Ryan Hoffman v. Boston, City of - Office of the Mayor (SPR 20212623)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 21, 2021 SPR21/2623 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer City of Boston One City Hall Square, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Ryan Hoffman appealing the nonresponse of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 3, 2021, Mr. Hoffman requested: 1. Any tabulations, memoranda, or documentation maintained regarding public comments into the Mayor’s office regarding the mask mandate effective August 27, 2021. . . . 2. All emails from [named individual] regarding or referencing the mask mandate effective August 27, 2021, including prior to the issuance of said mandate. Claiming to have not yet received a response, Mr. Hoffman petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR21/2623, was opened as a result. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days from receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it is unclear if a response has been provided. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Hoffman 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 the 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. 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

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR21/2623 Page 2 October 21, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ryan Hoffman