Todd Wallack v. Sex Offender Registry Board (SPR 20170013)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords January 9, 2016 SPR17/013 William H. Burke, Esq. General Counsel Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Sex Offender Registry Board P.O. Box 4547 Salem, MA 01970 Dear Attorney Burke: I have received the petition of Todd Wallack of The Boston Globe appealing the response of the Sex Offender Registry Board's (Board) response to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Wallack requested a "current electronic list of Level 2 and Level 3 Sex offenders, including all the information in the database that is available to the public (such as the name, date of birth and address)." The Board has declined to provide the records in the requested format. Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR16/190 Determination ofthe Supervisor of Records (March 24, 2016); SPR16/257 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April27, 2016; July 19, 2016); SPR16/653 Determination ofthe Supervisor of Records (September 16, 2016); SPR16/813 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 18, 2016); SPR16/1187 Determination ofthe Supervisor ofRecords (December 20, 2016). Current appeal In emails to this office dated December 14, 2016 and December 21, 2016, Mr. Wallack indicates he seeks further action with respect to this matter; in particular, he addresses the applicability of G. L. c. 6, § 178D to the records he requested. In light of Mr. Wallack's petitions, I find the Board must explain, with specificity, how its position is consistent with the provisions of G. L. c. 6, § 178D. In addition, it must explain how the requirements of G. L. c. 6, § 178J(a)(4 ) pertain to the accessibility of the records Mr. Wallack seeks. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 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

William H. Burke, Esq. SPR17/013 Page 2 January 9, 2016 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). I understand an attorney on my staff contacted you and provided a copy of Mr. Wallack's petitions. You indicated the Board would provide a supplemental response to Mr. Wallack. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed with the proviso that the Board provide Mr. Wallack with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofRecords cc: Todd Wallack