The Complainant alleged that the Town violated the APRA when it withheld requested documents. During the pendency of this matter, the Town offered to produce the requested documents but conditioned access upon pre-payment. Rhode Island General Laws § 38-2-7(b) provides, in relevant part, that "[a]ll copying and search and retrieval fees shall be waived if a public body fails to produce requested records in a timely manner." Since the Town no longer challenges the denial, and because the Town did not produce the requested records in a timely manner, we found that the Town violated R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-7(b). Consistent with this finding and with the APRA, this Department directed the Town to produce the requested documents within ten (10) business days of this finding.
