Patricia Morgan: 18 Who Made a Difference in 2018

Saturday, December 29, 2018

GoLocalProv News Team

 

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The outgoing House Minority Leader and 2018 Republican gubernatorial candidate has fought many battles during her political tenure to date — and while Morgan did not prevail this year’s Rhode Island Governor’s race, her constant efforts to make government accountable have placed her on 18 Who Made a Difference in 2018. 

Morgan announced in September that her findings from her initial Access to Public Records Request (APRA) into how Attorney General Peter Kilmartin's office 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.   

Morgan then continued the fight in Superior Court to challenge Kilmartin’s handling of her regarding the money from the Google settlement.

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“The AG’s office has consistently thwarted Leader Morgan’s attempts and this week erected another barrier.  The Attorney General's office wrote on Monday, September 17, that they had consumed the original $3750 that Morgan had paid to the office for documents and are now requesting between $4000 to $8000 in additional payments," said Morgan's office.

After a public — and protracted battle, which saw elected officials from Kilmartin’s own party criticize his handling of the matter  — and the RI ACLU take Republican Morgan’s side — Morgan scored a partial victory in October.

In an important victory for open government, R.I. Superior Court Judge Melissa Long on October 15 ruled that the Attorney General must waive fees for any additional documents that are delivered as part of state Representative Patricia Morgan’s request for information on how the AG’s Office spent more than $50M in Google settlement funds. Citing an inherent public interest in the records, Judge Long also rejected the AG’s argument that records requestors should have to prove financial hardship in order to have fees waived.
 
The judge’s decision was not a total victory, however, The ACLU brief had also asked the court to reject the basis offered by the AG for many redactions in the documents that have already been given to Morgan, but Judge Long, ruling from the bench, allowed those redactions to stand.
 

 

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