by Kendra Gravelle
Narragansett Times

PROVIDENCE—Legislation to protect scientists and academic researchers from being required to disclose early research through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) data requests has officially been signed into law.

Gov. Gina Raimondo signed the legislation Tuesday, after the House passed a bill by a 58-6 vote in January and the Senate unanimously passed a companion bill earlier this month. The bill was introduced to the House by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee (South Kingstown, Narragansett) and was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski (South Kingstown, New Shoreham)…

Ley and Walsh also each referenced a case at the University of Arizona, where climatology professors Malcolm Hughes and Jonathan Overpeck had been required to sift through 13 years worth of emails—over 100,000 pages—after a court ruled they would have to comply with a FOIA request. The request had been made by Energy and Environment Legal Institute, an organization which has questioned the research behind climate change.

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