Attorney General Peter Neronha will host the 25th Annual Open Government Summit, in partnership with the Roger Williams University School of Law Alumni Association, this Friday, July 28, 2023. Practitioners and members of the public alike are encouraged to join and gain a deeper knowledge of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Access to Public Records Act (APRA), both of which promote government transparency and accountability in Rhode Island.
“We have seen a record number of registrations for this year’s Summit, which suggests that more and more Rhode Islanders are engaged, paying attention, and want to learn more about Open Government, which is how it should be,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The APRA and the Open Meetings Act are foundational and fundamental to a functional democracy. As government officials and workers, we report to the public, not the other way around. As always, this event will be both a refresher and a chance to learn new ways to make our government more accessible and more accountable to the public.”
The Summit will again be fully virtual and livestreamed on the Attorney General’s YouTube channel beginning at 9 a.m. The event will open with remarks by Attorney General Neronha and the New England First Amendment Coalition, and will also feature a welcome by Dean Gregory W. Bowman of the Roger Williams University School of Law. Presenters will then cover statutory requirements, frequent problem areas, examples, and hot topics within the APRA and the OMA, separately. Those presentations will be followed by a Q&A session before concluding at 12 p.m.
The Open Government Summit is an annual event, open to both practitioners and members of the public, that provides an opportunity to learn about the Access to Public Records Act (APRA) and the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and receive guidance on how to comply with these statutes in various situations. The New England First Amendment Coalition, one of Rhode Island’s biggest advocates for open government, will join the Office’s Open Government team via video to offer remarks.
Under Attorney General Neronha, the Open Government Unit has issued nearly 400 APRA and OMA findings combined since 2019. In 2022 alone, the Office issued 115 findings: 64 concerning the OMA and 51 concerning the APRA. A complaint alleging violations of the OMA or APRA may be submitted by sending a brief statement, along with any relevant information and documents, to opengovernment@riag.ri.gov. Open Government findings are available online via our Clerkbase portal.
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