Senate OKs bill guaranteeing out-of-state 'media' outlets get RTK documents

Editor's note: This is one in an occasional series focusing on The Rochester Voice v. City of Rochester complaint over the city's refusal to honor digital Right to Know requests made by The Rochester Voice. The city of Rochester contends it doesn't have to comply with such requests, because Rochester Voice editor Harrison Thorp is not a New Hampshire citizen.

CONCORD - Just as House Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Lynn predicted earlier this month, the New Hampshire Senate passed House Bill 1069, which would force compliance from the City of Rochester to deliver Right to Know documents for The Rochester Voice.

The Senate passed the bill on Thursday after adding a floor amendment that would require municipal governments to deliver documents electronically if any "person" had a New Hampshire mailing address or was a member of "the media."

The House amendment inserted by Lynn changed the 91-A statute - that governs the state's Right to Know law - from "every citizen" to "any person."
Lynn said prior to Thursday's vote he wasn't sure of the exact wording the newer amendment may take, but that The Rochester Voice would be a benefactor if it goes through.

He also expressed his chagrin and disappointment that the City of Rochester was denying The Rochester Voice access to government documents, based solely on the fact that Rochester Voice editor and publisher Harrison Thorp lives in Maine.
"I don't see how they can do that," he said.

The final version of the Senate Floor Amendment states, "The public body or agency shall waive any per electronic communication charge ... if the disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor, except media requestors."

The amendment goes on to explain that, "Media requestors are organizations or individuals who publish information in accepted digital, print, or broadcast formats and to standards generally recognized by professional news organizations that do not serve primarily as a platform to promote the interest and/or opinions of a special interest group, government, individual or cause."

The award-winning Rochester Voice is a five-year member of the New Hampshire Press Association and formerly worked for recognized news organizations like the Portsmouth Herald, Portland Press Herald and Lowell Sun.

The New Hampshire House could either pass the bill as amended by the Senate or send it to a committee of conference.

Since April 2023 the City of Rochester has refused The Rochester Voice digital Right to Know requests on the basis that The Rochester Voice is domiciled in Maine.
Rochester City Attorney Terence O'Rourke argued before the Right to Know Ombudsman's Office in October and earlier this month in Strafford Superior Court that the word "citizen" currently in 91-A refers to New Hampshire citizens only, precluding The Voice from receiving both 91-A protections and digital documents.
During the city's appeal of the Ombudsman's decision to make no finding, O'Rourke argued on May 2 before Strafford Superior Court Judge Daniel E. Will that Thorp had no standing to get digital RTK documents because he lives in Maine.
"Considering that Mr. Thorp runs a news organization that covers Rochester, does that move the needle?" asked Judge Will, who reflected that he'd often seen Rochester Voice editor Harrison Thorp in his courtroom covering trials.
"No," O'Rourke replied.
Both O'Rourke and Rochester City Manager Katie Ambrose have also stated that even after The Rochester Voice incorporated in the state of New Hampshire in January, the award-winning digital daily still does not have standing to receive 91-A protections.
But O'Rourke has also declared that illegal migrants living in New Hampshire could receive digital Right to Know requests, a statement that has drawn ire from many Rochester Voice readers, which number more than 60,000.