Michael Plaisance v. Holyoke, City of - Police Department (SPR 20170454)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth . Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 3, 2017 Officer Caron L. Porter Holyoke Police Department 13 8 Appleton Street Holyoke, MA 01040-5706 Dear Officer Porter: I have received your petition on behalf of the Holyoke Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of requested records, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4 ). Specifically, Mike Plaisance of The Republican requested reports and communications between Holyoke officials and municipal employees related to the investigation of a particular Department employee from March 25, 2015 to February 17, 2017. 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 § IO(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

Officer Caron L. Porter Page 2 April 3, 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 requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In your petition dated March 27, 2017, you indicate the Department is requesting an extension of 10 days to respond to a Mr. Plaisance's request because of the "scope of the records requested is extensive and burdensome." You explain the Department received the request on March 16, 2017. I understand the Department is working to make the records available to Mr. Plaisance without delay. Conclusion Accordingly, I will not opine on the Department's petition for an extension of time to furnish responsive records. The Department must provide the records within 25 business days of the receipt of the request in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. See G. L. c. 66 § lO(b)(vi) (a municipality may provide a timeframe not to exceed 25 business days to produce responsive records). The Department is advised that it must submit another petition for an extension of time if it cannot provide responsive records within 25 business days of the receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). Mr. Plaisance may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mike Plaisance