Transparency, Commonwealth v. Secretary of the Commonwealth-Administrative Services Division (SPR 20262167)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 9, 2026 SPR26/2167 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: I have received the petition of OpenCommonwealth (requestor) appealing the response of the Administrative Services Division (Division) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 11, 2026, the requestor sought: …the following documents/records in the possession or under the control of your agency for the time period January 1, 2021 through May 11, 2026:  All email communications authored by [an identified individual] where: o “Friedman”, and/or “OpenCommonwealth”, and/or “Commonwealth Transparency” are contained in the subject, body, and/or attachments of the email[,] and; o The email is not addressed to [an identified email address]. This request includes but is not limited to electronic and/or physical documents. Previous Petition This request was the subject of a May 26, 2026 petition from the Division. See SPR26/2016 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 2, 2026). In my June 2nd determination, I granted the Division a time extension of 20 business days and granted permission to assess a fee for segregation and redaction under Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. Unsatisfied with the Division’s May 26th correspondence, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/2167, was opened as a result. 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 SPR26/2167 Page 2 June 9, 2026 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. Current Appeal In the appeal petition, the requestor argued: The SPR failed to provide a good-faith fee estimate within 10 business days a[s] required by law. The SPR instead requested an additional 20 business days to “to produce a response to the requestor,” which is not allowed under the law. Under the Massachusetts Public Records Law M.G.L. c66, § 10(b), the SPR must provide an “itemized, good faith estimate of any fees that may be charged to produce the records” within 10 business days, they have failed to do so here… OpenCommonwealth hereby request that the SPR find and Order the SPR to search for, and provide without delay and without charge, the requested public records as the SPR failed to provide a good-faith, itemized fee-request within 10 business days are required under law as described above [sic]. Issues Previously Addressed It is my understanding that the issues raised in the appeal petition regarding this request were taken into consideration in SPR26/2016, which noted that “[i]n an email to this office on May 26, 2026, the requestor objected to the Division’s petition.” Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. If issues remain once the Division provides a response to the request, or if the Division fails to provide a response within

Sofya Gray SPR26/2167 Page 3 June 9, 2026 the allotted 20 business days granted in the previous determination, the requestor may file an appeal within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: OpenCommonwealth