Ramzi Ebbini v. Gloucester, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20180360)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 21, 2018 SPRlS/360 Joanne Senos City of Gloucester 9 Dale Ave. Gloucester, MA 01930 Dear Joanne Senos: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Gloucester (City) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). On March 1, 2018, the City received Ramzi Ebbini's request for "any public record requests and the responsive materials thereof filedJanuary 2011 to present regarding Senator Elizabeth Warren or the staff or representatives of Senator Elizabeth Warren in both her capacity as a United States Senator or private citizen." 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. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). 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

Joanne Senos SPR18/360 Page 2 March 21, 2018 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 your initial petition dated March 20, 2018 you explain the City received Ramzi Ebbini' s request for records on March 1, 2018 and is seeking "a 10 day extension in order to complete the compilation of emails." You also expressed that, " [d ]ue to snow storms on March 8 and March 13, City Hall offices were closed and the due date was changed to March 19, 2018. The city provided some available documents but we are waiting for the IT Director to compile all responsive emails." Conclusion In light of the City's March 201 h petition, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the City's extension request because it intends to provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request as allowed in G. L. c. 66 § lO(b)(vi). The City is advised it must seek another petition for extension if it cannot provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). The records must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Ramzi Ebbini may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ramzi Ebbini