Deborah L. Nicholson v. Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority (SPR 20160799)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 18, 2016 SPR16/799 Ms. Felicity Hardee, Esq. 1500 Main Street, Suite 2010 P.O. Box 15531 Springfield, MA 01115 Dear Attorney Hardee: I have received the petition of Deborah Nicholson appealing the response of the Franklin County Regional Housing Redevelopment Authority (Authority) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Nicholson requested non redacted copies of documents you previously provided. You denied her requests claiming that the redacted portions of the responsive records are exempt under Exemption (c) of the ______ MassachusettsJ~ublic_Records_Law~G.-L.-c.-A,-§-7--q6~-~c}.-------------------------------------- The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (Court) held that "welfare payments" constitute an intimate detail of a highly personal nature Real Prop. Dep't of Boston, 380 Mass. 623, 626 n.2, (1980). Residing in subsidized housing constitutes an intimate detail of a highly personal nature because, like the receipt of welfare payments, living in subsidized housing is a form of government assistance. The insignificant public interest in the release of information indicating the identities of individuals eligible for, or residing in, subsidized housing units does not outweigh the considerable privacy interest concerning these intimate details of a highly personal nature. I find the Authority acted properly in redacting portions of the responsive records. As such, I decline to opine upon the Authority's other exemption claims. If any party is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court ofthe Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). ryr~ cc: Ms. Deborah Nicholson OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre