Jack Wilson v. Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth - Administrative Services Division (SPR 20252744)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 19, 2025 SPR25/2744 Sofya Gray Records Access Officer Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Administrative Services Division One Ashburton Place, Room 1719 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Ms. Gray: On September 17, 2025, this office received a petition on behalf of the Administrative Services Division (Division) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, I understand that the Division furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Jack Wilson. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On September 11, 2025, Mr. Wilson requested “[c]opies of all communications between employees or staff of the Supervisor of Public Records’ Office that reference or concern Jennifer Burden and/or George Burden between August 24, 2025, and September 30, 2025.” Petitions 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 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

Sofya Gray SPR25/2744 Page 2 September 19, 2025 municipality; and (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) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its petition, the Division requests “a one-time extension of 20 business days to produce a response to the requester.” In support of its request, the Division explains that “due to the scope of the request and the time required to segregate and redact all potentially responsive records, additional time is necessary to ensure thorough searches, accurate review, and proper redaction of the responsive records.” In correspondence included with its petition, the Division further explains the following: This Division has conducted a preliminary search for records pertaining to [the] request. This preliminary search revealed about 134 potentially responsive email correspondences in total with on average one (1) to two (2) pages for each correspondence. Given that the correspondences will likely contain material that is exempt from disclosure under G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(c) of the Public Records Law, such as personal information, our office must review before records may be produced. Based on the number of records produced upon the preliminary search, and the correspondences likely containing material exempt from disclosure pursuant to G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(c), the office needs an additional 20 business days to produce records responsive to your request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Based on the Division’s petition, I find that in light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, the capacity of the Division to produce the request without the extension, and efforts undertaken by the Division in fulfilling the current request, the Division has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Division is granted an extension of 20 business days.

Sofya Gray SPR25/2744 Page 3 September 19, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Division has established good cause for a time extension of 20 business days as described above. Please note, Mr. Wilson 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: Jack Wilson