Hawkinson, John v. Brookline Town Clerk (SPR 20260957)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 25, 2026 SPR26/0957 Ben Kaufman Town Clerk Town of Brookline 333 Washington Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Kaufman: I have received the petition of John Hawkinson appealing the response of the Town of Brookline (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 23, 2025, Mr. Hawkinson requested, “a copy of the _RES and _VOT extracts from VRIS for Brookline.” On November 7, 2025, following correspondence between Mr. Hawkinson and the Town, the Town provided “the most recent list of residents and list of voters.” Unsatisfied with the Town’s production, on February 19, 2026, Mr. Hawkinson submitted a renewed request for “a copy of the Resident Extract (_RES) extract from VRIS for Brookline.” The Town responded on March 10, 2026. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Hawkinson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0957, 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 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

Ben Kaufman SPR26/0957 Page 2 March 25, 2026 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 March 10th Response In its March 10, 2026 response, the Town stated: You were provided with the list of residents we provide as part of any request for such a resident list. We do not provide the raw extract data, as it includes information that is exempt under the public records law. [The Town is] considering your request from the fall complete and closed. If you would like to request an updated resident list, you may do so. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Hawkinson argued: …[T]he Town of Brookline’s deficient response to my request for the _RES extract file for the Town of Brookline [doesn’t] articulate a statutory exemption, but in any case, as I understand it the Elections Division has already declared the records in question to be public and they are public from other municipalities… Burden of Specificity Under the Public Records Law, the burden shall be on the custodian to establish the applicability of an exemption to withhold or redact public records. Based on the Town’s March 10, 2026 response, it appears the Town is withholding the responsive record(s) without claiming any exemption(s) in the Public Records Law that would support the withholding of the responsive record(s). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based”). See also Globe Newspaper Co.v. Police Comm’r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511. Any non-exempt, segregable portion of a public record is subject to mandatory disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a). The Town must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Hawkinson 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

Ben Kaufman SPR26/0957 Page 3 March 25, 2026 office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Hawkinson may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: John Hawkinson