Commonwealth Transparency v. Division of Administrative Law Appeals (SPR 20220819)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 14, 2022 SPR22/0819 Edward McGrath, Esq. Chief Administrative Magistrate Division of Administrative Law Appeals 1 Congress Street, 11th Floor Boston, MA 02114 Dear Chief Magistrate McGrath: I have received the petition of Commonwealth Transparency appealing the response of the Division of Administrative Law Appeals (Division) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 7, 2021, Commonwealth Transparency requested, “any and all electronic mail and/or text messages between the BSEA (inclusive of all BSEA employees, administration, and contractors) and anyone at [a certain] email domain” for the time period of January 1, 2019 to October 7, 2021. Previous Appeals The records sought by Commonwealth Transparency have been the subject of previous appeals. See SPR22/0706 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 6, 2022); SPR22/0585 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 18, 2022); SPR22/0378 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 24, 2022); SPR22/0308 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 11, 2022). In SPR22/0706, the Division provided a supplemental response. Unsatisfied with the substantive nature of the supplemental response, Commonwealth Transparency petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0819, was opened as a result. In a conversation between the Division and a staff attorney in the Public Records Division, the Division stated that it still intends to provide the records on a rolling basis and a supplemental response to Commonwealth Transparency. In light of this, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. The Division is ordered to provide Commonwealth Transparency with a response in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Regulations, and this order within ten business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Please be advised, the Division must include a schedule that identifies when it will release the remaining records. 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

Edward McGrath, Esq. SPR22/0819 Page 2 April 14, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Commonwealth Transparency