John J. Barter, Esq. v. Office of the Comptroller (SPR 20240188)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 24, 2024 SPR24/0188 Darian Roberts, Esq. Records Access Officer Office of the Comptroller One Ashburton Place, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Dear Attorney Roberts: I have received the petition of John J. Barter, Esq. appealing the response of the Office of the Comptroller (Comptroller) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). In a request received by the Comptroller on December 20, 2023, Attorney Barter requested, “[a] copy of the Settlements and Judgments Transparency Report for Q-1 2024. . . .” In a response by the Comptroller on or about January 5, 2024, the Comptroller responded, “[w]e received your request on Wednesday, December 20, 2023 . . . This report has not yet been published, therefore the [Comptroller] has no responsive records.” On January 22, 2024, Attorney Barter petitioned the Supervisor of Records, and this appeal was opened. In an email correspondence on January 23, 2024, the Comptroller provided Attorney Barter with a website link to both Settlements and Judgments Transparency Report for Q-1 and Q-2 2024. In an email dated January 23, 2024, Attorney Barter states, “I thank [Attorney] Roberts for his response. Now that the information has been disclosed, I request that the [Supervisor] close this matter administratively without need for further action. The matter is resolved.” Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: John J. Barter, Esq. 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