Colman Herman v. Office of the Comptroller (SPR 20181333)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 18,201 8 SPR1811333 Katie Kendall Director of Special Projects Office of the State Comptroller One Ashburton Place, 9th Floor Boston, MA 021 08 Dear Ms. Kendall: I have received the petition of Colman Herman appealing the response of the Office of the Comptroller (Comptroller) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 8 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Herman requested "hard copies and electronic copies of records that detail the expenses that Charlie Baker incurred in his capacity as governor for the period August 1,2017 to July 3 1,2018 . This includes, but is not limited to, items such transpor[t]ation (e.g., airline, train, ride-hailing), lodging, meals and entertainment." Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPRl811209 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 27,201 8). In my August 27th determination I found that based on the information provided in the Comptroller's August 10, 201 8 and August 27,201 8 responses, Mr. Herman and the Comptroller should communicate further to clarify whether the specific information Mr. Herman seeks is available on CTHRU. The Comptroller provided a response on August 3 1, 201 8 that included a "job aid and link to a video." Mr. Herman appealed and SPR1811333 was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 1O A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, 5 7(26). 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

Katie ICendall Page 2 September 18,2018 It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 51 1 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. Current appeal In its August 3 lStr esponse the Comptroller explains to Mr. Herman, "[ylou are able to find aggregated information that may answer some of your questions using this tool. Specifically, what we have available under the Governor's Office, in CTHRU, at the department level in the BB and EE object codes can be pulled from CTHRU into a spreadsheet. More detailed information related to these object classes is maintained at the Department or Agency. While you are welcome to contact the Department directly, as you mentioned, the Governor's In his appeal petition Mr. Herman indicates "I am seeking the individual expenses of Governor Balter (meals, lodging, transportation, entertainment. etc.) - n ot the expenses of the entire office and not aggregated data. It remains unclear whether the comptroller has this information. Moreover, I am seeking original source (native) data that was submitted by the governor's office" (emphasis in original). Although the Comptroller has provided assistance in accessing data available on CTHRU, I find it must clarify whether it possesses any records responsive to Mr. Herman's request for "hard copies and electronic copies of records that detail the expenses that Charlie Baker incurred in his capacity as governor for the period August 1,201 7 to July 3 1,201 8," such as a pay stub or other similar record that describes any reimbursements for expenses incurred. The Comptroller must also confirm whether it possesses, as Mr. Herman describes, records that detail individual expenses of Governor Balter in the "original source (native) data that was submitted by the governor's office." 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 of records at the time of the request. See G. L, c. 66, 5 10(a)(ii); G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(ii). Mr. Herman and the Comptroller are encouraged to communicate further to clarify whether the specific information Mr. Herman seelts is in the Comptroller's possession. See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(vii); G. L. c. 66, tj 6A(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Comptroller is ordered to provide Mr. Herman with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this

ICatie ICendall Page 3 September 18,2018 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 V Supervisor of Records cc: Colman Herman