Background

The Complainant submitted a Complaint to this Office alleging that he “never received a response to [his] APRA request sent by certified mail to the [Department] on August 9, 2022.” Appended to his Complaint was the Complainant’s initial request to the Department. This request sought “any communications, notifications, dispatch logs, appointments, letters, [and] emails to/from” various Scituate entities, including Fire Department officials, concerning the dispatching of “any Scituate Fire Department Member or … Apparatus” to “1520 Chopmist Hill Road” in Scituate on February 28, 2021. He also sought a number of other documents, such as “activity logs,” “notes,” and “reports” relative to the use of fire apparatus and personnel on this date. Finally, the Complainant included his certified mailing receipt and electronic verification documentation, evidencing delivery of his request.

Relevant Law and Findings

When we examine an APRA complaint, our authority is to determine whether a violation of the APRA has occurred. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-8. In doing so, we must begin with the plain language of the APRA and relevant caselaw interpreting this statute.

Pursuant to the APRA, a public body has ten (10) business days to respond in some capacity to a records request, whether by producing responsive documents, denying the request with reason(s), or extending the period necessary to comply. See R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 38-2-3(e), 38-2-7. A public body may extend the time to respond to an APRA request by an additional twenty (20) business days “if it can demonstrate that the voluminous nature of the request, the number of requests for records pending, or the difficulty in searching for and retrieving or copying the requested records, is such that additional time is necessary to avoid imposing an undue burden on the public body.” Id.  

Here, it is undisputed that the Department received the Complainant’s APRA request on August 11, 2022. It is also undisputed that the Department “did not provide a written response to the Complainant on or before August 25th, 2022 with either the responsive record or an indication that more time was needed to research the Request.” The Department did not dispute that its response was untimely, nor did it contend that it failed to receive the initial APRA request or that Complainant did not comply with its procedures for submitting APRA requests. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-3(d) (requiring public bodies to establish written procedures regarding access to public records). Accordingly, we conclude that the Department violated the APRA when it failed to respond to Complainant’s request within the statutory time period. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7. 

Conclusion

Upon a finding of an APRA violation, the Attorney General may file a complaint in Superior Court on behalf of the Complainant requesting “injunctive or declaratory relief.” See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-8(b). A court “shall impose a civil fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000) against a public body. . . found to have committed a knowing and willful violation of this chapter, and a civil fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) against a public body found to have recklessly violated this chapter.” See R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-9(d).

We conclude that insufficient evidence exists to find a willful and knowing, or alternatively reckless, violation. While we are concerned that the Department allowed its “other day-to-day duties” to impact its compliance with the APRA, we have not found any prior, similar violations involving the Department, nor does the Complainant bring any such prior violations to our attention. Additionally, the Department has provided a sworn statement by Chief Hebert stating that the Department’s violation was “unintentional” and that he has “recommended to the management of [the Department] that we get further training on the APRA and appropriate procedures and policies to adopt to prevent any further issues with regard to public records requests.” We direct the Department and its staff members responsible for processing APRA requests to undergo training on the Access to Public Records Act and certify to this Office that such training has occurred. Said training must be completed within thirty (30) days of the date of this finding. This requirement may be satisfied by watching the Attorney General’s Open Government Summit video from June 3, 2022, which is available for viewing on the Office of Attorney General website.