Caesar, Chris v. Department of Public Health - Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Recertification (SPR 20140149)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 2, 2014 SPR14/149 Ms. Anne Roach Department of Public Health 250 Washington Street Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Roach: I have received the petition of Chris Caesar appealing the response of the Department of Public Health (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lO(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32~08(2). Specifically, Mr. Caesar requested copies of records related to medical marijuana dispensary applications, whether granted or denied by the Department. By email dated February 12, 2014 you provided a web link to Mr. Caesar. He replied, indicating his belief that your response was unsatisfactory. My office has made several attempts to contact your office regarding this issue, all of which have gone unanswered and unattended. As of the date of this Determination the Department has not met its burden under the Public · Records Law in responding to this records request. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. The Department is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The ten-day provision is a maximum, rather than a minimum, time frame for complying with a public records request. The Public Records Law states that "the burden shall be upon the custodian to prove with specificity the exemption which applies." G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) (emphasis added). See Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995). The Department is advised that to comply with the Public Records Law and its Regulations it must provide specificity with respect to any denial of access to public records. This requires a records OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Anne Roach SPR14/149 Page Two May 2, 2014 custodian to not only cite an exemption, but to specifically explain the applicability of the exemption to the requested records. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofthis order, to provide Mr. Caesar with the requested records, or provide to this office, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. If the Department is planning to charge for the cost of complying with this public records request, Mr. Caesar must be provided with a detailed written, good faith estimate on each particular request. Once the Department receives the estimate funds, the records must be provided. Failure to comply with this administrative order may result in the filing of a complaint for enforcement in the Superior Court by Mr. Caesar. Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Chris Caesar