Kade Crockford v. Department of State Police - Commonwealth Fusion Center (SPR 20170425)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords January 31, 20 17 Jason R. Stelmat Privacy Officer Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Fusion Center 124 Acton Street Maynard, MA 01754 Dear Mr. Stelmat: I have received your petition on behalf of the Department of State Police (Department) seeking an extension oftimeto furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Department provided a copy ofthis petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Specifically, Kade Crockford ofthe ACLU requested seven (7) categories of records related to "facial recognition technology." Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c) 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

Jason R. Stelmat Page 2 January 31,2017 If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In your petition dated January 27, 2017 you explain "the Department is requesting additional time of up to 5 days to respond to the above request. Additional time is needed to appropriate! y research the items requested in #6 and #7 of the attached document." You also indicate "[t]he requestor has been copied on this email and assents to this request." In an email dated January 30, 2017 Kade Crockford indicates "we consent to a five day extension." Conclusion In light of the Department's petition and Kade Crockford's January 30th email, I will not opine on the Department's petition for an extension of time to furnish responsive records. See G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b )(vi) ("the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein"). The Department is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Kade Crockford may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, l?u_~WYwA~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Kade Crockford