Journal files / Frieda Squires
ROSANNA CAVANAGH
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Come Sept. 1, Rhode Island will become a more transparent state -- at least on paper.
Before adjourning in June, the General Assembly overhauled the state's Access to Public Records Act, incorporating a new "balancing test" public officials will have to use when deciding whether to release records requested by the public.
Rosanna Cavanagh, executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition, says that if public officials follow the letter and spirit of the amendments, Rhode Island will be one of the most open governments in New England.
But the test will come at the beginning of next month, when reporters and the state's citizenry come knocking at the door and state agencies and town officials put the new law into practice.