January 26, 2016

Massachusetts Public Records Law Will Be Fixed By Those Unaccountable to The Law?




Couple of teeny errors and tiny omissions by the foxy Honorable Representative. Records requests have a ten day response time. MGL Chapter 66. Municipalities ignore requests. Others deny any records exist, or delay, delay, delay. The legislature and the governor are exempt from public records law. The reason remains a mystery. Accountability? Guy asked the fox about security at the hen house. Fox replied, "Just fine. May need a few teeny, tiny tweeks but nothing major to worry about. I'm working on repairs myself." Current law allows attorneys fees at discretion of judge. Current law gives Attorney General discretion to file suit and force compliance. Seldom if ever done. Definition of public records needs to include special police departments, e.g., Harvard University campus police. See below report for more details. Contact Society of Professional Journalists, Region One. Sorry Rep. Fox, I mean Rogers, I think you missed the mark.

https://digboston.com/the-secretary-of-secrecy-a-new-column-about-public-records-reform-in-mass-and-just-in-time/

THE SECRETARY OF SECRECY: A NEW COLUMN ABOUT PUBLIC RECORDS REFORM IN MASS, AND JUST IN TIME
January 18, 2016
By ANDREW QUEMERE and MAYA SHAFFER
Dig Boston

[From article]
the governmental agency that is the record holder is obligated to fill that request within 15 days. The record holder, however, may assess fees associated with the production of that record and is unlikely to be subjected to enforcement of the law, as there are neither strong enforcement mechanisms nor the ability to recoup legal fees by way of a court order.
[. . .]
concerns from municipalities about abusive requesters who make an unreasonable number of requests
[. . .]
records access officers
[. . .]
instances in which holders request further extensions, raise objections to the request or requester, or in which requesters appeal to supervisors.
[. . .]
allows the Attorney General to proactively intervene to seek these penalties. There will now be real risk of significant consequences for avoiding compliance

http://cambridge.wickedlocal.com/article/20160125/NEWS/160127352

GUEST COLUMN: Why reforming public records laws is critical
By Rep. Dave Rogers
Posted Jan. 25, 2016 at 4:19 PM
Updated at 4:55 PM
CAMBRIDGE Chronicle

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