Alexa Rosenbloom v. Department of Public Utilities (SPR 20240079)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 16, 2024 SPR24/0079 Mathieu Cunha, Esq. Records Access Officer Department of Public Utilities One South Station Boston, MA 02210 Dear Attorney Cunha: On January 8, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Department of Public Utilities (Department) requesting an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Attorney Alexa Rosenbloom, of The Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On December 21, 2023, Attorney Rosenbloom requested “…[a]ny consumer complaints against Sunrun, Inc., Sunrun Solar, or any related entity from 2019 to the present.” In a follow-up message, the requester further agreed to limit the request to “consumer complaints submitted electronically during that time period.” In an email dated January 8, 2024, Attorney Rosenbloom modified the scope of her request by “limiting the timeframe for the request from 2021 to the present.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; 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

Mathieu Cunha, Esq. SPR24/0079 Page 2 January 16, 2024 (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) must provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its petition, the Department “requests the Supervisor grant its petition for an extension of 20 business days to provide the responsive records to the requester.” The Department provides the following information supporting its request: [The Department] is not able to provide [Attorney Rosenbloom] with these records in the statutory term of ten (10) business days because the magnitude of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the Department. … [The Department] conducted a preliminary search and collected approximately 39,157 items. According to this preliminary assessment, the Department has determined that it will require an extensive amount of time to complete the request. Because the focus of the request concerns a major installer of solar infrastructure in the Commonwealth, the initial search has returned an enormous number of records…[B]efore the records can be produced to the requester, the information within must be segregated and redacted to secure the privacy of the persons making the complaint. In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the Department to produce the records without an extension, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Department is granted an extension of 20 business days.

Mathieu Cunha, Esq. SPR24/0079 Page 3 January 16, 2024 Conclusion As described above, I find that the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 20 business days. Please note, Attorney Rosenbloom has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Alexa Rosenbloom, Esq.