The Right to Know Law
New Hampshire’s Right to Know Law, RSA Chapter 91-A, states: “Openness in the conduct of public business is essential to a democratic society. The purpose of this chapter is to ensure both the greatest possible public access to the actions, discussion and records of all public bodies, and their accountability to the people.” RSA 91-A:1.
The Right to Know Law affects every aspect of local government in our state. Every board, committee, commission and subcommittee in every town, city and village district in New Hampshire must comply with this law. As a result, every local official and employee should be aware of the law and what their responsibilities are regarding both public meetings and governmental records.
The full text of the law is available at the General Court website and accessed via the following link: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-VI-91-A.htm.
Resources
LGC has created a flow chart that can be used to determine whether a gathering is a “meeting” subject to the law. Is it a Meeting? (PDF)
LGC has developed three reference posters to serve as reminders of the Right to Know Law:
Public Meetings (PDF) (published April 2008)
The basic rule is that all meetings of a public body must be open to the public and require public notice. Minutes must be kept and be made available to the public upon request within five business days after the meeting. Public bodies may only enter a nonpublic session for specific reasons listed in the law, and must keep minutes of those sessions as well.
Governmental Records (PDF) (published April 2008)
The basic rule is that governmental records must be made available for public inspection and copying upon reasonable request. The government must respond to requests within five business days. Certain records are exempt from disclosure, but New Hampshire courts generally assume everything is available to the public unless the governmental agency proves otherwise.
Electronic Communications (PDF) (published August 2008)
Under amendments that became effective in 2008, public bodies may not conduct official business via email. Municipal websites may be used as one of the two places for publicly posting notice of meetings. Electronic records must be made available to the public upon request and must be kept for the same length of time as a paper counterpart. Electronic records are considered “deleted” (and no longer available to the public) when they have been “initially and legally deleted” so that they are no longer readily accessible to the public body itself. This means (a) the record wasn’t required to be retained any longer, and (b) it has been deleted and the “trash” or “recycle bin” folder has also been emptied.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has published (and updated in 2009) a comprehensive memorandum regarding the Right to Know Law. For the full text of the memorandum, follow this link: http://doj.nh.gov/publications/documents/right_to_know.pdf
The resources on this page are intended to provide information for all public employees and officials about the Right to Know Law and proposed or recently-enacted changes to the law. The information provided is not intended to be legal advice, but is provided as a convenient reference.
For answers to legal questions, local officials should consult their municipal attorney or contact our Legal Services attorneys. LGC Legal Services attorneys are available to answer inquiries and provide general legal assistance to elected and appointed officials from member towns, cities and village districts. Attorneys are available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 800.852.3358, ext. 384, or by e-mail at legalinquiries@nhlgc.org.
