Samantha Kummerer v. Department of Public Utilities (SPR 20243217)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 4, 2024 SPR24/3217 Amelia Gianetta, Esq. Records Access Officer Department of Public Utilities One South Station, 5th floor Boston, MA 02110 Dear Attorney Gianetta: On November 27, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Department of Public Utilities (Department) seeking 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, Samantha Krummerer. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On November 13, 2024, Ms. Krummerer requested “the NOPV issued to National Grid in October 2024 in regard to an incident on [a specified address] including National Grid’s response to the NOPV and the dollar amount the company was fined/and or paid.” 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; (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 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

Amelia Gianetta SPR24/3217 Page 2 December 4, 2024 (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. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition, the Department requests, “additional time to process this production. We currently expect to produce responsive records by December 5, 2024.” Conclusion In light of the Department’s November 27th petition, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Department’s extension request because the Department intends to provide responsive records within fifteen (15) business days of the receipt of the request, as allowed in G. L. c. 66 § 10(b)(vi). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) (records access officer may identify a reasonable timeframe for producing records not to exceed 15 business days following initial receipt of the request). Please note, Ms. Krummerer 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: Samantha Krummerer