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H 7985Ethics & Transparency

Public Records - Access to Public Records

This bill requires individuals to provide their name and contact information when requesting public records, banning anonymous requests.

Held for study
Population
Affected
25
Email Legislator
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee House State Government & Elections

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act. It establishes a new requirement that anyone submitting a public records request must provide their name and a valid mailing address or email address. The bill explicitly states that public bodies will no longer accept or process anonymous requests. While the law still prevents the government from asking the reason for a request, it removes the ability for individuals to obtain these records without identifying themselves.

For younger readers

In Rhode Island, people have the right to ask the government for copies of papers and files to see what is happening in the state. Right now, people can ask for these papers without saying who they are. This new law changes that. Now, if someone wants to see these government papers, they must tell the government their name and give an address or email. If a person tries to ask for papers without sharing their name, the government is allowed to say no.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
JournalistsPolitical ActivistsWhistleblowersTown ClerksGeneral Public
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

Moderate risk

There is a moderate constitutional risk regarding the First Amendment freedom of speech and the right to petition the government. Courts have historically recognized anonymous speech as protected, particularly to shield individuals from retaliation. While access to records is often statutory, conditioning government engagement on identification could be viewed as chilling protected activity. However, courts may uphold it as a reasonable procedural regulation if it doesn't block access entirely.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Protects public workers from harassment by ensuring that individuals who use the public records system to flood agencies with vexatious or abusive requests can be identified and held accountable.
  • Ensures that limited public resources and administrative time are utilized efficiently for genuine inquiries rather than being drained by automated or spam-like anonymous requests.
  • Facilitates better communication between the government and the requester, potentially allowing for clarification that helps the requester get the specific documents they need more quickly.
  • Undermines transparency and accountability by removing the protection of anonymity, which is often crucial for whistleblowers or marginalized individuals fearing retaliation from powerful institutions.
  • Create barriers to access for unhoused individuals or those without stable internet access, as requiring a valid mailing or email address may disproportionately exclude the poor and disadvantaged.
  • Allows the government to create lists of citizens monitoring their activities, which could be used to track or intimidate activists and political dissidents.
For Conservatives
  • Reduces government waste by preventing the misuse of taxpayer-funded administrative resources on frivolous, automated, or unaccountable anonymous data requests.
  • Promotes personal responsibility and the rule of law by requiring individuals to stand behind their petitions to the government rather than hiding behind a veil of secrecy.
  • Protects local municipalities from being overwhelmed by outside agitators or non-residents who may use anonymous requests to disrupt local governance without having a stake in the community.
  • Increases government surveillance powers by forcing citizens to register their identity with the state simply to exercise their right to view public documents.
  • Creates a "soft registry" of political opponents or inquisitive citizens that could be weaponized by the government to target those who question its authority.
  • Infringes on individual liberty and privacy, effectively treating citizens as suspects who must present papers before being granted access to information that rightfully belongs to the public.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 23 additions · 8 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 38-2-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 38-2 entitled "Access to Public Records" is hereby amended to read as follows: 38-2-3. Right to inspect and copy records — Duty to maintain minutes of meetings — Procedures for access.

(a) Except as provided in § 38-2-2(4), all records maintained or kept on file by any public body, whether or not those records are required by any law or by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person or entity shall have the right to inspect and/or copy those records at such reasonable time as may be determined by the custodian thereof subject to the procedures set forth in this section.

(b) Any reasonably segregable portion of a public record excluded by § 38-2-2(4) shall be available for public inspection after the deletion of the information which is the basis of the exclusion. If an entire document or record is deemed non-public, the public body shall state in writing that no portion of the document or record contains reasonable segregable information that is releasable.

(c) Each public body shall make, keep, and maintain written or recorded minutes of all meetings.

(d) Each public body shall establish written procedures regarding access to public records but. Such procedures shall not require written requests for public information available pursuant to § 42-35-2 or for other documents prepared for or readily available to the public.

(1) These procedures must include, but need not be limited to the,:

(i) The identification of a designated public records officer or unit,;

(ii) Instruction on how to make a public records request,; and

(iii) The location where a public record request should be made, and a submitted.

(2) A copy of these procedures shall be posted on the public body’s website if such a website is maintained and be made otherwise readily available to the public. The unavailability of a designated public records officer shall not be deemed constitute good cause for failure to timely comply with a request to inspect and/or copy public records pursuant to subsection (e). A written request for public records need not be made submitted on a form established by a public body if ; provided that, the request is otherwise readily identifiable as a request for public records.

(3) All requests to inspect and/or copy public records shall include sufficient identifying information to permit verification of the requester’s identity and to allow the public body to communicate regarding the request. At a minimum, a requester shall provide the requester’s name and a valid mailing address or electronic mail address. Anonymous public records requests shall not be accepted or processed.

(e) A public body receiving a request shall permit the inspection or copying within ten (10) business days after receiving a request. If the inspection or copying is not permitted within ten (10) business days, the public body shall forthwith explain in writing the need for additional time to comply with the request. Any such explanation must be particularized to the specific request made. In such cases the public body may have up to an additional twenty (20) business days to comply with the request if it can demonstrate that the voluminous nature of the request, the number of requests for records pending, or the difficulty in searching for and retrieving or copying the requested records, is such that additional time is necessary to avoid imposing an undue burden on the public body.

(f) If a public record is in active use or in storage and, therefore, not available at the time a person or entity requests access, the custodian shall so inform the person or entity and make an appointment for the person or entity to examine such records as expeditiously as they may be made available.

(g) Any person or entity requesting copies of public records may elect to obtain them in any and all media in which the public agency is capable of providing them. Any public body which maintains its records in a computer storage system shall provide any data properly identified in a printout or other reasonable format, as requested.

(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a public body to reorganize, consolidate, or compile data not maintained by the public body in the form requested at the time the request to inspect the public records was made except to the extent that such records are in an electronic format and the public body would not be unduly burdened in providing such data.

(i) Nothing in this section is intended to affect the public record status of information merely because it is stored in a computer.

(j) No public records shall be withheld based on the purpose for which the records are sought, nor shall a public body require, as a condition of fulfilling a public records request, that a person or entity provide a reason for the request or provide personally identifiable information about him/herself.

(k) At the election of the person or entity requesting the public records, the public body shall provide copies of the public records electronically, by facsimile, or by mail in accordance with the requesting person or entity’s choice, unless complying with that preference would be unduly burdensome due to the volume of records requested or the costs that would be incurred. The person requesting delivery shall be responsible for the actual cost of delivery, if any.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.