Groob, Jay v. Department of Public Health - Division of Health Care Facility Licensure and Recertification (SPR 20140318)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords July 23, 2014 SPR14/318 Ms. Katharine I. Doyle, Esq. Deputy General Counsel Department of Public Health 99 Chauncy Street, 11th Floor Boston, MA 02111 Dear Attorney Doyle: I have received the petition of Jay L. Groob, Managing Director, American Investigative Services appealing the response ofthe Department of Public Health (Department) to his March 27, 2014 request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Groob requested copies of records related to the application process, including "complete un-redacted answers to questions 7.5, 7.7, 7.15, 7.16 and 7.17, together with the scores from theses subsections for certain applicants who were granted provisional Registered Marijuana Dispensary approval or invited to relocate." In the days that followed Mr. Groob and the Department engaged in regular written contact; however no formal response to the request was provided. In an email dated June 4th a member of my staff contacted the Department seeking information on when Mr. Groob could expect a response. A response was ultimately provided by letter from you dated June 30, 2014. 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 responses by the Department to Mr. Groob's correspondence were timely, but the final response by the Department detailing the status of the records was not provided until June 30, 2014, more than ninety (90) days after Mr. Groob's March 27, 2014 request. 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. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Katharine I. Doyle, Esq. SPR14/318 Page Two July 23, 2014 Exemption (n) In your June 30, 2014letter you denied Mr. Groob's request pursuant to Exemption (n) of the Public Records Law. Exemption (n) permits the withholding of: records including, but not limited to, blue prints, plans, policies, procedures and schematic drawings, which relate to internal layout and structural elements, security measures, emergency preparedness, threat or vulnerability assessments, or any other records relating to the security or safety of persons, buildings, structures, facilities, utilities, transportation or other infrastructure located within the commonwealth, the disclosure of which, in the reasonable judgment of the custodian, subject to review by the supervisor of public records under subsection (b) of section 10 of chapter 66, is likely to jeopardize public safety G. L. c. 4 § 7(26)(n) In your response, you stated that the information withheld from disclosure relates to internal security operations with respect to applicants, including information specific to the waste disposal of excess or damaged marijuana, emergency preparedness procedures, employee security policies, and incident management programs. You further contend that disclosure of responsive information would jeopardize the safety and security ofthese facilities as well as the general public. I find that the Department has met its burden of specificity to justify withholding the responsive records pursuant to Exemption (n) of the Public Record Law. Whereas the Department may permissibly withhold the responsive information pursuant to Exemption (n), this administrative appeal is now closed. Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Jay L. Groob Mr. Mark Waterbury, Esq.