Joseph R. Severino v. Department of Correction - MCI Shirley (SPR 20192050)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 22, 2019 SPR19/2050 Elizabeth Kingman Records Manager/RAO Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Department of Corrections MCI-Shirley P.O. Box 1218 Shirley, MA 01464 Dear Ms. Kingman: I have received the petition from Joseph R. Severino appealing the response of the Department of Correction- MCI Shirley (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Severino sent a request to the Department seeking records concerning "an inmate grievance asserting [Mr. Severino] prison pay." The Department responded to Mr. Severino on September 23, 2019. Mr. Severino appealed the Department's response to this office on October 7, 2019. 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 of receipt 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, § lO(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, § 1O (b )(iv) (written response must "identify any records, categories of records or p01iions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific 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

Elizabeth Kingman, RAO SPR19/2050 Page 2 October 22, 2019 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). In Mr. Severino's October 7111 appeal, he states "as of October 2, 2019 I've have received nothing form DOC." It is unclear if the Department possesses any records responsive to Mr. Severino's request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii), (iii). Conclusion Accordingly, the Depaiiment is ordered to provide Mr. Severino with a response 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 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: Joseph R. Severino