James Turcotte v. Department of Public Safety (SPR 20170457)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 11, 2017 SPR17/457 Stephen Carly, Esq. Department of Public Safety One Ashburton Place, Room 1301 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Carly: I have received the petition of Jim Turcotte appealing the response of the Department of Public Safety (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Turcotte requested all current and archived email correspondence "to and from," including attachments, within an identified individual's state email account. You responded to his request stating that pursuant to Article LXXXVII of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution and House Bill 68, on March 27, 2017, the Department of Public Safety was relocated and renamed as the Office of Public Safety and Inspections within the Division of Professional Licensure, and its fire-related fonctions were transferred to the Department of Fire Services. You then instructed Mr. Turcotte to seek the requested records from the proper agency, the Department of Fire Services. You informed Mr. Turcotte that you forwarded his request to that agency. 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, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(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, § 1O (b )(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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 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

Stephen Carley, Esq. SPRl 7/457 Page2 April 11, 2017 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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. Public Records Division attorneys are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, Public Records Division staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact the Public Records Division directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Determination In a telephone conversation with a member of the Public Records Division staff, you confirmed your response to Mr. Turcotte and stated that the Department of Fire Services was in possession of Mr. Turcotte's request and was processing it. I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jim Turcotte