Evan Lips v. Office of Campaign and Political Finance (SPR 20211377)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 9, 2021 SPR21/1377 Jason A. Tait Records Access Officer Office of Campaign and Political Finance One Ashburton Place, Room 411 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Mr. Tait: I have received your petition on behalf of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance (Office) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Office furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On May 19, 2021, Evan Lips requested “…all OCPF investigative materials, including reports, relevant documents, and correspondence concerning [five identified individuals].” Petition 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; (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). 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

Jason A. Tait SPR21/1377 Page 2 June 9, 2021 Current Petition In its petition dated June 1, 2021, the Office seeks an extension of 20 business days. The Office states, “[t]he documents requested are extensive, span many years, and concern legal cases that have been resolved/closed by OCPF. We are currently in the collection phase and have started to scan the documents into PDF form. We have not yet started the review phase, to determine whether the documents require redaction or are public records subject to release.” The Office further notes, “[w]e currently have two OCPF attorneys working on the request, as well as OCPF’s records retention employee. OCPF does not plan on charging the requestor for time spent redacting or segregating the records.” Conclusion I find the Office has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Office is granted an extension of 20 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Mr. Lips’ request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the Office must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Further, this office encourages Mr. Lips and the Office continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Please note, Mr. Lips has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4),10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Evan Lips