Edwin Dorsey v. Office of the Attorney General (SPR 20181856)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords December 12, 2018 SPR18/1856 Lorraine A.G. Tarrow, Esq. Assistant Attorney General Office of the Attorney General General Counsel's Office One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Tarrow: I have received the petition of Edwin Dorsey appealing the response of the Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Protection Division (AGO) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Dorsey requested any copies of: "any demand or request of any payment sent from the [AGO] to Care.com, Inc. between January 1, 2017 and March 31, 2017." On November 28, 2018, Mychil Snape, the Public Records Officer in the AGO's Consumer Protection Division, informed Mr. Dorsey that the AGO has one record that may be responsive to the request; however, the AGO withheld the record pursuant to Exemption (d) of the Public Records Law. As a result, Mr. Dorsey petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) and this appeal was opened. In his petition, Mr. Dorsey indicates that the responsive information has already been disclosed by Care.com, and the AGO publicized the final payment in a press release. 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, § lOA(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, § 7(26). 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, § lO(b)(iv) (written response must "identify 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

Lorraine A.G. Tarrow, Esq. SPR18/1856 Page 2 December 12, 2018 any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based ... "); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507,511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Conclusion The AGO has indicated that it intends on providing Mr. Dorsey with a subsequent response. Said response must be made in accordance with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Dorsey may appeal the substantive nature of the AGO's response within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~. Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Edwin Dorsey (via email)