TomatoMoonbeam TomatoMoonbeam v. Townsend, Town of (SPR 20251529)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 12, 2025 SPR25/1529 Harrison C. Mayotte Town Clerk Town of Townsend 272 Main Street Townsend, MA 01469 Dear Mr. Mayotte: I have received the petition of TomatoMoonbeam (requestor) appealing the response of the Town of Townsend to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 28, 2025, the requestor sought the following: [1] Any communication to or from [an identified individual], dated at any time between January 1, 2020 and the present, that discusses, references, or mentions: [a] The State of Qatar or Qatari government[;] [b] A jet, aircraft, or plane, specifically with an estimated or claimed value of $400 million, and/or[;] [c] The acceptance, purchase, donation, gift, or use of such a jet by [an identified individual;] [2] Any official disclosures or internal documents referencing the acceptance of a $400 million jet by [an identified individual] from the Qatari government, including: [a] Gift acceptance documentation[;] [b] Conflict of interest reviews[;] [c] Ethics opinions[;] [d] Asset declarations[;] [e] Reimbursement or storage arrangements for said aircraft[.] [3] Any video, photographic, or surveillance records showing [an identified individual] boarding, deplaning from, or publicly referencing a jet purported to be from or funded by the Qatari government. 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

Harrison C. Mayotte SPR25/1529 Page 2 June 12, 2025 The Town provided a response on May 28, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1529, was opened as a result. 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 order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney 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 Town’s May 28th Response In its May 28, 2025 response, the Town stated, “[a]fter a search, we have determined that there are no records responsive to your request.” Current appeal In the May 30, 2025 petition to this office, the requestor stated, “[n]o good-faith search was performed….Given the breadth of custodians and repositories implicated by my request, this timeline is incompatible with the ‘good-faith, thorough search” standard requested by 950 CMR 32.05(2)…” No Duty to Create Records Please be advised, under the Public Records Law, a custodian is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). 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).

Harrison C. Mayotte SPR25/1529 Page 3 June 12, 2025 In a June 2, 2025 telephone conversation between a staff attorney of the Public Records Division and the Town, the Town confirmed that it has no records responsive to the requestor’s request. Conclusion Where the Town has confirmed that is does not possess records responsive to the requestor’s request, and has no duty to create records responsive to the request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If the requestor is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office share jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: TomatoMoonbeam