Charles Hillman v. Department of Public Safety - Consumer Protection & Business Licensing (SPR 20160248)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords April22, 2016 SPR16/248 Ms. Theresa Lepore Records Coordinator Department of Public Safety One Ashburton Place 13th Floor, Room 1301 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Lepore: I have received the petition of Charles Hillman appealing the nomesponse of the Department of Public Safety (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Hillman requested "A copy of the audio recording of the hearing (pertaining to Building Commissioner Peterson held on November 4, 2015)." Having received no response, Mr. Hillman 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, § 1O (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. All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Subsequent to the intervention by a member of my staff, this office was notified by you that a response was provided, dated April20, 2016. Whereas this matter was opened based upon the Department's failure to provide a written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Hillman may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to 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 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

Ms. Theresa Lepore SPR16/248 Page 2 April 22, 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. lease contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for furth information. cc: Mr. Charles Hillman