PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Senate and House of Representatives both got high marks for their Open Meetings compliance last year, in the latest annual report from Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis.
The annual evaluations assign letter grades – from “A” (90 percent or better of meetings in compliance) to “F” (less than 60 percent) – “similar to standard school grading,” the office said in its announcement.
For 2008, “the Senate earned a 90 [an A] for the second consecutive year,” Mollis said, while “overall, the House got an 87 percent [a B+], up one percentage point” from its 2007 score.
“Making government more open and accessible is one of my priorities,” he said. “The more we know about our government, the better we will be served.”
The state Open Meetings Act “requires most state and local agencies, departments, commissions and other public bodies to post electronic and written notices of any meeting at least 48 hours in advance,” Mollis’ office notes in an online statement. “In addition, the public notices must include the date, time, place and agenda of the meeting.”
Participation is voluntary for the R.I. General Assembly, since the law applies to neither the state Senate nor the House of Representatives.
But since 1997 – when the first “Access” scorecard was unveiled by Mollis’ predecessor James R. Langevin, now a member of the state’s congressional delegation – the Secretary of State’s Office has been evaluating the two chambers’ voluntary compliance in two categories: “Letter of the Law,” measuring technical compliance with the state’s Open Meetings law; and “Spirit of the Law,” evaluating each chamber’s intent to comply.
Twenty of the Assembly’s 23 standing committees last year earned a “B” or better overall, while all 23 earned an “A” in Spirit of the Law. And every one of the Assembly’s joint committees – such as the Legislative Services or Lottery panels – earned a perfect score (A+) in both Letter of the Law and Spirit of the Law.
“The House and the Senate made more than a good-faith effort to keep the public apprised of their work last year, even though compliance with the Open Meetings law is completely voluntary on their part,” Mollis wrote in his introduction to the report, describing the performance of both chambers as “commendable.”
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News and information from the R.I. Office of the Secretary of State, including the 30-page “Access 2008” open-government report, are available at www.sec.state.ri.us. News and information from the R.I. General Assembly are available at rilin.state.ri.us.
