Michael K. Hunter v. Executive Office of Health & Human Services (SPR 20201808)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 7, 2020 SPR20/1808 Alexander DeBlieck Executive Office of Health & Human Services 1 Ashburton Place, 11 Floor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Alexander DeBlieck: I have received the petition of Michael K. Hunter appealing the nonresponse of the Executive Office of Health & Human Services (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on May 28, 2020, Mr. Hunter requested, “[a] complete unredacted copy of the findings by the task force established to examine and study the treatment and impact of individuals ages 18 to 24 in the court and correctional systems; evaluate the advisability, feasibility and impact of changing the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to defendants younger than 21 years of age; make recommendations for the establishment, implementation and provision to young adults committed to the department of correction of increased and targeted programming as detailed in the 2018 Criminal Justice Reform bill.” 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 the Norfolk 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. As of the date of this letter, it is my understanding that the Office has not provided Mr. Hunter a response to his request for 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

SPR20/1808 Alexander DeBlieck Page 2 October 7, 2020 Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Hunter with a response to the request, 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: Michael K. Hunter