PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Gov. Dan McKee on Thursday ordered the R.I. Department of Transportation to refund Rhode Island news outlets hundreds of dollars it charged them to obtain public records related to the abrupt closure of the Washington Bridge.
“After reviewing complaints about inconsistent charging for APRA requests in this specific case, the governor has directed RIDOT to refund those outlets that were charged differing amounts for similar document requests this week,” RIDOT spokesperson Charles St. Martin said in a statement.
The governor’s directive came two days after RIDOT released hundreds of pages of emails to comply with separate Access to Public Records Act (APRA) requests filed by WPRI 12, The Providence Journal and The Boston Globe to obtain internal communications related to the bridge’s closure on Dec. 11.
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Under the law, state agencies are allowed to charge $15 an hour for the cost of complying with APRA requests. RIDOT charged $300 to WPRI 12 for the material and $450 to The Journal, while charging The Globe nothing.