Rhode Island Open Meetings

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(Last updated May 22, 2024)

Where can the law be found? Rhode Island’s Open Meetings law is found at Chapter 46 of Title 42 of the General Laws of Rhode Island. Section 1 of the law offers this powerful statement of public policy: “It is essential to the maintenance of a democratic society that public business be performed in an open and public manner and that the citizens be advised of and aware of the performance of public officials and the deliberations and decisions that go into the making of public policy.” (1)

What is a “meeting” under the law? The law defines “meeting” as “the convening of a public body to discuss and/or act upon a matter over which the public body has supervision, control, jurisdiction, or advisory power.” (2) It defines “public body” as “any department, agency, commission, committee, board, council, bureau, or authority, or any subdivision thereof, of state or municipal government or the board of directors of any library that funded at least twenty-five percent … of its operational budget in the prior budget year with public funds.” (3) Public bodies are prohibited from using electronic communications to circumvent the policy of holding open meetings. (4)

How much public notice of meetings is required? Public bodies must make available a schedule of all their regular meetings at the beginning of a calendar year, (5) and they must make available a notice of a meeting, including the time, date, location, and business to be discussed at that meeting, at least 48 hours prior to the meeting, excluding weekend and state holidays. (6) Additional items can be added to the agenda at a meeting, but items cannot be voted on unless they were published in the required notice. (7) Notices of emergency meetings must be published as soon as practicable, and, if less than 48 hours’ notice is given, members must give a reason at the emergency meeting for why they needed to circumvent this requirement. (8)

When are meeting minutes required? Public bodies must publish minutes of meetings (which must include at least the time, date, and location, the members present, any business discussed, and any votes taken) (9) within two weeks of a meeting if any votes were taken, or within 35 days if the minutes are merely unofficial and no votes were taken. (10) Minutes of closed sessions must be made available at the next regularly scheduled meeting unless a majority of the public body votes to keep them closed to prevent jeopardizing the purpose for moving into closed session. (11) The sealing of executive session minutes, however, is a common practice of most public bodies.

Can members of the public record open meetings? The statute does not explicitly grant citizens a right to record meetings. However, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office held that this right is implied within the context of the Open Meetings Act. (12)

When can a government body meet in secret? Public bodies may go into closed session only after a call to do so during an open meeting, the purpose of the move to closed session being stated, and a majority vote by members of the body. (13) The law gives 10 purposes for a public body to move into closed session: (1) discussions of the job performance, character, or physical or mental health of a person; (2) discussions of collective bargaining or pending litigation; (3) discussions about security personnel or devices; (4) investigations into allegations of misconduct of a public official; (5) discussions on the sale, purchase, or lease of real estate; (6) discussions on a prospective business moving to the state; (7) discussion of investing public funds where premature disclosure would adversely affect the public interest; (8) local school board meetings where student discipline or private student records are discussed; (9) discussions of grievances filed in relation to a collective bargaining agreement; and (10) discussions of the personal finances of a prospective donor to a library. (14) Votes taken during closed session must be disclosed after a return to open session, unless doing so would jeopardize the strategy, negotiation, or investigation discussed during the closed session. (15)

What can be done if the Open Meeting Law is violated? Anyone alleging a violation of Rhode Island’s open meetings law can file a complaint with the state attorney general within 180 days of the approval of the minutes of the meeting where the alleged violation occurred, or 180 days from a public action revealing an improperly closed meeting. (16) The attorney general will file a complaint in state court on behalf of the complaining party if they deem the complaint is meritorious. (17) The attorney general can also pursue an action against a public body on their own, without a citizen complaint. (18) Results of attorney general investigations from 2017 to 2023 are searchable at this website. A person can also file a complaint on their own in state court, though, if they first file the complaint with the attorney general and the attorney general chooses not to pursue the complaint, the person must file their lawsuit within 90 days of the attorney general closing the investigation. (19) Remedies include declaring an action of an unlawful meeting null and void, issuing civil fines of up to $5,000 for willful violation of the open meetings law, and awarding of attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. (20) Public bodies have the burden of proof with any complaint to show they did not violate the law. (21) The law requires the attorney general to prepare an annual report summarizing the complaints their office has handled, as well as any requests for advisory opinions on the Open Meetings Act. (22)

(1) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-1.
(2) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-2(1).
(3) Id. at (5).
(4) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-5(b).
(5) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-6(a).
(6) Id. at (b).
(7) Id.; however, school boards have greater leeway in adding new items to their agendas, provided certain conditions are met, at (e)(1-5).
(8) Id. at (c).
(9) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-7(a).
(10) Id. at (b)(1); volunteer firefighting associations must publish their minutes within 21 days, at (b)(2).
(11) Id. at (c).
(12) Lemus v. Providence Zoning Board of Review, 2006 WL 4573885 (R.I.A.G.).
(13) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-4(a).
(14) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-5(a)(1-10).
(15) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-4(b).
(16) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-8(a-b).
(17) Id. at (a).
(18) Id. at (e).
(19) Id. at (c).
(20) Id. at (d).
(21) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-14.
(22) R.I. Gen. Laws 1956, § 42-46-11.