John v. Massachusetts Parole Board (SPR 20252473)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 3, 2025 SPR25/2473 Andrew S. Doherty, Esq. Deputy General Counsel Massachusetts Parole Board 12 Mercer Road Natick, MA 01760 Dear Attorney Doherty: I have received the petition of John (requestor) appealing the response of the Massachusetts Parole Board (Board) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 6, 2025, the requestor sought: [1] Full legal names and official titles/positions of each individual acting under or affiliated with the Parole Board Region Four office. [2] Employment status and commissions held, including dates of appointment, contractual terms, and any delegations of authority. [3] Surety bonds and liability insurance policies, including: [a] Bond number(s) [b] Issuing agency [c]Terms and coverage amount [d] Responsible party and bond expiration date [4] Annual salary, benefits, and compensation packages (including bonuses, stipends, per diem, or deferred income). [5] Copies of Financial Disclosure Statements, including those required by state law or under the Federal Ethics in Government Act, if applicable. [6] FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) disclosures, including any required declarations of foreign influence, funding, or representation. [7] Arrest records and/or disciplinary records involving the above-described agents, including: [a] Internal investigations [b] Suspensions [c] Administrative leave [d] Complaints and outcomes 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

Andrew S. Doherty, Esq. SPR25/2473 Page 2 September 3, 2025 [8] Membership or participation in external organizations, corporations, NGOs, or associations, including: [a] Board memberships [b] Equity interests or corporate ownership [c] Nonprofit affiliations [d] Political or lobbying organizations [e] Union or professional association leadership positions [9] Conflicts of interest statements or disclosures, including known or suspected conflicts with private, corporate, or political interests. [10] Oaths of office or loyalty, if administered and recorded per Massachusetts Constitution and/or statutory law. [11] Documentation of training and certification standards applicable to parole agents, including continuing education and professional conduct codes. [12] Internal policies governing oversight, due process, appeals, and grievance resolution, including whether Region Four has deviated from official Parole Board measures. [13] Any pending legal actions, investigations, or settlements involving Region Four personnel or the Worcester office as a whole, past 5 years. [14] All correspondence, notes, or memos referencing myself or any household members, including email or internal comments stored in case management systems. [15] A list of all contracted third parties (private security firms, consultants, data vendors, social service providers, etc.) performing tasks on behalf of Region Four, including contract terms and payment records. The Board responded on August 19, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2473, 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.

Andrew S. Doherty, Esq. SPR25/2473 Page 3 September 3, 2025 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. Fee Estimates – Agencies An agency 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). Agencies may not assess a fee for the first four (4) hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ii). Where appropriate, agencies 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. 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Board’s August 19th Response In its August 19, 2025 response, the Board provided the requestor with links to several public websites which contained records responsive to Items 1, 4, 5, and 9 of the request. The Board further stated that it possessed no records responsive to Item 3. The Board assessed a fee of $7,400.00 to produce records responsive to Items 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15. Additionally, the Board sought clarification regarding Item 12, inquiring whether the requestor was seeking copies of “… regulations governing the appeal of adverse parole decisions[.]” The Board further sought the identifying information of the requestor to enable a search for responsive records under Item 14. Current Appeal In his August 20, 2025 petition to this office, the requestor objected to the production of records via a public website. The requestor further sought confirmation of the Board’s statements regarding Items 3, 5, and 9, a more detailed breakdown of the Board’s fee estimate, and “… a secure method for submission of identifying information necessary for [Item 14].”

Andrew S. Doherty, Esq. SPR25/2473 Page 4 September 3, 2025 No Duty to Create Records; Records Available on a Public Website 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). It is also permissible for the custodian of records to provide access to records by directing a requestor to a public website. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d) (“If the public record requested is available on a public website ... the records access officer may furnish the public record by providing reasonable assistance in locating the requested record on the public website.”); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.04 (5)(e) (“A records access officer shall ... to the extent feasible, furnish the public records by providing reasonable assistance in locating the records on an appropriately indexed and searchable public website”); 950 C.M.R. 32.07 (2)(a) (“A records access officer shall inform a requester of the availability of records online to avoid delays and fees associated with the provision of public records”). In an August 28, 2025 telephone conversation with this office, the Board confirmed that it had produced all records responsive to Items 1, 4, 5, and 9. The Board further confirmed that it possessed no records responsive to Item 3. Consequently, given that all records responsive to Items 1, 3, 4, 5, and 9 have been provided and this office has no authority to compel the Board to create records, I find that the Board has met its burden in responding to these portions of the request. The Board’s Fee Estimate In its August 19th response, the Board provided the following breakdown of its assessed fee: With respect to your remaining categories (2, 6-8, 10-13, 15), which seek various personnel records, contracts, and litigation records related to employees at the Parole Board’s Central Office and Region Four locations, after consulting with staff knowledgeable about these records, I estimate that the amount of time necessary to compile, review, segregate and redact these records in accordance with the public records law is approximately 300 hours. This is based on an estimate of no less than 5 hours of work to review each employee’s personnel file to determine whether the file contains responsive records and then collect and redact protected information, as well as no less than 10 hours of work to review our various contracts and contractors to determine if such records are responsive to your request. In accordance with G.L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ii), I am assessing a fee of $7,400.00 (300 hours, less 4 hours, at $25.00 per hour) for the collection and production of these records. If you wish the Parole Board to proceed with this

Andrew S. Doherty, Esq. SPR25/2473 Page 5 September 3, 2025 research, please forward a bank check in the amount of $7,400, payable to the Massachusetts Parole Board, to my attention at the above address. Please be advised, where the vast bulk of the records you are seeking are personnel records, it is highly likely that, even if you were to pay this fee, many of records will be withheld or redacted in accordance with exceptions (b), (c), or (n) to the public records law. Please also be advised that, due to the extraordinary amount of work time necessary to complete this request, should you pay this fee I will be requesting the Supervisor of Records provide an extension of time for the Board to produce these records to you in accordance with G.L. c. 66, § 10(c). Although the Board has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing responsive documents for production will take 300 total hours of employee time, the Board has not provided sufficient explanation of why this amount of employee time is necessary. The Board must clarify how many hours of search time and how many hours of segregation and redaction time it requires to produce the responsive records. The Board must also provide additional information regarding the number of pages the Board possesses which are responsive to the request. Additionally, it appears from the Board’s response that it plans to redact the responsive records pursuant to Exemptions (b), (c), and (n) of the Public Records Law. Under the Public Records Law a fee may 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 pursuant to a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Consequently, the Board must clarify if the fee assessed includes time necessary to redact records under Exemptions (b), (c), and (n) of the Public Records Law. Further, the Board must clarify whether $25.00 per hour is the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who has the skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact, or reproduce the requested records. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Board must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee of $7,400.00 assessed in its August 19, 2025 estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). This office encourages the requestor and the Board to communicate further in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (an agency shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any revision to the request would result in the requirement to issue a revised fee estimate. Conclusion Accordingly, the Board is ordered to provide the requestor with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations

Andrew S. Doherty, Esq. SPR25/2473 Page 6 September 3, 2025 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. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the Board’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: John