A Republican state representative introduced a bill this week that would change the public records law. Two Democrats plan to unveil their version later today [Thursday 2/8/24].
The Public’s Radio afternoon host Dave Fallon spoke with Justin Silverman, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, who consulted on the bill backed by Democrats.
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Dave Fallon: Well, Justin, to begin, generally, why do you think it’s necessary for Rhode Island and actually other states to have freedom of information laws?
Justin Silverman: These laws are created as a very important tool for members of the public to use to get a better understanding of their government, whether their government is acting in their best interest or acting in ways that might be counter to their best interest. These laws provide documents and records, information that we need to see how government is operating and to not only provide that kind of transparency, but to make sure there’s accountability for those in government that are making decisions that aren’t in the public’s interest.
Fallon: Increasing APRA access to the public really hasn’t changed in more than a decade. What would a revised law take into account, even considering the tech changes that have happened?
Silverman: So, to be clear, APRA is a very important tool that we have to get insight into government. But, as you mentioned, it hasn’t been meaningfully reformed in over a decade, and since then there have been a number of changes both in technology and just in public sensibilities, transparency needs, particularly those within law enforcement. So what this bill does is it makes some very common sense changes to APRA to reflect those things by making sure, for example, that we can, file public records requests under the law electronically and not have to make them in person. That our requests can be complied with through email. We can get records that we need in a more convenient way. These are changes to the law that already exist in many other states, and this bill is a way to bring APRA up to speed with what many other states, particularly in New England, are already doing.
Fallon: There’s also the issue of the fees that are sometimes charged for copies of public documents.
Silverman: Yeah, it’s important to note that these are public documents. These are documents that belong to the public. So if there are any fees at all, they should be minimal. There really shouldn’t be any burden on the public to access this, to access this information. Again, it belongs to the public. So, for example, you know, comparing the situation here in Rhode Island to other states: In New Hampshire, there are no fees associated with the search and retrieval of public records under that state’s public records law. So, what this law does is try to minimize those fees and to make sure that any burden on the public to access information that it rightfully owns and should have access to under APRA is minimal.
Fallon: APRA controversies usually seem to go public when it involves news organizations seeking certain records. But what about non journalists? Why is strengthening APRA important for that, for the public, for citizens?
Silverman: Great question, and this is a really important point to make. APRA is not just for journalists. Oftentimes it can be considered just a tool for newsrooms. But in fact, it’s a tool for everyone, every member of the public has a strong interest in government transparency and accountability, and getting access to government information. So just go back a few years to the height of the COVID pandemic. Everyone was a government transparency advocate at that time looking for information about what town council members were doing, the information that they were using to make determinations about whether schools would be closed, for example. More recently, you have the controversy around the Washington Bridge closure. Important questions are being asked that need to be answered, like, how did the bridge get to the state that it was in, how much money is it going to cost to repair, these are questions that can be answered through public records requests, getting information from our government about these really important topics that don’t just, affect newsrooms and aren’t just relevant to journalism, but are really important to all of us in Rhode Island.
Fallon: This is the Public’s Radio. We’re speaking with Justin Silverman, Executive Director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. Where might you suggest drawing the line in opening up more law enforcement records or body cameras, a need to preserve certain confidential information, or even on the government side in the policy planning cycle?
Silverman: Yeah, so a tremendous amount of thought and discussion has gone into this particular bill. especially when it comes to matters of law enforcement. And you bring up the example of body worn police camera footage. Which can be a sensitive topic because that footage obviously can capture a lot of, either confidential or sensitive, information. But what this bill does is it strikes the right balance between those privacy interests and law enforcement interests and the public’s right to know about what its police officers are doing. So, for example, under this bill body worn camera footage must be released within 30 days of any kind of use of force incident. And what that does is it provides law enforcement agencies the time it needs to conduct a thorough investigation without this footage being released. It provides some limited exceptions, but at the same time it provides a hard deadline for this footage to be released so the public can see through that camera footage. What actually took place, and to make sure that our police officers were acting within the scope of the law.
Fallon: Do you get a sense that those in government, those in law enforcement, are a little more open to loosening up the APRA regulations?
Silverman: So, I can’t speak to all law enforcement agencies in the state, but what I can say is that, again, the proposal that we have here really takes into consideration law enforcement interests and to make sure that police officers can do their job. While at the same time, providing the necessary amount of transparency for all members of the public to make sure that they’re doing their job and doing their job correctly. And I certainly hope that those within law enforcement see that balance and understand that yes, they have a very difficult job to do. But at the same time, that transparency needs to exist so we can have accountability within our police department.
Fallon: Okay, Justin. Thanks for speaking with us.
Silverman: And thank you for having me.
