Rhode Island § 38-3-7 § 38-3-7. Duties and responsibilities of agencies.

Rhode Island Statutes

§ 38-3-7 — § 38-3-7. Duties and responsibilities of agencies.

Rhode Island § 38-3-7

Title 38Public Records

Ch. 38-3Public Records Administration

This text of Rhode Island § 38-3-7 (§ 38-3-7. Duties and responsibilities of agencies.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-3-7 (2026).

Text

§ 38-3-7. Duties and responsibilities of agencies.
It shall be the duty of each agency to:
(1) Cooperate with the program in complying with the provisions of this chapter;
         
(2) Establish and maintain active and continuous procedure for the economical and efficient
            management of public records, including, but not limited to, working with the administrator
            to create and update records control schedules and transfer permanent records to the
            state archives;
         
(3) Transfer records, or any reasonably segregable portion thereof not including personal
         

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

§ 38-3-7. Duties and responsibilities of agencies.

It shall be the duty of each agency to:

(1) Cooperate with the program in complying with the provisions of this chapter;

(2) Establish and maintain active and continuous procedure for the economical and efficient management of public records, including, but not limited to, working with the administrator to create and update records control schedules and transfer permanent records to the state archives;

(3) Transfer records, or any reasonably segregable portion thereof not including personal papers deemed not public pursuant to § 42-8.1-2(11), created or received by general officers, immediate staff, or a unit or individual of the executive office whose function is to advise and assist general officers, in the course of conducting activities which relate to or have an effect upon the carrying out of the constitutional, statutory, or other official duties carried out on behalf of the state. Such materials shall be transferred at the end of the elected official's final term within thirty (30) days of leaving such office;

(4) Submit a certification of records destruction for approval by the program for each public record the agency seeks to destroy once it has met its approved minimum retention period. The certification of records destruction shall be the permanent replacement for duly approved destroyed public records; and

(5) Not later than January 1, 2026, designate a records officer who has responsibility for compliance with this chapter and has been provided orientation and training by the public records administration regarding this chapter. The records officer:

(i) Shall establish and operate a records management program for the agency in cooperation with the public records administration and state archives;

(ii) May delegate responsibilities to an individual within the agency at the records officer's discretion;

(iii) Annually confirm the accuracy of the agency's records control schedule and request amendments if necessary;

(iv) Annually submit for approval of destruction of records that have met minimum retention periods based on the records control schedule; and

(v) May also serve as the agency forms management representative as required by § 42-84-5.