Mikael Brown v. Framingham State University (SPR 20200196)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 6, 2020 SPR20/0196 Ann S. McDonald, Esq. Chief of Staff, General Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees Framingham State University 100 State Street PO Box 9101 Framingham, MA O1 701-9101 Dear Attorney McDonald: I have received your petition on behalf of Framingham State University (University) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion ther~of. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). As required by law, the University furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. Specifically, on January 28, 2020, Mikael Brown requested five categories of records pertaining to complaints filed against the university, as well as information relating to named University employees. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current. request and previous requests; (v ) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. 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

Ann S. McDonald, Esq. SPR20/0196 Page 2 February 6, 2020 G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In the University's petition dated February 3, 2020, the University requests "an extension for the production of public records received on January 28, 2020 from Mikael Brown." The University indicates they "request this extension of 20 days for a number of reasons." The University explains "not all the of the information requested may be subject to the Commonwealth's public records law of may be subject to exclusion based on one of the exemptions described in M.G.L. c. 66A(e) ... much of the data will contain personally identifiable information that may require redaction from a record ... " I find that in light of the broad scope of the request, the University has established good cause to permit an extension of time of 10 business days. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c)(i)-(iv). Conclusion Consequently, the University is granted an extension of 20 business days to produce responsive records. The records must be provided consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the University's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Additionally, the requestor may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under G. L. c. 66, § lOA(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mikael Brown