Colman Herman v. Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (SPR 20180187)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray , Supervisor of Records February 2 1,201 8 SPR181187 Theresa A. Lepore Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance One Ashburton Place, 15 thF loor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Lepore: I have received your petition on behalf of the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance (Division) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, Cj 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Division furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor on January 16, 2018. Specifically, on November 2, 2017, Mr. Herman requested to set up time to view any and all documents related to the Division's efforts to get yacht and boat clubs to sign leases pursuant to Chapter 65 of the Acts of 2010. This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR1711559 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 16,201 7); SPR17116 18 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 22, 2017); SPR1711667 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 11 , 20 17); SPR1711702 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 2 1, 20 17); SPR18154 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 26,201 8). I closed SPR1711702 with an order that the Division provide Mr. Herman with a response to the request, explaining whether it possesses or was once in possession of the requested records and its justification under the Public Records Law and the Records Retention Schedule for destroying the records within 10 business days. 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; 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

Theresa A. Lepore Page 2 February 2 1,201 8 (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. 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 of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition The Division in their February 12"' petition requests additional time of "5 business days to respond to this appeal to allow for additional search of records files and administrative review." Mr. Herman responded to the Division's petition the same day stating the Supervisor "ordered DCAMM to respond within ten business days, i.e., by February 9,2018. Three days after the deadline." In a February 15, 201 8 email, the Division indicated it "requires the extra time in order to complete an expanded search for multiple files and databases for multiple employees over a period of several years of time. The requestor described records that do not exist and we are double checking all sources for potential information." However, it is unclear if the requested records do not exist why the additional time is required to perform this search. Further, the Division has not indicated whether redactions would be necessary or described the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency to produce the request without the extension. Consequently, the Division has not sufficiently supported its request for an extension of time to produce a response. Conclusion Based on the information provided in the February 12'~pe tition and subsequent February 15 the mail, the Division has not shown good cause to be granted a single extension of five (5) business days to respond to the order in SPR18154. G. L. c. 66, tj 10(c). Accordingly, the Division must produce a response to the request without delay.

Theresa A. Lepore Page 3 February 21,2018 Sincerely, Rebecca S . Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Colman Herman