Nicholson, Deborah v. Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority (SPR 20140537)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 20, 2014 SPR14/537 Ms. Robin Sherman Executive Director Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority 42 Canal Road Turners Falls, MA 01376 Dear Ms. Sherman: I have received the petition of Deborah Nicholson appealing the nomesponse of the Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority (Authority) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Nicholson requested copies of records regarding a specifically identified person. Having received no response, Ms. Nicholson petitioned this office. 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 Authority is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. In an email to a member of my staff you explained that Ms. Nicholson requested records regarding a person who may be subject to a governmental benefit. You further explained that in her request Ms. Nicholson sought to obtain these records on behalf ofthat person. Please note that the personal status of a person requesting records does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requesters. Access to a record requested pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requester. See Bougas v. ChiefofPolice ofLexington, 371 Mass. 59,64 (1976). OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Robin Sherman SPR14/537 Page Two October 20, 2014 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 also 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 Authority must respond in writing to a request for public records. The Authority is further advised that to comply with the Public Records Law and Regulations it must provide specificity with respect to any denial of access to public records. This requires a records custodian to not only cite an exemption, but to specifically explain the applicability of the exemption to the requested records. Accordingly, the Authority is hereby ordered to respond in writing within ten (1 0) days to Ms. Nicholson's request for public records. This written response must be provided in a manner consistent with this written determination and the Public Records Law. This administrative appeal is now closed. cc: Ms. Deborah Nicholson