Colman Herman v. Office of the Comptroller (SPR 20211183)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 18, 2021 SPR21/1183 Parris S. Kyriakakis Assistant General Counsel Office of the Comptroller One Ashburton Place, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Kyriakakis: I have received the petition of Colman Herman appealing the response of Office of the Comptroller (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 17, 2021, Mr. Herman submitted the following five separate requests: a) [C]opies of any and all records found at the link below for settlements and/or judgments made on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General. b) [C]opies of any and all records found at the link below for settlements and/or judgments made on behalf of the Department of Children and Families. c) [C]opies of any and all records found at the link below for settlements and/or judgments made on behalf of the Department of Correction. d) [C]opies of any and all records found at the link below for settlements and/or judgments made on behalf of the Office of the Governor. e) [C]opies of any and all records found at the link below for settlements and/or judgments made on behalf of the Department of Transitional Assistance. All five requests refer to a hyperlink provided by the Office in a previous email to Mr. Herman. The Office responded to each request on May 3, 2021, attaching a spreadsheet and providing a link to the same on the Office’s “Settlements and Judgments CTHRU page.” Unsatisfied with the Office’s response, Mr. Herman appealed, and this case 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 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

Parris S. Kyriakakis SPR21/1183 Page 2 May 18, 2021 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. 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. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Herman states that “[i]nstead of providing [him] with the records [he] asked for . . . [the Office] in each and every case provided [him] with spreadsheets.” He explains “[t]hat is not what [he] asked for.” Subsequently I learned that the Office intends to provide a supplemental response. Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Herman with a response to his 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: Colman Herman