William McDonagh v. Department of Correction - Legal Division (SPR 20190137)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 5, 2019 SPR19/0137 Kate M Silva Department of Correction 50 Maple Street, Suite 3 Milford, MA 01757 Dear Ms. Kate Silva: I have received the petition of William McDonagh appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Correction (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. McDonagh requested information on the Department's policies regarding notarial services and indigent inmates. 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 of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10( 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, § lO(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. As of the date ofthis letter, it is my understanding that the Department has not provided Mr. McDonagh a response to his request for .records. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. McDonagh with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and it's Regulations without delay. 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, ~.~ Supervisor of Records cc: William McDonagh 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