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department
Legal counsel for the Prudence Island Volunteer Fire Department ("PIVFD") sought an OMA advisory opinion concerning whether the PIVFD is a "public body" subject to the OMA. Based on Solas v. Emergency Hiring Council,...
Complainant alleged that the RISCS violated the APRA when it failed to produce documents responsive to two separate APRA requests and when it failed to timely respond to his appeal of the denial of his second APRA request. The evidence indicated that the RISCS had released the requested documents...
