Steven Fitzgerald v. Department of Mental Health (SPR 20180833)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 21, 2018 SPRlS/833 Debra Leggett, Esq. Deputy General Counsel Department of Mental Health 25 Staniford Street Boston, MA 02114 Dear Attorney Leggett: I have received the petition from Steven Fitzgerald appealing the response from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (Department) regarding a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 1, 2018, Mr. Fitzgerald made a public records request for hospital records to the Department via Ms. Patricia Kenney, the Department's Metro Boston Area Director. On June 5, 2018, the Department provided Mr. Fitzgerald with a response to his public records request claiming "a thorough search was conducted and there are no such reports consistent with [Mr. Fitzgerald's] request." Mr. Fitzgerald appeals the Department's June 5th response to this office. Public Records Law Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten business days ofreceipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b ). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Appeal Ms. Kenney, on behalf of the Department, informed Mr. Fitzgerald that "after a diligent search, the Department is unable to locate any responsive documents related to this request." It is unclear if the search pertained to the Department as a whole or just the Metro Boston Area. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a )(ii) (b )(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying 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

Debra Leggett, Esq. SPR18/833 Page2 June 21, 2018 the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b) (iii). Accordingly, the Department is ordered to review the requests made by Mr. Fitzgerald and provide any requested records in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec. state .ma. us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Steven Fitzgerald