R.I. open records measure sent back to Senate committee

An open records measure approved by Rhode Island’s Senate Judiciary Committee last month will head back to the committee after Attorney General Patrick Lynch reviewed the legislation and expressed concern.

The attorney general objected to the portion of the proposed bill that would limit the time to three days instead of the current 10, with some exceptions. Police departments would have just 24 hours to respond to requests seeking arrest reports. Agencies facing larger and more complicated requests would see their time frame reduced from 30 days to 20.

“To be absolutely clear, I am not opposed to an amendment that requires public disclosure of the name and charges brought against an adult within 24 hours of an arrest, but I am opposed to an amendment that could be interpreted as requiring the disclosure of records or reports relating to an ongoing law enforcement investigation.”

Lynch proposed a compromise amendment to clear up the issue.