Andrew McIsaac v. Abington, Town of - Fire Department (SPR 20161198)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor of Records December 19, 2016 SPR16/1198 Chief John Nuttall Abington Fire Department 1 040 Bedford Street Abington, MA 02351 Dear ChiefNuttall: I have received the petition of Andrew Mcisaac appealing the response of the Town of Abington Fire Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Mcisaac requested a copy of "all ambulance trip reports generated on October 30, 2016." In an email dated December 16, 2016, the Department informed Mr. Mcisaac that "ambulance reports are covered under HIPPA [sic.], and are not released without the written consent of any or all patients involved." Mr. Mcissac appealed the Department's response. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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 burden 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. 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 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

Chief John Nuttall SPR16/1198 Page 2 December 19, 2016 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 telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Conclusion I understand a member of my staff contacted your office about this matter. You indicated the Department would provide Mr. Mcisaac with a supplemental response regarding this matter. Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that the Department provide Mr. Mcisaac with a supplemental response to his request. Mr. Mcisaac may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R 32.08(2). 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. cc: Mr. Andrew Mcisaac