§ 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 onfile by any public body, whether or not those records are required by any lawor by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person orentity shall have the right to inspect and/or copy those records at suchreasonable time as may be determined by the custodian thereof.
(b) Each public body shall make, keep, and maintain writtenor recorded minutes of all meetings.
(c) Each public body shall establish procedures regardingaccess to public records but shall not require written requests for publicinformation available pursuant to R.I.G.L. § 42-35-2 or for otherdocuments prepared for or readily available to the public.
(d) If a public record is in active use or in storage and,therefore, not available at the time a person requests access, the custodianshall so inform the person and make an appointment for the citizen to examinesuch records as expeditiously as they may be made available.
(e) Any person or entity requesting copies of public recordsmay elect to obtain them in any and all media in which the public agency iscapable of providing them. Any public body which maintains its records in acomputer storage system shall provide any data properly identified in aprintout or other reasonable format, as requested.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring apublic body to reorganize, consolidate, or compile data not maintained by thepublic body in the form requested at the time the request to inspect the publicrecords was made except to the extent that such records are in an electronicformat and the public body would not be unduly burdened in providing such data.
(g) Nothing in this section is intended to affect the publicrecord status of information merely because it is stored in a computer.
(h) No public records shall be withheld based on the purposefor which the records are sought.
§ 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 onfile by any public body, whether or not those records are required by any lawor by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person orentity shall have the right to inspect and/or copy those records at suchreasonable time as may be determined by the custodian thereof.
(b) Each public body shall make, keep, and maintain writtenor recorded minutes of all meetings.
(c) Each public body shall establish procedures regardingaccess to public records but shall not require written requests for publicinformation available pursuant to R.I.G.L. § 42-35-2 or for otherdocuments prepared for or readily available to the public.
(d) If a public record is in active use or in storage and,therefore, not available at the time a person requests access, the custodianshall so inform the person and make an appointment for the citizen to examinesuch records as expeditiously as they may be made available.
(e) Any person or entity requesting copies of public recordsmay elect to obtain them in any and all media in which the public agency iscapable of providing them. Any public body which maintains its records in acomputer storage system shall provide any data properly identified in aprintout or other reasonable format, as requested.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring apublic body to reorganize, consolidate, or compile data not maintained by thepublic body in the form requested at the time the request to inspect the publicrecords was made except to the extent that such records are in an electronicformat and the public body would not be unduly burdened in providing such data.
(g) Nothing in this section is intended to affect the publicrecord status of information merely because it is stored in a computer.
(h) No public records shall be withheld based on the purposefor which the records are sought.
§ 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 onfile by any public body, whether or not those records are required by any lawor by any rule or regulation, shall be public records and every person orentity shall have the right to inspect and/or copy those records at suchreasonable time as may be determined by the custodian thereof.
(b) Each public body shall make, keep, and maintain writtenor recorded minutes of all meetings.
(c) Each public body shall establish procedures regardingaccess to public records but shall not require written requests for publicinformation available pursuant to R.I.G.L. § 42-35-2 or for otherdocuments prepared for or readily available to the public.
(d) If a public record is in active use or in storage and,therefore, not available at the time a person requests access, the custodianshall so inform the person and make an appointment for the citizen to examinesuch records as expeditiously as they may be made available.
(e) Any person or entity requesting copies of public recordsmay elect to obtain them in any and all media in which the public agency iscapable of providing them. Any public body which maintains its records in acomputer storage system shall provide any data properly identified in aprintout or other reasonable format, as requested.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring apublic body to reorganize, consolidate, or compile data not maintained by thepublic body in the form requested at the time the request to inspect the publicrecords was made except to the extent that such records are in an electronicformat and the public body would not be unduly burdened in providing such data.
(g) Nothing in this section is intended to affect the publicrecord status of information merely because it is stored in a computer.
(h) No public records shall be withheld based on the purposefor which the records are sought.
