Lorenzo Fakhouri v. Walpole, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20251348)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 21, 2025 SPR25/1348 Deanna Fruci Records Department Walpole Police Department 50 South Street Walpole, MA 02081 Dear Ms. Fruci: On May 14, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Walpole Police Department (Department) seeking permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive 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, I understand that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Lorenzo Fakhouri, of Haddad Law Firm, PC. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On May 12, 2025, Mr. Fakhouri requested “police accident reports from 5/5/25 to 5/11/25 via email.” Petition to Assess Fees – Municipalities The Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may approve a petition from a municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting or to charge in excess of $25 per hour, if the Supervisor determines that 1) the request is for a commercial purpose or 2) the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). In rendering such a decision, the Supervisor is required to consider the following: a) the public interest served by limiting the cost of public access to the records; b) the financial ability of the requestor to pay the additional or increased fees; and c) any other relevant extenuating circumstances. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). The statute sets out a two-prong test for determining whether the Supervisor may approve a municipality’s petition to allow the municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting records. The first prong is whether the request for records was made for a commercial purpose. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). 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

Deanna Fruci SPR25/1348 Page 2 May 21, 2025 The second prong of the test is whether the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. The Supervisor must consider 1) if the fee is necessary such that the request could not have been prudently completed without the redaction or segregation or fee in excess of $25 per hour; 2) the amount of the fee is reasonable; and 3) the fee is not designed to limit, deter or prevent access to requested public records. Id. Fee Estimates – Municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first 2 (two) hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Current Petition In its May 14, 2025 petition, the Department argues that the request is made for a commercial purpose, and provides the following information in support of its argument: Haddad Law Firm, Injury Lawyers will be requesting from the record department accident reports on a weekly basis. This is a weekly request that we were informed would continue perpetuity. Based on our experience with other records requests of this type, this appeared to be for commercial purpose to either seek out new clients or establish a list of potential clients for the law firm. If the supervisor of records agrees that this is for commercial purpose, then I respectfully petition that the Walpole Police Department be allowed to assess a fee for the time needed of our records clerk to search, redact and reproduce the records requested by this law firm. It is estimated that the entire process will take approximately a two plus hours to complete for the redacted request with a cost of $25.00 per hour for the one employees involved in the assignment. . . .

Deanna Fruci SPR25/1348 Page 3 May 21, 2025 Previous record requests from this law firm was sent to over 50 Police Departments. Please be advised that the term “commercial purpose” as used in the Public Records Law shall mean: the sale or resale of any portion of the public record or the use of information from the public record to advance the requester’s strategic business interests in a manner that the requester can reasonably expect to make a profit, and shall not include gathering or reporting news or gathering information to promote citizen oversight or further the understanding of the operation or activities of government or for academic, scientific, journalistic or public research or education. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ix). Based on the Department’s petition and the information provided above, it is my understanding that the request made by Mr. Fakhouri meets the statutory definition of “commercial purpose” within the Public Records Law. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ix); see also ----- SPR20/2599 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 5, 2021). Based on the Department’s petition and my finding that the requests are for a commercial purpose, I approve the Department’s petition to assess a fee for segregation and redaction. Conclusion Accordingly, based on the Department’s petition and my finding that the requests are for a commercial purpose, I approve the Department’s petition to assess a fee for segregation and redaction. Please be advised, municipalities may not assess a fee for the first two hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Please note, Mr. Fakhouri 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: Lorenzo Fakhouri