Emiliano Falcon-Morano v. Boston, City of - Police Department (SPR 20210169)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 1, 2021 SPR21/0169 James Megee Assistant Corporation Counsel City of Boston 1 City Hall Plaza, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Megee: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Boston (City) requesting an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the City furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Emiliano Falcon-Morano, on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (ACLUM), requested thirteen (13) categories of records pertaining to “BRIC.” Subsequent to the opening of this petition, Attorney Falcon-Morano sent an email to this office on January 27, 2021 that addresses the City’s petition. 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; 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

James Megee, Esq. SPR21/0169 Page 2 February 1, 2020 (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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. In Attorney Falcon-Morano’s January 27th response, he states “[w]hen I talked with James Jess Megee over the phone I agreed that we would be fine with an extension of 30 days for receiving responsive documents on a rolling basis.” In light of the requestor’s agreement to a 30 day extension, it is unnecessary to opine on the City’s petition for an extension of time. To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, will consider this matter closed at this time. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Emiliano Falcon-Morano