Tony Gaskins v. Department of Correction - Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (SPR 20171226)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 19,2017 SPR17/1226 Steven Silva Superintendent Department of Correction Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center P.O. Box 8000 Shirley, MA 01464 Dear Superintendent Silva: I have received the petition of Tony Gaskins appealing the response of the Department of Correction- Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Gaskins requested a copy of all invoices of food purchased for the prison population and Culinary Arts program from January 1, 2017 to June 27, 2017. The Department provided a fee estimate for $141.50 for search, retrieval, redaction and copies. Mr. Gaskins has appealed the estimate concerning the number of hours assessed for search, retrieval and redaction of the invoices. Fee estimates An agency may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10 (d ). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.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 part 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). 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

Steven Silva SPR17/1226 Page 2 September 19,2017 The Department's estimate The Department's August 22nd estimate assesses 9 hours of search,retrieval and redaction at $25 per hour. The Department initially assessed 13 hours to search for, retrieve and redact the invoices requested. It is my understanding from a review of the estimate that the Department has not charged Mr. Gaskins for the first 4 hours of time. The Department has also assessed a charge for copying 340 pages of invoices at $.05 cents per page, stating that the first 10 pages were without charge. Consequently, the Department's total estimate is $141.50. Mr. Gaskins appealsthe 9 hours of time assessed for search, retrieval and redaction, and asks that the Department provide the records without any costs. The Department has not explained why 9 hours is necessary to search for, redact and copy those invoices and has not broken-down the estimate to show how many of those hours are necessary for each task. In addition, it is unclear whether the Department has assessed the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee who has the necessary skill to complete each of the tasks listed in its August 22nd estimate. The Department is also reminded that a records custodian may not assess a fee for 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). Therefore, I find that the Department has not met its burden of providing a detailed written, good faith estimate. Order Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Gaskins with a subsequent response to the request which details its fee estimate, 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: Tony Gaskins