Peter M. Martell v. Dukes County Regional Housing Authority (SPR 20160869)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary ofthe Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 21, 2016 SPR16/869 Daniel J. Finn, Esq. 13 9 Oak Hill A venue Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860 Dear Attorney Finn: I have received the petition of Peter Martell appealing the nonresponse of the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority (Authority) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Martell requested "a listing of names and addresses of all residents that have applied for affordable housing from Oak Bluffs." This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR 16/611 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 12, 2016). In compliance with the findings in SPR16/611, you provided Mr. Martell with a revised response dated August 8, 2016. Mr. Martell appealed. Right ofA ccess Please note that the personal status Mr. Martell as a member of the Oak Bluffs Affordable Housing Committee does not afford him 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. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Current appeal In its August 8 letter, the Authority indicated its intent to withhold the records pursuant to the second clause ofExemption (c) ofthe Public Records Law. Exemption (c) applies to: personnel and medical files or information; also any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy G. L. c. 4, §7 (26) One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Daniel J. Finn, Esq. SPR16/869 Page2 October 21, 2016 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 withholding the names and addresses of applicants for housing assistance pursuant to the second clause of Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. cc: Mr. Peter M. Martell