Steven Fitzgerald v. Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth - Administrative Services Division (SPR 20200961)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 30, 2020 SPR20/0961 Valerie Connolly Records Access Officer Secretary of the Commonwealth Administrative Services Division One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Connolly: I have received the petition of Mr. Steven Fitzgerald appealing the response of the Administrative Services Division (Division) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on June 12, 2020, Mr. Fitzgerald requested “a correspondence sent by the City on June 11, 2020.” The Division responded stating that no responsive records exist. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Fitzgerald petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. No duty to create records Under the Public Records Law, the Division is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); 32 Op. Atty Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The duty to comply with requests for information extends only to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). In his appeal, Mr. Fitzgerald contends that he never received an email that the Division received “on June 11, 2020. Your office has denied that the record exists.” Upon further review, the Division has confirmed that no such record exists in its possession. Conclusion Accordingly, whereas the Division confirmed that it does not possess responsive records to Mr. Fitzgerald’s request, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. 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

Valerie Connolly SPR20/0961 Page 2 June 30, 2020 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Steven Fitzgerald