Matthew Rocheleau v. Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (SPR 20200943)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 26, 2020 SPR20/0943 Charles Pearce Director of Communications Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development One Ashburton Place, Suite 2112 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Director Pearce: I have received the petition of Matthew Rocheleau of the Boston Globe appealing the nonresponse of Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on May 15, 2020, Mr. Rocheleau requested, “[a]ny/all payment transaction records, bills/receipts, purchase orders, invoices, vouchers, bid/contract documents, and other agreements from spending/purchases the agency and/or any EOLWD sub-agencies/sub-departments has made/authorized related to COVID response efforts, including, but not limited to, spending/purchases for supplies, such as masks and other PPE, and for services, such as the contact tracing effort with Partners in Health.” 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, § l0A(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, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for theNorfolk 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records 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

SPR20/0943 Charles Pearce Page 2 June 26, 2020 custodian must provide the responsive records. Conclusion Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal from a member of the Public Records Division staff, no response has been provided. Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Rocheleau with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations as soon as practicable. 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: Matthew Rocheleau