Robert W. Anderson, Jr. v. Bureau of the State House (SPR 20191041)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords June 4, 2019 SPR19/1041 Tammy E. Kraus Superintendent Bureau of the State House State House, Room 1 Boston, MA 0213 3 Dear Superintendent Kraus: I have received the petition of Robert W. Anderson Jr. appealing the response of the Bureau of the State House (Bureau) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Anderson sent a request to the Bureau requesting copies of the "Legislative Directory of all State Representatives and State Senators." The Bureau provided a response to Mr. Anderson on April 23, 2019 which included responsive links to the Massachusetts Legislature's website. In a letter this office received on May 24, 2019, Mr. Anderson appealed the Bureau's response. Appeal 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, § lO(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. 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, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(iii). 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 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 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

Superintendent Tammy Kraus SPR19/1041 Pg.2 June 4, 2019 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). In the Bureau's April 23rd response to Mr. Anderson they explained "[a]s noted in my response to you on October 24, 2017 related to the same request, please be advised that you may access the information you are requesting on the General Court website at the following links." In Mr. Anderson's appeal to the Bureau he states that he does not possess "the ability to access the Public Records in question in electronic format as State Inmates are not afforded access to the Internet or the Intranet." 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, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b) (iii). The Bureau in a response sent to this office on May 29, 2019 explained that the "Bureau of the State House did not create, maintain nor does it hold custody of the directories that Mr. Anderson is seeking." Conclusion Based on the Bureau's responses, I find the Bureau has met its burden in responding to Mr. Anderson's appeal request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a )(ii), (b )(ii)(iii). I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Robert W. Anderson Jr.