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February 29, 2008

Mollis: Assembly more compliant with meetings law

PROVIDENCE -- State lawmakers improved their compliance with the state Open Meetings Law in 2007, according to Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.

The Access 2007 report gives grades of A, B, C, D and F for two categories. One is letter of the law, which is "technical compliance" with the Open Meetings Law and the other is spirit of the law, which tries to gauge the House and Senate's intent to meet the law.

Mollis's office offered these highlights in a news release:

* Every House and Senate standing committee got an “A” in meeting the spirit of the law.

* The House's compliance with the letter of the law was 86 percent of its 2007 meetings, compared to 57 percent in 2006. The House went from an F to a B in the letter of the law category and maintained an A in meeting the spirit of the law. Every House standing committee improved.

* Senate compliance with the letter of the law was 90 percent of its 2007 meetings, compared to 67 percent in 2006. The Senate got an A, up from a D in 2006, in meeting letter of the law, Mollis's office said, and it maintained an A for meeting the spirit of the law. All but one Senate standing committee performed better.

The Open Meetings Law mandates that most state and local agencies, departments, commissions, and others post electronic and written notices of meetings at least 48 hours before a meeting is held. Such public notices must have the date, time, place and the agenda.

The General Assembly is not subject to the law.

"To their credit, the House and the Senate made more than a good-faith effort to keep the public apprised of their work even though compliance with the Open Meetings Law is completely voluntary on their part," Mollis said in the statement.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 6:30 PM | Permalink

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