Eileen Morrison v. Massachusetts Department of State Police (SPR 20212721)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 1, 2021 SPR21/2721 Jennifer M. Staples, Esq. Massachusetts Department of State Police General Headquarters 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Attorney Staples: I have received the petition of Eileen Morrison, Esq. of the Committee for Public Counsel Services appealing the nonresponse of the Massachusetts Department of State Police (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 30, 2021, Ms. Morrison requested: 1. The most recent “Detailed Comparison of Study Observations to U.S. Census Data and Police Records.” 2. An Excel spreadsheet of “Massachusetts State Police Crash and Motorist Assistance Data by Location, Roadway Type, and Race” from May 2017 to May 2019 for the town of Chelmsford only. . . . Claiming to not yet have received a response, Ms. Morrison petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR21/2721, 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 Department is ordered to provide Ms. Morrison 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

Jennifer Staples, Esq. SPR21/2721 Page 2 November 1, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Eileen Morrison, Esq.