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The Rhode Island ACLU announced today that the state Department of Public Safety (DPS) is withdrawing recently-proposed and controversial regulations, relating to public access to police records, which the ACLU sued over last month.  RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown called the withdrawal of the regulations “an important, if temporary, victory for the public’s right to know.”  The ACLU’s suit argued that the agency failed to provide the public an appropriate opportunity to comment on the open records regulations.

The Affiliate testified in opposition to legislation amending current law allowing the use of cameras on school buses to catch drivers who unlawfully pass them.

The General Assembly, in an effort to ease the financial burden on school districts, has eliminated a requirement that districts post advance notice of school committee meetings in newspapers.

The Affiliate also testified in opposition to legislation to require all communities to participate in the federal Secure Communities program, which requires an automatic check of the fingerprints of any arrested individual against immigration databases.

As in past years, the Affiliate testified against efforts to expand the scope of the state’s current sex offender registration and notification laws.