William McDonagh v. Suffolk County Sheriff's Department (SPR 20180062)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division

Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

January 23, 2018 SPR18/062

Suzanne Travis Suffolk County Sheriff's Department 200 Nashua Street

Boston, MA 02114

Dear Ms. Travis:

I have received your petition on behalf of the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested 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 Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requester on January 16, 2018.

Specifically, Mr. William McDonagh requested “a copy of the last 10 years of any reports made during the inspection of the facility, Nashua Street Jail, located at 200 Nashua St., Boston, MA, 02114, by the Department of Corrections and the NCCHC.” The Department requests additional time to produce records as the documents are voluminous and require review and potential redaction of exempt information. The Department did not specify how much additional time is required to respond to Mr. McDonagh.

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 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;

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

Suzanne Travis SPR18/062 Page 2 : January 23, 2018

(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.

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 (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt ofa request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36. D6).

Conclusion

The request was received by the Department on December 11, 2017. The Department’s petition request was submitted on January16, 2018. I find the Department has not demonstrated that its petition was submitted within ten business days after receipt of the determination as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c) (“a records access officer may, as soon as practical and within 20 business days after initial receipt of the request, or within 10 business days after receipt of a determination by the supervisor of records that the requested record constitutes a public record, petition the supervisor of records for an extension of the time for the agency or municipality to furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion of the requested record, that the agency or municipality has within its possession, custody or control and intends to furnish”). Accordingly, the Department is hereby ordered to furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion thereof, to Mr. McDonagh without delay.

The records must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Mr. McDonagh may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Sincerely,

Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

cc: William McDonagh