Jose L. Negron v. Department of Correction - Legal Division (SPR 20201722)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 1, 2020 SPR20/1722 Kathleen Richard Program Coordinator Department of Correction Legal Division 70 Franklin Street, Suite 600 Boston, MA 02110-1327 Dear Ms. Richard: I have received the petition of Jose Negron appealing the response of the Department of Correction (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Negron requested: • The public hearing minutes of January 2017 over the half a dozen amended Department policies and regulations pursuant to G. L. c. 30A, § 2; 103 C.M.R. 491.01; 103 C.M.R. 430.01; 103 C.M.R. 478.01, etc. etc.; • The Notice of the [Department’s Notice of Public Hearing to the State Secretary] public hearing sometime in December 2016 posted at each [Department] facilities; • [Department] Small Impact Statement pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 20.04(2)(9); Department Small Impact Statement pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 20.04(2)(9), regarding the adoption of policies; and • Any/all notice of correction of errors section 20.04(4) made to the State Secretary Publication/Regulation Division. In a September 3, 2020 response, the Department informed Mr. Negron, “…the [Department] did not hold any public hearing in the month of January 2017, nor were any notices published in December 2016. The Department had public hearings regarding regulations most recently in September and October 2016, February 2019, and July of 2019. Since none of these dates coincide with your request, the Department does not have any documents responsive to your request.” Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Negron petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. 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

Kathleen Richard SPR20/1722 Page 2 October 1, 2020 On September 30, 2020, the Department advised this office that a further response will be sent to Mr. Negron regarding his September 8th petition to the Supervisor. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Negron with said response in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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: Jose L. Negron