Ivan Garcia v. Westfield State University (SPR 20180340)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 22,201 8 SPR181340 Tricia M. Oliver Director of Campus Communication Westfield State University 333 Western Avenue Westfield, MA 01086 Dear Ms. Oliver: I have received your petition on behalf of Westfield State University (University) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, 5 Id. 10(c). As required by law, the University furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. In a request, Ivan Garcia sought "[all1 emails with subjects including 'Pool Table', 'Moving assistance', and 'Lammers Hall', from George Michael, Lisa Ducharrne, Chris DeGray, Ken Becker and Lou Gonzales from 1" December 201 7 through February 2ot" 201 8 ." 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; (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 02 108 * (61 7) 727-2832. Fax: (617 ) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Tricia M. Oliver Page 2 March 22,20 18 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 a. obligation to provide copies of the records sought. 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 your initial petition dated March 20'20 18 you explain the University received Mr. Garcia's request for records on February 20,20 18 and is seeking an "[i]nitial5 day extension (as granted by the requestor)." You expressed that Mr. Garcia agreed to extend the fulfillment date of his February 2othp ublic records request to March 13'" However, on March 14" you provided Mr. Garcia some records responsive to his request and stated that, "[u]nfortunately, the University was closed yesterday due to inclement weather. I have been reviewing the documents (for any necessary redactions) gathered by IT based on your keywords and other parameters mentioned in your request. I am about ?4 of the way through the documents." You further stated, "I can provide the remaining documents to you in batches as I review for any necessary redactions in a rolling fashion as I complete them no later than Friday, March 30. Please let me lmow if the cost of $450 and the timeframe I suggest is agreeable to you." Based on a conversation with a member of the Public Records Division staff, it is my understanding that Mr. Garcia has not responded to the University's fee estimate and suggested timeframe. Conclusion Accordingly, I find that in light of the University's March 14'~fe e estimate, as well as its communications with this office, it is unnecessary to opine on the University's petition for an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10 (b)(vii); see also G. L. c. 66, 5 10(a)(i). Upon receiving payment or modification of the request by Mr. Garcia, the University must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If after hearing from Mr. Garcia regarding a clarification the University still requires an extension of time to comply with the request or a waiver of the statutory limits on fees, the University may file a subsequent petition. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10(c); 950 CMR 32.06(4)(g). Mr. Garcia may appeal the substantive nature of the University's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Tricia M. Oliver Page 3 March 22, 20 18 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ivan Garcia