Ethan Handwerker v. Executive Office of Health and Human Services - Department of Public Health (SPR 20160191)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 24, 2016 SPR16/191 Monica Bharel, MD, MPH Commissioner Department of Public Health Bureau of Healthc are Safety and Quality Medical Use of Marijuana Program 99 Chauncey Street, 11th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Doctor Bharel: I have received the petition of Ethan Handwerker appealing the non-response of the Department of Public Health- Bureau ofHealthcare Safety and Quality-Medical Use of Marijuana Program (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Handwerker requested a copy of the "2016 Annual Report for the Medical Marijuana Trust Fund." Having only received the Department's March 10, 2016 email acknowledgment of his request with no further response, Mr. Handwerker petitioned this office. The Department has failed to meet its burden in providing a proper response to a request for public records. 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 ofthe request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The ten-day provision is a maximum, rather than a minimum, time frame for complying with a public records request. 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. Furthermore, Mr. Handwerker should be advised when the Department is expected to provide Mr. Handwerker with the annual report. I find the Department has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Handwerker with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Department maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (1 0) days provide to Mr. Handwerker a written explanation, with specificity, OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Dr. Monica Bharel SPR16/191 Page2 March 24, 2016 how a particular exemption applies to each record. To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec. state.ma. us. If there are any fees associated with this response a detailed written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($1 0. 00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once the fees are paid, you must provide the responsive record. To assist the Department in responding to requests for public records I advise a review of our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys and other members of my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. 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 telepho urn er provided in this determination for further information. cc: Mr. Ethan Handwerker