Claudia Chiappa v. Office of the Comptroller (SPR 20220682)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 6, 2022 SPR22/0682 Parris S. Kyriakakis Records Access Officer Office of the Comptroller 1 Ashburton Place, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Kyriakakis: I have received the petition of Claudia Chiappa appealing the response of the Office of the Comptroller (Office) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 2, 2022, Ms. Chiappa requested, “[a]ll payments to Analysis Group Inc. from January 2016 to present.” The Office responded on March 30, 2022. Unsatisfied with the Office’s response, Ms. Chiappa petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0682, 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 they fall 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. The Office’s March 30, 2022 response In its response, the Office advised Ms. Chiappa that the information she requested is available on the CTHRU website and provided her a link. 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 SPR22/0682 Page 2 April 6, 2022 Current appeal In her appeal, Ms. Chiappa notes that, “CTHRU does not show any payments to Analysis Group Inc from 2017 to present.” Upon review, the Office must clarify whether additional responsive records exist. Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is to provide a response to Ms. Chiappa in a manner consistent with 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: Claudia Chiappa