E-mail of elected officials exempt from disclosure in R.I.
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Thousands of e-mails zip through state computers every day, but Rhode Islanders live in one of at least seven states where residents cannot see what their elected officials are reading and writing in cyberspace.
The state's open records law was amended in 1998 to define e-mail as a public record subject to disclosure just like paper documents. But lawmakers kept a massive loophole in the Access to Public Records Act that keeps private all the correspondence of elected officials, whether electronic or paper.
A review by The Associated Press found that e-mails for governors in at least six other states -- Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and South Dakota -- are officially exempt from disclosure under state open records laws. But even in the remaining states, access to e-mail is generally limited.
Open government groups in Rhode Island have proposed amendments to the open records law requiring government officials to respond to information requests faster and increasing the penalties for agencies that refuse to comply. So far, no one has suggested loosening the provision blocking government e-mails and letters from public view -- a provision that still rankles some lawmakers and open government advocates.
Access/RI President Barbara Meagher, a journalism professor at the University of Rhode Island, finds the correspondence exemption troubling.
"What you have is a right to see in a democracy is the correspondence to elected officials," she said.
Assistant Attorney General Mike Field, who runs the attorney general's open government office, said the law allows elected officials to block the release of any e-mails or letters regardless of their contents. Field said his office has received relatively few complaints from people trying to obtain government e-mails.
State courts have not ruled definitively on how far the correspondence exemption applies, and elected officials can voluntarily release documents protected under the law, Field said.
Republican Gov. Don Carcieri, who won two elections on an open-government and anti-corruption platform, believes his e-mail and correspondence should be shielded from public view, said his chief legal counsel, Kerry King.
Carcieri's office has occasionally released upon request letters written to the governor.
King said that if staffers knew their letters and e-mail with the governor could become public, they would be less candid.
Not only does the state open records law allow elected officials to keep their correspondence private, but it also applies to any staff members working on their behalf, King said. Lawyers for civil rights and open government groups reject that claim, saying the exemption is much narrower.
"Anyone who's acting on behalf of the governor would be entitled to any privileges the governor has," King said.
Sen. June Gibbs, a Republican from Middletown, called the correspondence loophole too broad during a round-table discussion this month on government transparency. Lawmakers often say the loophole is necessary because constituents sometimes write highly personal pleas for help to their legislators.
But Gibbs said she believe that most constituents who write to her probably assume the letters are not confidential. Some might even want those letters to become public because they are trying to tell state leaders about problems.
"I'm not sure we need the exemption," Gibbs said.
Instead of keeping all e-mails and letters from public view, Gibbs said she thinks the law should at least be amended so correspondence to elected officials can be released on a case-by-case basis.
