Bill Smith v. Energy New England (SPR 20210325)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 12, 2021 SPR20/0325 Dori Raymond Energy New England 5 Hampshire St., Suite 100 Mansfield, MA 02048 Dear Ms. Raymond: I have received the petition of Bill Smith appealing the nonresponse of Energy New England (ENE) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 9, 2021, Mr. Smith requested “ENE’s current Operating Agreement.” The Public Records Law The Public Records Law applies to all records ...made or received by any officer or employee of any agency, executive office, department, board, commission, bureau, division or authority of the commonwealth, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any authority established by the general court to serve a public purpose, or any person, corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity which receives or expends public funds for the payment or administration of pensions for any current or former employees of the commonwealth or any political subdivision as defined in section 1 of chapter 32… G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). The Public Records Law therefore applies to public entities, and does not apply to private entities who are not engaged in an agency or contractual relationship with a public entity. Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Smith states ENE’s website says “‘[w]e are a municipal light plant cooperative established under Chapter 164, Section 47C of the Massachusetts General Laws[.]’” 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

Dori Raymond SPR21/0325 Page 2 February 12, 2021 G. L. c. 164, § 47C(k) states in pertinent part: A municipal lighting plant cooperative created pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be exempt from the public records requirement of section 10 of chapter 66 . . . only in those instances when necessary for protecting trade secrets, confidential, competitively sensitive or other proprietary information provided in the course of proceedings conducted pursuant to this chapter. G. L. c. 164, § 47C(k). Where ENE indicates on its website that it is a municipal light plant established under G. L. c. 164, § 47C, it is unclear why ENE has not provided a response to Mr. Smith’s request. Conclusion Accordingly, ENE is ordered to provide Mr. Smith with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten 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: Bill Smith