Heather Carito v. Massachusetts Department of Transportation (SPR 20161149)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records December 16, 2016 SPR16/1149 Neha Dhupar, Esq. Office of the General Counsel Massachusetts Department of Transportation 10 Park Plaza, Suite 3510 Boston, MA 02116 Dear Ms. Dhupar: I have received the petition of Heather Carito appealing the response of Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Department) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lO(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Carito requested a number ofrecords pertaining to "Casey Arborway improvements (and) Forest Hills Ventilation study." The Department initially responded to Ms. Carito with some records. Ms. Carito appealed, as it was not clear to her whether all responsive records were provided by the Department. It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c ); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burqen of establishing the applicability of an exemption). 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. It is my understanding that based upon communication with a member of my staff the Department intends to provide a more detailed response to Ms. Carita's request. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that the Department carefully review Ms. Carita's request and provide a revised response without delay. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send a electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. Carito may a eal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 0 C. .R. 32.08(2). cc: Ms. Heather Carito 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