AG To Hold Annual Open Government Summit At RWU

Written by Erin Tiernan

The Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General will hold its annual Open Government Summit at Roger Williams University on Friday, Aug. 2. 

The summit will take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Roger Williams University School of Law on Friday, Aug. 2. It is free and open to the public; community members, public employees, elected officials and all those interested in learning more about transparency and accountability in government are encouraged to attend.

“Rhode Island has recently been recognized for its transparency and accountability in government with a number one in the nation ranking from the Better Government Association, a national watchdog group, based on categories including open meetings and freedom of information,” said state Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin. “It has been a priority of our office to educate and inform Rhode Islanders – taxpayers and public officials alike – about their rights and responsibilities under our state’s Access to Public Records Act and Open Meetings Act.”

After opening remarks by Kilmartin and Diana Hassel, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for Roger Williams University School of Law, Assistant Attorney General Michael W. Field, chief of the Open Government Unit, and Special Assistant Attorney General Lisa Pinsonneault will give a presentation explaining the statutory requirements of the state’s APRA and OMA. The presentation will include 2012/2013 case law, best practices and examples of frequent trouble areas.

The Summit will also feature a Q&A session with the Open Government Unit, where participants are encouraged to submit questions in advance or that day. The event will close with a presentation by Jason Gramitt, of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, identifying and avoiding conflicts of interest under the Code of Ethics, as well as a discussion of guidelines for filing financial disclosure forms. 

Space is limited, and individuals who would like to attend the Open Government Summit must register with the Office of Attorney General. To register, please call (401) 274-4400, ext. 2101, or email agsummit@riag.ri.gov.

To accommodate the growing interest and attendance of the Open Government Summit, Attorney General Kilmartin has partnered with ClerkBase to once again stream the presentation live through the Attorney General’s website, www.riag.ri.gov. In addition, staff from the Office of Attorney General will be live tweeting throughout the event (hashtag #OpenGovRI).

Individuals may submit questions in advance that will be answered during the Q&A portion of the Summit at agsummit@riag.ri.gov. Check-in takes place from 8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.

An agenda for the event is available on the Attorney General’s website at www.riag.ri.gov.