Anonymous Requester v. Department of Transitional Assistance (SPR 20253675)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 30, 2025 SPR25/3675 Lauren E. Picone, Esq. General Counsel Department of Transitional Assistance 600 Washington Street, 5th Floor Boston, MA 02111 Dear Attorney Picone: I have received the petition of an anonymous requestor (requestor) appealing the response of the Department of Transitional Assistance (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 13, 2025, the requestor sought the following records: Please provide all emails, drafts, approvals, internal communications, and records regarding the creation, review, and posting of the SNAP message referring to “President Trump,” “Congressional Republicans,” and the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Please also identify the employee(s) who authored or approved this message. The Department responded on November 28, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, the requestor petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/3675, was opened as a result. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the Department provided a further response to this office on December 16, and December 29, 2025. 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 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

Lauren E. Picone, Esq. SPR25/3675 Page 2 December 30, 2025 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 Department’s Responses In its November 28, 2025 response, the Department states that “the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) continues to process your November 13, 2025 public records request to identify and review potentially responsive records. Consistent with M.G.L. c. 66 §10(b)(vi), DTA expects to issue a response by December 12, 2025.” Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in an email to this office on December 16, 2025, the Department states “that the Department of Transitional Assistance intends to respond to this request.” In a further response to this office on December 29, 2025, the Department states “that DTA is still working on this, and anticipates producing it within a week.” Current Appeal In the appeal petition, the requestor contends that “as of December 12, 2025, and continuing to the present, DTA has not: Produced responsive records; Issued a written denial citing applicable exemptions; Provided a fee estimate; or Notified the requester of any further extension approved by the Supervisor of Public Records.” Timeframe for Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of a request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records . . . and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi).

Lauren E. Picone, Esq. SPR25/3675 Page 3 December 30, 2025 Where the requestor submitted the request on November 13, 2025, and the Department has not provided responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the Department has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the Department must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Department must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department 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 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. The requestor may further 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: Anonymous Requestor