Julie Kearney v. Massachusetts Maritime Academy (SPR 20170978)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary ofthe Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords July 24, 2017 SPR17/978 Elizabeth C. Benway Dean of Human Resources/ Equal Opportunity & Diversity Massachusetts Maritime Academy 101 Academy Drive Buzzards Bay, MA 02532 Dear Ms. Benway: I have received your petition on behalf of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Academy) seeking an extension to furnish copies of the requested public 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 Academy furnished a copy of this petition to the requester. Id. On July 7, 2017, Dr. Julie Kearney requested"[ a] copy of all emails sent from and received at" an email address ending in "@maritime.edu from June 16,2016 to October 15, 2016." 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 ofredaction 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. 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

Elizabeth Benway SPR17/978 Page 2 July 24, 2017 G. L. c. 66 § 10(c). 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 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 ). 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 m.ust provide the responsive records. Current petition In your petition you explain that the Academy is "requesting an extension of time to the ten day period in which a Public Record must be available." The Academy explains that "the records are electronic/email records and will require Gmail administrator cooperation." The Academy further explains that "[l]ocal access is limited to the past 30 days and does not contain the detail requested in the Public Records Request." Hence, "[i]t will require an IT specialist to override Gmail securities and print/save the requested emails" and "then the emails require redacting of FERPA protected information as the records are for a state university faculty member." The Academy estimates it would take "45 days" to provide "all incoming and outgoing emails spanning a three month period in 2016." In subsequent correspondence dated July 24,2017, the Academy explained to a Public Records Division staff attorney that you received a more narrowed request from Dr. Kearney and therefore will not need the 45-day extension but would require another week to produce the records. I find it unnecessary to opine on the Academy's extension request because it intends to provide responsive records within fifteen business days ofreceipt of the request as allowed in G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vi). The records must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Dr. Kearney may appeal the substantive nature of the Academy's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Elizabeth Benway SPR17/978 Page 3 July 24, 2017 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Dr. Julie Kearney