Butler, Deborah v. Framingham, Town of - Veterans Benefits and Services (SPR 20150926)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords January 14,2016 SPRlS/926 Mr. Christopher L. Brown, Esq. Petrini & Associates, P.C. 3 72 Union A venue Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Attorney Brown: I have received the petition of Deborah Butler appealing the response of the Town of Framingham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Butler requested copies of meeting notes. In response the Town assessed a fee estimate, including $.50 for computer print out pages. Ms. Butler appealed the $.50 fee. A custodian of records may assess a reasonable fee for complying with a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2). Absent specific statutory authority to the contrary, the fees to be charged for complying with requests for public records are established by the Public Records Access Regulations (Regulations). See 950 C.M.R. 32.06. Under the Regulations, a custodian of records may assess a maximum fee of twenty cents ($.20) per page for a photocopy of a public record and fifty cents ($.50) per page for a computer print out of a public record. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(a). The Town's estimate did not explicitly state the reason for the $.50 per page fee for the responsive record; it did not explain that the record was unavailable in paper form. In your January 5, 2016 letter you confirmed that the responsive record exists only in computer format and must be printed out. The Town is permitted to assess a fee of $.50 per page for a computer print out. To assist the Town in responding to requests for public records I have enclosed a copy of our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is also available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. Christopher L. Brown, Esq. SPR15/926 Page 2 January 14, 2016 In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for furt er information. urs, illiams Enclosure cc: Ms. Deborah Butler