Legislation

We supported legislation which would have required public bodies to establish a plan for providing translation services at public meetings.

Despite the initial temporary nature of the power granted to the University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees to meet virtually throughout the pandemic, legislation was introduced to make this provision permanent in state law. We opposed the bill.

While we supported provisions of this bill which would have extended the temporary authority for entities subject to the Open Meetings Act to hold remote meetings in light of the Covid pandemic, we expressed objection to two details.

We supported legislation which would have clarified the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) to ensure police accountability and transparency when it comes to final reports of internal investigations of police misconduct.

We supported a bill which would have allowed for members of the public to testify on an item on a public meetings agenda even if the item has been withdrawn or postponed.

We expressed support for legislation that would have allowed the Secretary of State to seek judicial relief if a state or municipal agency is unlawfully destroying or otherwise failing to properly maintain public records, a power that she presently lacks.

This bill would make clear that the public can see all final reports of police misconduct investigations and reinstate public oversight of law enforcement that the AG opinion undermined.

The introduction of the Rhode Island Senate rules this session prompted our initial commentary in two specific aspects.

Two pieces of legislation sought to enshrine in law the ability for bodies to continue with virtual meetings.