§ 42-8.1-2. Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter:
(1) "Agency� or "public body� means any executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory,
administrative body of the state or any political subdivision thereof; including,
but not limited to the leadership of the general assembly, chairperson in the house
and senate, public officials elected or appointed, and any department, division, agency,
commission, board, office, bureau, authority, any school, fire, or water district,
or other agency or quasi-public agency of state or local government that exercises
governmental functions, any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation,
or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency.
(2) "Archive� means an establishment maintained primarily for the storage, servicing,
security, and processing of records that must be preserved permanently for historical,
legal, or other value and need not be retained in office equipment and space.
(3) "Archives of the state� means those official records that have been determined by
the state archivist to have permanent value to warrant their continued preservation
by the state, and have been accepted by the state archivist for deposit in the state
archivist's custody.
(4) "Authenticated copies� means exact copies or reproductions of records or other materials
that are certified as such under seal and that need be legally accepted as evidence.
(5) "Custodian� means any authorized person having personal custody and control of the
public records in question.
(6) "Division� means the division of state archives of the department of state.
(7) "Official custodian� means and includes any officer or employee of the state or any
agency, institution, or political subdivision thereof, who is responsible for the
maintenance, care, and keeping of public records, regardless of whether such records
are in his or her actual personal custody and control.
(8) "Permanent records� means public records or records that are established in the records
retention schedule at the time of creation, which shall not be destroyed, and are
determined to have enduring, legal, or historical value to the state.
(9) "Person� means and includes any natural person, corporation, partnership, firm, or
association.
(10) "Personal paper(s)� means documents unrelated to work but maintained at a place of
work by an employee or general officers of the state government of Rhode Island.
(11) "Political subdivision� means and includes every city, town, school district, fire
district, water or sanitation district, or any other special district or other quasi-public
agency within the state.
(12) "Public record� or "public records� means public records as defined in chapter 2 of title 38, "Access to Public Records�.
(13) "Records� means all books, letters, papers, maps, photographs, tapes, films, sound
recordings, machine-readable records, or any other documentary materials, regardless
of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any governmental agency,
office, or general officer in pursuance of law or in connection with the transaction
of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by the agency or
its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions,
procedures, operations, or other activities of the government or because of the value
of the official government data contained therein. As used in this subsection, the
following are excluded from the definition of records:
(i) Materials preserved or appropriate for preservation because of the value of the data
contained therein other than that of an official government nature or because of the
historical value of the materials themselves;
(ii) Library books, pamphlets, newspapers, or museum material made, acquired, or preserved
for reference, historical, or exhibition purposes;
(iii) Private papers, manuscripts, letters, diaries, pictures, biographies, books, and maps,
including materials and collections previously owned by persons other than the state
or any political subdivision thereof;
(iv) Extra copies of publications or duplicated documents preserved for convenience of
reference; and
(v) Stocks of publications.
(14) "State archives� means the official state repository or any other repository approved
by the state archivist for long-term or permanent records.
(15) "State archivist� means the individual who coordinates, directs, and administers the
activities and responsibilities of the state archives.