Open records laws improved in Tennessee, Rhode Island
Tennessee record requesters will now be able to use an ombudsman to work out disputes with government agencies and arrest records must be more detailed in Rhode Island thanks to new legislation passed. The
Tennessee law also requires agencies to respond to requests within seven days and the
Rhode Island law now requires a seven-day response instead of 10 days. This has been a good year for improvements in open records laws, and the push needs to continue. Journalists and access advocates should identify weaknesses in their state laws, and then shore them up through legislation. To compare parts of your state law to other states, check out the
Citizen Access Project or compare via the RCFP
Open Government Guide.