AFP Demands UNH Comply with Right To Know Law, Provide Public Documents Over Conference with Prostitutes

MANCHESTER – Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire (AFP-NH) today filed a letter with the University of New Hampshire (UNH) demanding that the school comply with the state’s Right to Know law. 

The letter, from AFP General Counsel John Flynn, demonstrates that UNH’s response to AFP-NH’s earlier Right to Know request, which asked for details about a conference held at UNH last month that brought prostitutes from as far as California, failed to provide public records by asserting exemptions to the law that do not exist in statute.

“The very purpose of the Right to Know law is to ensure transparency and openness in public entities like UNH,” said Greg Moore, AFP-NH State Director.  “It exists expressly for the purpose of holding those who receive funding from the hard-working taxpayers accountable for their actions.  UNH failed to comply with the law at their first chance and we expect them to do so now.  The public deserves no less and AFP-NH is 100% committed to getting answers and making sure that the school follows the law in the future, whether for our organization or any other group that asks for public information.”

AFP’s letter to UNH’s counsel, Charles Putnam, lays out in detail how UNH’s assertion of exemptions for “privacy” and “student records” misinterpret state law, and how the claim of an exemption for “intellectual communications among scholars” simply exists nowhere in state law either in statute or interpretation.

“The fact that UNH would assert non-existent exceptions under the Right to Know law in order to avoid providing documentation not only is an attack on transparency and openness in government, but it also begs the question as to what information the school is hiding” added Moore.  “While it would be great if any of us could ignore state laws that inconvenience us, the very purpose of the Right to Know law is to assure the very accountability that UNH is trying to avoid by attempting to create law out of thin air.  AFP-NH will stay focused on ensuring that UNH complies with the Right to Know law and provides all documents as required by state law.”