Jeannette Hinkle v. Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (SPR 20230579)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 7, 2023 SPR23/0579 Arielle Mullaney, Esq. Assistant General Counsel Executive Office of Public Safety and Security 1 Ashburton Place, Room 2133 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Mullaney: I have received the petition of Jeannette Hinkle, of The Cape Cod Times, appealing the response of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (Office/EOPPS) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 23, 2023, Ms. Hinkle requested the following records: [1] All applications, including attachments, submitted in response to the Request For Response (RFR) for the Uniform Citation Data Analysis and Report ... [including] ... the applications and accompanying attachments submitted by employees of Salem State University, Worcester State University, and Northeastern University. [2] A list of staff assigned to the selection committee for the Uniform Citation Data Analysis and Report grant. [3] Any documents showing the people assigned to the selection committee. Any and all score sheets produced by members of the selection committee for the Uniform Citation Data Analysis and Report grant. [4] The grant selection procedures of the Executive Office of Public Safety’s Office of Grants and Research. The Office responded on February 23, 2023. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Hinkle petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/0579, 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 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

Arielle Mullaney, Esq. SPR23/0579 Page 2 April 7, 2023 form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling 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 February 23rd response In its February 23, 2023 response, the Office stated, “EOPSS has received your public records request and is working on it.” Based on the Office’s response, it is unclear if the Office possesses any records responsive to the request. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5); see also G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent that the requested records exist, I find the Office must provide them in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law or identify an exemption that applies to withhold the records from disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Ms. Hinkle with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jeannette Hinkle