Aliana Brodmann E. von Richthofen v. Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (SPR 20170950)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords July 24, 2017 SPR17/950 Myrna Solod Clerk of the Commission· Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination One Ashb urton Place, Rm 601 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Solod: I have received the petition of Aliana Brodmann E. von Richthofen appealing the nonresponse of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (Commission) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Ms. von Richthofen requested records pertaining to an identified matter. Having received no response to her request for public records, Ms. von Richthofen petitioned this office. 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, § 10A(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 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted pmiion of the responsive record. 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

Myrna Solod SPR17/950 Page 2 July 24, 2017 Fee estimates An agency may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Agencies may not assess a fee for the first four (4 ) hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( d)(ii). Where appropriate, agencies may include as pmi of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ii); 950 CMR 32.06(4 ). Please be advised, an agency RAO shall not charge a fee for the provision of a public record unless the RAO responded to the requester within ten (1 0) business days under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2)(c). Order This office has emailed you a copy of the file and also mailed you a letter acknowledging the opening of this appeal. Accordingly, the Commission is hereby ordered to provide Ms. von Richthofen with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (1 0) business days. 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 of Records cc: Aliana Brodmann E. von Richthofen