A resolution being pushed before city and town councils throughout Rhode Island is asking for their support in making access to public records more challenging.

Most of the thousands of bills that come before the Rhode Island General Assembly each year are filed, heard and debated up at Smith Hill in Providence. Only a few make their way around the state in hopes that widespread municipal support will improve their chances. This bill — officially, 2025-H 5457 — is asking local governments to support an amendment to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act (APRA) that would increase document search and retrieval costs from $15 per hour to $25 per hour.

This provision of state law is rarely invoked, as many documents are obtained quickly and efficiently by their keepers in state or local government. However, significant document requests, such as investigations into the history of the Washington Bridge, or the hiring of consultants to the governor, for example, can be more voluminous and time-consuming, and the government has the option of charging $15 per hour (after granting one hour of free search time) for the effort. This bill would raise that fee to $25 per hour.

Passage would create yet another barrier to public records and government transparency, which are already challenged more than ever before. Too many in the public are disengaged and disinterested in their government or how it works. Most have never requested a public document and would not know where to begin.

Yet APRA exists to protect their interests nonetheless, so that the few remaining citizen watchdogs and working journalists have the tools to observe and shine light on the workings of government. Chaotic actions from the new U.S. administration remind us that these public access laws have never been more important.

This new effort to undermine public access is an affront to citizens who care about an open and transparent government. Its only purpose is to create a deterrent, whether psychological or financial, from citizens would seek information about their government, its actions, its spending, and its impact on their lives. Keep in mind, APRA applies only to the search for “public” records — meaning they belong to all.

Hopefully, if this resolution appears on a local council docket, it is received and filed with no action taken.