BOSTON Mass. (WWLP) – The State’s public records law has not been updated in more than forty years. The pressure is on for state lawmakers to overhaul the outdated public records law.
Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin testified before state lawmakers with a warning – if they don’t update the public records law by this summer, then he would be willing to lead a ballot initiative.
The Secretary of State’s office is in charge of public records.
Galvin said there’s not much his office can do if agencies don’t respond to public records requests.
The last time the state updated its public records law was in 1973, and multiple attempts to do so through the legislature have failed over the years.
Galvin hopes state lawmakers will tackle the issue, but if they don’t, he may move forward with a 2016 ballot question.
Galvin said, “I think we can do this, but if this fails then the only alternative left is, if there’s no legislative action, which there has not been now for many years, then I think the only alternative would be a ballot question.”
Ballot question language must be submitted to the Attorney General’s office by mid-August.
