Current MA Public Records law MGL Ch. 66, Sec. 10, says "A custodian of a public record shall, within ten days following receipt of a request for inspection or copy of a public record, comply with such request." Many agencies including in Cambridge refer requests to their in house attorneys, who delay and obfuscate. Law abiding officials make records available. Before it was the AG having jurisdiction over appeals, it was the District Attorney. Neither worked. Charging exhorbitant fees is a tactic used against state Reps. in MA. Lawless US officials ignore Congressional requests for documents, e.g., the IRS used hundreds of lawyers to hide evidence of malfeasance. See e.g.,
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/06/04/more-irs-outrage-agency-used-hundreds-lawyers-to-hide-information-from-congress.html
The State Department delays, without mentioning Hillary Clinton's lost emails. First week of June 2015, Sharyl Attkisson formerly of CBS news, now at the Daily Signal of the Heritage Foundation testified before Congress about the FOIA. Laws work with honorable officials. Without that laws are meaningless as can be seen if you pay attention. "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." - John Adams
[From editorial]
Yet enforcement should not be dependent on the interpretation and/or whims of those who hold office, but on the law itself.
What’s more, the bill before the Legislature doesn’t address the fact that the Legislature itself is exempt from the public records law. True reform would include the Legislature, governor and judiciary in the public records law.
Galvin testified last week in favor of greater public access to public records, and repeated his claim that he is “actively considering” putting a question on the 2016 ballot forcing significant reforms.
http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20150605/NEWS/150608038
Editorial: Fixing state's public records law
Posted Jun. 5, 2015 at 12:16 PM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle
What’s more, the bill before the Legislature doesn’t address the fact that the Legislature itself is exempt from the public records law. True reform would include the Legislature, governor and judiciary in the public records law.
Galvin testified last week in favor of greater public access to public records, and repeated his claim that he is “actively considering” putting a question on the 2016 ballot forcing significant reforms.
http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20150605/NEWS/150608038
Editorial: Fixing state's public records law
Posted Jun. 5, 2015 at 12:16 PM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle
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