Leiha Maldonado v. Department of Agricultural Resources (SPR 20251356)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 23, 2025 SPR25/1356 Raquel Loayza Paralegal, Records Access Officer Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources 251 Causeway Street, Suite 500 Boston, MA 02114 Dear Ms. Loayza: I have received the petition of Leiha Maldonado appealing the nonresponse of the Department of Agricultural Resources (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 28, 2025, Ms. Maldonado requested “... all the cease and desist orders and all the quarantine orders the MDAR has issued from January 1, 2020 until the date the responsive records are provided.” Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Ms. Maldonado petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1356, was opened as a result. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether the Department has provided a response. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Ms. Maldonado with a response to her request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) 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. Ms. Maldonado may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Leiha Maldonado 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