Providential Gardener is noticing that some state departments (e.g., Education) and other entities are not posting their minutes at the Secretary of State's Open Meetings website, which is not in compliance with the Open Meetings law. Rhode Islanders deserve and expect Open Government, one of Common Cause's Issues.
Note: Although municipal bodies do not have to post their minutes on the Secretary of State's website, it sure would be nice if they posted them somewhere online. It isn't easy to find municipal minutes online -- this is not required apparently -- but they must be kept somewhere in writing:
R.I.G.L. Open Meetings Section 42-46-7
All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all their meetings. The minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:
- (1) The date, time, and place of the meeting;
- (2) The members of the public body recorded as either present or absent;
- (3) A record by individual members of any vote taken; and
- (4) Any other information relevant to the business of the public body that any member of the public body requests be included or reflected in the minutes.