Projo Politics Blog

Good news for Rhode Island political junkies: the state owner's manual is back.

Hot off the presses, the latest version of the bound book is a virtual gold mine of trivia about the state's elected officials --listing brief biographies, contact information and of course those glamour shots of politicians (more than a few of which were taken 10 years and 20 pounds ago).

Published every two years, the book contains contact information for the several arms of government, from the state's congressional delegation on down through the state legislature, the judiciary, the general officers, state departments and agencies and all of Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns. It also includes a list of everyone registered to lobby at the State House.

There was a moment last year when it looked as though the book was gone for good. A budget proposal would have eliminated the printed version in favor of an online-only version.

But the plan fell apart amid opposition from politicians who called it a key to open government.

Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis, whose office publishes the guide, reports that 6,400 copies were printed this year.

The manual is available to the public at the State House. Because of shipping costs, Mollis staffers say the guides can't be mailed out. But anyone interested in a copy can send a $5 check made out to the Office of Secretary of State to cover shipping costs and a copy will be mailed.

The total printing price tag was $21,438. Mollis spokesman Christopher Barnett reports that's about $8700 less than two years ago, despite a nearly 7 percent increase in the number of books printed. The savings is attributed to a reduction in size.

"We took out information that wasn't expressly related to talking with government officials. We took out the state Constitution, the U.S. Constitution and the royal charter and we posted it on our Web site," Barnett said. "There was material in the book that was icing on the cake, but we're at a point where we can't afford icing any more."
Information from the manual is also available on the secretary of state's Web site, www.sec.state.ri.us

 Tags  Rhode Island Manual secretary of state's office

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