Provides that fees for costs charged for search, retrieval or copying of public records shall be waived for members of the general assembly who certify that they are acting in their official capacity.

Rhode Island Public Records Fee Waiver for Legislators

This bill would change Rhode Island's public records law to allow members of the state legislature — both state senators and state representatives — to request public records without paying any fees. Currently, government agencies can charge people for the time it takes to search for, retrieve, and copy public documents. Under this bill, those charges would be waived for legislators, as long as they sign a statement confirming they are making the request as part of their official duties as an elected official.

The bill affects two main groups. First, it benefits state legislators, who would no longer have to pay out-of-pocket (or use public funds) to access government records they may need to do their jobs, such as conducting oversight or researching issues for legislation. Second, it affects the government agencies that receive these requests, since they would still be required to fulfill the requests but could not recover their costs from the requesting legislator.

It's worth noting that this fee waiver would only apply to legislators acting in an official capacity — they would need to certify that the request is related to their legislative work, not personal use. The bill has been introduced and sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it will be reviewed before any further action is taken.