Dan Griffin v. Department of State Police (SPR 20242516)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 19, 2024 SPR24/2516 Allison Mondello Records Access Officer Massachusetts Department of State Police 470 Worcester Road Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Mondello: I have received the petition of Dan Griffin appealing the response of the Department of State Police (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 14, 2024, Mr. Griffin requested, “all reports provided to the MSP from the office of the inspector general regarding ‘Audits of Federal Highway overtime/funding’ to include the years 2015-2018. This includes the 2016 Troop A report as well as any others conducted by the OIG.” Previous Appeal The request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR24/2040 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 29, 2024). In my July 29th determination, I ordered the Department to provide Mr. Griffin with a response to the request. The Department responded on August 7, 2024. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Griffin appealed, and this case, SPR24/2516, was opened as a result. While this appeal was pending, the Department provided a supplemental response on September 10, 2024. 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 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 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

Allison Mondello SPR24/2516 Page 2 September 19, 2024 order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Att’y 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. If there are any fees associated with a response, a written good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The Department’s August 7th and September 10th Responses In its August 7, 2024 response, the Department restated its response to Mr. Griffin’s previous appeal by acknowledging receipt of the request. In its September 10, 2024 response, the Department states: As you know, the Massachusetts Court of Appeals in the recent case of Friedman v. Div. of Admin. L. Appeals, 103 Mass. App. Ct. 806, 814 (2024) determined that records requests submitted to a public agency made pursuant to G.L. c. 66, sec. 10 must provide the agency with a sufficient description of the records sought so as ‘[to enable] a professional employee of the agency who was familiar with the subject area of the request to locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort’ Id. at 815–16. The Court cautioned that ‘[t]he public records law does not require public agencies simply to provide the requested records no matter the burden imposed, nor does it require public agencies to shunt aside their principal public functions to do so. Rather, a rule of reason governs both the obligation of public agencies to respond and to provide records, and also the conduct of requestors of public documents. See Globe Newspaper Co. v. Commissioner of Educ., 439 Mass. 124, 129-130 (2003) (Globe Newspaper Co.)… [a]gencies must read FOIA requests as drafted, and ‘[b]road, sweeping requests lacking specificity are not sufficient’’ (citations omitted). Center for Immigration Studies v. United States Citizenship & Immigration Servs., 628 F. Supp. 3d 266, 270 (D.D.C. 2022).’ ‘The reasonable description requirement is a necessary bulwark of the public records law, as the law ‘was not intended to reduce government agencies to full-time investigators on behalf of [requestors].’’ Friedman, quoting Assassination Archives & Research Ctr., Inc. v. Central Intelligence Agency, 720 F. Supp. 217, 219 (D.D.C. 1989). Current Appeal In his appeal to this office, Mr. Griffin states, “I am well aware of the OIG reports, however, the MSP (per the OIG) … accessed records to include radio records and schedules … Prior to providing the data to the OIG, the Colonel was given a copy of the report that was provided to the OIG. This internal report/memo outlining the 2016 findings is the document (and all radio logs) that I am seeking in reference to Troop A in particular[.]”

Allison Mondello SPR24/2516 Page 3 September 19, 2024 In response to the Department’s September 10th email, Mr. Griffin states, “I am taking issue with the departments response. The department … made every effort since my original request in March to subvert that request and the subsequent ones that followed.” In light of the clarification provided by Mr. Griffin in his appeal petition, I find the Department must clarify whether it possesses 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). The Department must clarify this. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Griffin with a response to his 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Dan Griffin