Attorney General Department of Justice

"On July 15, 2009, the Attorney General’s Office updated its Memorandum on New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know law, RSA Chapter 91-A. This Memorandum describes the law and the judicial decisions that further define and explain the peoples’ right to know.

The purpose of this Memorandum is to provide guidance in complying with Revised Statutes Annotated (“RSA”) chapter 91-A to State and local officials, the public and the media. While enforcement of the Right-to-Know law is assigned to the superior court, the Attorney General’s Office will continue to promote the public’s understanding of the Right-to-Know law and compliance by public officials with the Right-to-Know law.

In 2008 and 2009, the New Hampshire Legislature amended the Right-to-Know law to clarify how it applies to governmental records in electronic form, electronic communications used to transact governmental business, and the duty to preserve electronic records. The amendments provide new definitions and set forth how the Right-to-Know law applies to public bodies versus public agencies. This Office has updated our Right-to-Know law Memorandum to reflect these amendments to the law and recent court decisions.

In an effort to enhance the usefulness of this Memorandum, the appendix now includes sample motions for use by public bodies when the members want to go into nonpublic session, seal non-public minutes, or adjourn to consult with legal counsel. It also includes a sample index for use when a person has requested documents that are exempt from disclosure or contain confidential information. The index can be used to inform the requestor of which documents have been withheld and the reason for their nondisclosure.

For those interested in municipal government records, the statute that establishes the retention period for municipal records is provided. Finally, the appendix includes a list of statutes, rules, and court cases that designate certain information as confidential or privileged."
 
The document is 127 pages long - so we suggest you look through it for any questions you might have -
 
http://doj.nh.gov/publications/documents/right_to_know.pdf
 
The two items below are subject matters that have been asked recently regarding the public's right-to-know.
 
2. Basic Meeting Requirements

a. No meeting shall be conducted by electronic mail or any other form of communication that does not permit the public to hear, read, or otherwise discern the meeting discussion contemporaneously at the meeting location specified in the meeting notice. RSA 91-A:2, III(c).
 
c. Any person shall be permitted to use recording devices including, but not limited to, tape recorders, cameras, and videotape equipment at such meetings. RSA 91-A:2, II;