Jim Haddadin v. Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (SPR 20210514)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 12, 2021 SPR21/0514 Arielle Mullaney, Esq. Assistant General Counsel Executive Office of Public Safety and Security One Ashburton Place, Room 2133 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Mullaney: I have received the petition of Jim Haddadin of NBC10 Boston appealing the nonresponse of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 3, 2021, Mr. Haddadin requested “… copies of all electronic mail messages sent or received by employees of your office during the period from Jan. 20, 2020 through Feb. 16, 2020 that pertain to the detection of, and/or response to, the first case of COVID-19 in Massachusetts.” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Haddadin petitioned this office and SPR21/0514 was opened as a result. 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, § 10A(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. 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

Arielle Mullaney, Esq. SPR21/0514 Page 2 March 12, 2021 If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Order Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal and communication from a member of the Public Records Division staff, no response has been provided. Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Haddadin 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: Jim Haddadin