Matthew Stout v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (SPR 20171632)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords November 29, 2017 SPR17/1632 Julie A. Ciollo, Esq. Assistant General Counsel MBTA Law Department 10 Park Plaza, Suite 7760 Boston, MA 02116 Dear Attorney Ciollo: I have received your petition on behalf of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBIA) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c ). As required by law, the MBTA furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. In a request dated November 6, 2017, Matt Stout requested "[c]opies of any invoices, estimates or other records detailing costs of refurbishments, including but not limited to new furniture, window treatments etc., for the MBTA's general manager's office since Aug. 15." Petitions/or 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. 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

Julie A. Ciollo, Esq. SPRl 7/1632 Page 2 November 29, 2017 G. L. c. 66, § lO(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 (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In the MBTA's petition dated November 22, 2017, you explain that the MBTA is requesting "an extension of eight business days until and including December 1, 2017" to respond to Mr. Stout's request. You assert that "[a ]s a reason for this petition, I am continuing to work with internal records custodians to determine what records may be responsive to this request." In an email dated November 28, 2017, you note the responsive documents are now in your possession and would be provided shortly. Conclusion Accordingly, I find that in light of the MBTA's November 28th email to this office relating to the MBTA' s production of records, it is unnecessary to opine on the MBTA' s petition at this time. Mr. Stout may appeal the substantive nature of the response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Matt Stout