Rep. Filippi Calls for Better Public Record Keeping

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Providence, RI - House Minority Whip Blake Filippi (New Shoreham, Charlestown, South Kingstown and Westerly), is fighting for accuracy and transparency when it comes to the state’s public records

“Open government is one of the cornerstones of our democracy,” said Rep. Filippi, “but sadly that is not always the case here in Rhode Island.”

House bill 7465 would require that all electronic public records, including emails, be kept readily available and easily searchable for government officials responding to public record requests.

The bill comes after a request by local entrepreneur Ken Block went unfulfilled, revealing that the state is unable to access years’ worth of government emails. The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) informed Mr. Block that while switching from one email system to another in 2015, a number of emails had been lost and the rest were saved in a difficult to search format. It would cost Mr. Block hundreds of dollars to have the state search through the backlog of information with no guarantee of finding the emails he requested.

“I am disturbed by Mr. Block’s struggle and feel that we must do better. Our citizens deserve accessible electronic public records and this bill will ensure just that,” stated Rep Filippi. ​

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Contact Information
Ian O'Connor, House Minority Office
State House Room 106
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2259