Brian Steeley v. Springfield, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20191456)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 5, 2018 SPR19/1456 Andrea Stone Public Records Coordinator City of Springfield, City Clerk's Office 36 Court Street, Room 123 Springfield, MA O1 103 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received the petition of Brian Steeley appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Steeley requested "[a]pplication for renewal of LTC, for [identified individual] filed on or about April 12, 2019. I request the complete file." ( emphasis in original). The City responded on June 26, 2019 by denying access to records under Exemption (i) of the Public Records Law. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(i). · 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, § 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, § 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, § 1O (b )(iv); 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). 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. Purpose of request Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.st.ate.ma.us

Andrea Stone SPR19/1456 Page 2 August 5, 2019 in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requestor. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). It should be noted that the discovery process and the Public Records Law are two distinct and independent avenues for gaining access to records. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that while a party's access to records may be limited by the Public Records Law, this 111ay not preclude obtaining the records through discovery. Commonwealth v. Wanis, 426 Mass. 639 (1998). As such, Mr. Steeley may wish to consider another means of seeking to obtain any existing responsive records. Exemption 0) Exemption (j) of the Public Records.Law permits a records custodian to withhold or redact portions of records containing: the names and addresses of any persons contained in, or referred to in, any applications for any licenses to carry or possess firearms issued pursuant to chapter one hundred and forty or any firearms identification cards issued pursuant to said chapter one hundred and forty and the names and addresses on sales or transfers of any firearms, rifles, shotguns, or machine guns or ammunition therefor, as defined in said chapter one hundred and forty and the names and addresses on said licenses or cards G. L. C. 4, § 7 (26)(j). The purpose of Exemption (j) is to prevent individuals with devious motives from ascertaining the identities of those who possess firearms. The scope of the exemption is limited to restricting the public disclosure of the name and address of the individual. A records custodian may withhold an entire firearms record if the requestor lmows with certainty that this particular record pertains to a specific address or individual. See id.; see also G. L. c. 140, §§ 121-131P. The City's June 26th response indicates "[t]he City must deny your request because it believes that the requested records are exempt from disclosure as public records pursuant to M.G.L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(j) as further explained below. ..." The City include.s the statutory language of Exemption (j). In his appeal petition Mr. Steeley references, in part, a portion of G. L. c. 66, § 1O B in support of his position that he is entitled to a copy of the requested record. Although Exemption (j) may apply to the type of responsive records at issue, I find the City must explain whether Mr. Steeley is entitled to these records under G. L. c. 66, § lOB.

Andrea Stone SPRl 9/1456 Page 3 August 5, 2019 Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Steeley with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within IO 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: Brian Steeley