Rhode Island legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Rhode Island S2484: AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- COST (Provides that fees for costs charged for search, retrieva
Status: Failed, May 21, 2026
AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- COST (Provides that fees for costs charged for search, retrieval or copying of public records shall be waived for members of the general assembly who certify that they are acting in their official capacity.)
What the bill says
From the introduced text, February 6, 2026:
2026 -- S 2484 ======== LC003299 ======== STATEOFRHODEISLAND IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026 ____________ ANACT RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- COST Introduced By: Senators E Morgan, Rogers, Ciccone, de la Cruz, Paolino, Raptakis, Appollonio, DiPalma, LaMountain, and Tikoian Date Introduced: February 06, 2026 Referred To: Senate Judiciary It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: SECTION 1. Section 38-2-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 38-2 entitled "Access to Public Records" is hereby amended to read as follows: 38-2-4. Cost. (a) Subject to the provisions of § 38-2-3, a public body must allow copies to be made or provide copies of public records. The cost per copied page of written documents provided to the public shall not exceed fifteen cents ($.15) per page for documents copyable on common business or legal size paper. A public body may not charge more than the reasonable actual cost for providing electronic records or retrieving records from storage where the public body is assessed a retrieval fee. (b) A reasonable charge may be made for the search or retrieval of documents. Hourly costs for a search and retrieval shall not exceed fifteen dollars ($15.00) per hour and no costs shall be charged for the first hour of a search or retrieval. For the purposes of this …
Sponsors
- Elaine Morgan (R, SD-034) · primary sponsor
- Gordon Rogers (R, SD-021)
- Frank Ciccone (D, SD-007)
- Jessica de la Cruz (R, SD-023)
- Thomas Paolino (R, SD-017)
- Leonidas Raptakis (D, SD-033)
- Peter Appollonio (D, SD-029)
- DiPalma, Louis (D, SD-012)
- Matthew LaMountain (D, SD-031)
- David Tikoian (D, SD-022)
Latest actions
- : Committee recommended measure be held for further study
- : Scheduled for hearing and/or consideration
- : Introduced, referred to Senate Judiciary
Votes
- Senate Committee on Judiciary: Passage (May 21, 2026): 8 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: PUBLIC RECORDS
Common questions
- What is S2484?
- S2484 is a bill in the Rhode Island Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- COST (Provides that fees for costs charged for search, retrieva.
- What does S2484 do?
- AN ACT RELATING TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- ACCESS TO PUBLIC RECORDS -- COST (Provides that fees for costs charged for search, retrieval or copying of public records shall be waived for members of the general assembly who certify that they are acting in their official capacity.)
- What is the status of S2484?
- Failed as of May 21, 2026. Latest action: Committee recommended measure be held for further study (May 21, 2026).
- Who sponsored S2484?
- Elaine Morgan (R, SD-034), with 9 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for S2484?
- On the Rhode Island Legislature website: http://webserver.rilegislature.gov/BillText/BillText26/SenateText26/S2484.pdf
Source: official Rhode Island record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.