Section 665-RICR-10-00-1.11 - ConstituenciesA. Public Access 1. Meetings a. Meetings of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and its committees are open to the public according to state laws affecting public proceedings and freedom of access as stated in R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 42-46-1 through 7. Prior to the adoption, amendment or appeal of any rule, the agency shall give at least twenty (20) days' notice of its intended action under the procedure outlined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-35-2.8. 2. Redress a. Any member of the general public wishing to make a presentation to the Council at a regularly scheduled meeting on matters of Council consideration, concern or arbitration, shall submit a written request to the Chair ten (10) working days prior to a regularly scheduled Council meeting which describes the facts and purpose of the presentation and identifies who will make the presentation. The Chair and the Executive Director shall reply to all such written requests prior to the meeting and if denying the request, shall clearly state the reason for such denial.3. Records a. As a public body, the records of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts shall be available for inspection as outlined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-46-7, R.I. Gen. Laws Title 36, Council rules and all other written statements of policy, final orders, decisions, opinions or interpretations formulated, adopted or used by the agency in the discharge of its functions shall be available at RISCA's office and are on file at the office of the Secretary of State. Among the exceptions are all records which are identifiable to an individual applicant as outlined in R.I. Gen. Laws § 38-2-2(4)(A)(I)(a).4. Grievances a. Procedure for Handling Grievances for Grant Applicants Not Resolved at Staff Level: (1) If an applicant can establish that the Council's procedures for awarding grants were not upheld, a letter of grievance should be sent to the Chair and RISCA's Executive Director no later than two weeks from the date on the letter of notification from the Council.(2) The Chair and staff collects all materials pertinent to the case.(3) The Chair and staff submit the letter of grievance and pertinent materials to all panelists who served on the granting panel for their review and response. Preparations are made for a meeting with the applicant.(4) The Chair and staff collate all responses prior to setting up a meeting to review and discuss the case. The meeting will include appropriate staff and board members, the Chair and Executive Director, the organization's board president and their designated board members and staff members.(5) Final recommendations will result from this meeting.(6) Every effort will be made to notify applicants within 30 days or as deemed reasonable.b. Procedure for Handling Program Grievances at the Staff Level:(1) In reviewing grievances associated with a specific program, the program directors should be certain that the designated board members serving on their advisory panel be present at the review meeting.665 R.I. Code R. 665-RICR-10-00-1.11