Neronha: Access to Public Records Shouldn’t be “Cost Prohibitive,” as Pressure on Kilmartin Mounts
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Former U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island and candidate for Attorney General Peter Neronha said that access to public records should not be cost prohibitive, after Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin has charged House Minority Leader Patricia Morgan thousands of dollars to obtain information about how his office spent their portion of the Google settlement money.
On Monday, former Chairman of the Rhode Island Democratic Party Bill Lynch criticized Kilmartin for his "condescending and patronizing treatment" of Morgan in response to her official request for public records pertaining to how Kilmartin's office has spent its Google settlement funds -- going as far to call Kilmartin's treatment "sexist."
Moreover, Lynch called on Kilmartin to release all the documents -- at no cost.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST"I call on the Attorney General to issue a public apology to Representative Morgan and to immediately and at no cost, provide Representative Morgan with the records she has requested," said Lynch.
Morgan recently announced on that her findings from her initial Access to Public Records Request (APRA) into how Kilmartin's office has spent its Google settlement funds has revealed that Kilmartin's office used portions of the settlement for operating expenses -- which Morgan says was expressly forbidden in the settlement.
Neronha Statement
“It is difficult to comment on the specific merits of Representative Morgan’s request without seeing either the documentation she filed with the Office of Attorney General and/or Attorney General Kilmartin’s written response. As a general matter, I fully support government transparency and, if elected, would ensure that the Office of Attorney General, as well as all other state government agencies, comply with the requirements of the Access to Public Records Act. Further, access to public records should not be cost prohibitive. Perhaps we should consider legislative changes to minimize the financial barriers while still providing adequate resources to public agencies responsible for responding to these records requests.
With regard to the appropriateness of any expenditures of the monies forfeited from Google, the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section of the United States Department of Justice is responsible for the review and approval of each and every one of those transactions. I have full confidence that the career employees of the Department of Justice will effectively carry out those oversight responsibilities.”
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