In almost every occurrence of APRA request I’ve ever sent to CCRI, the option to take an additional 20 days has been invoked and referenced in the initial response letter. Example:

“Due to the number of requests for records pending and the difficulty in searching for and retrieving the requested records (this request is open-ended in scope and is requesting records from two separate entities, and as per the precautions being taken by the College due to the COVID-19 pandemic, College staff are working remotely), the College, pursuant to the Rhode Island Access to Public Records Act (“APRA”), R.I. Gen. Laws §38-2-3(e) and §38-2-7(b), for good cause hereby extends the time-limit for response to the full thirty (30) business days from the date of receipt of your request (July 22, 2020). The Office will, at that time, notify you of any requested non-exempt records that are presently in its possession, and provide you with an estimate of the copying, retrieval, and redaction costs, if any, involved in your request.

Please also be advised that nothing in this letter represents a determination that responsive records will be found in response to your July 21, 2020 request, or that if found, responsive records are public records under the APRA”

The COVID-19 piece was added during the pandemic as an additional excuse. The behavior pre-dates the pandemic. I decided to take another read through the law, specifically §38-2-3(e) and §38-2-7(b). As it turns out, taking the additional 20 days is only allowed in order to comply with the request. It is not permissible to request an additional 20 days only to deny access.

The really silly part about all of this is that CCRI has full-time counsel and at least one JD in the administration but they always seem to get APRA wrong in one way or another (someone really needs to teach them what “working papers” are). Meanwhile, when I make APRA requests of places like Rhode Island College, the responses are delivered in fewer than 10 days without any legal involvement.

In any case, the final sentence in the 20 day extension responses should read more like the following:

“Please be advised that this letter represents a determination that responsive records will be / have been found in response to your request and that responsive records are public records under the APRA.”