From the Union Leader:
State Supreme Court rules public has right to electronic government information
By DAVE SOLOMON
April 19th, 2016 New Hampshire Union Leader
CONCORD — The public has a right to government records in electronic format when seeking information under the state’s Right-to-Know law, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday.
The case stems from an appeal by Donna Green of Sandown, who has represented that town on the Timberlane Regional School Board since 2014, and had to sue the school district to gain access to salary information in electronic format.
Green, who often has been at odds with other board members and school administrators, was censured by the board in 2014 for content she posted in a blog about the school district.
In early 2015, Green requested district budget documents from SAU 55, which serves Atkinson, Sandown, Plaistow and Danville.
SAU administrators responded that the documents were available for inspection at the SAU office.
Green asked that spreadsheets in digital format be provided by email, citing the state’s Right-to-Know law, and was refused.
She sued in Superior Court, where Judge David Anderson sided with the district, noting that the Right-to-Know law gives public officials a choice of whether to produce the documents in electronic or conventional format.