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PODCAST: Bringing Massachusetts’ public records law into 21st century

Kris Olson//July 27, 2015//

PODCAST: Bringing Massachusetts’ public records law into 21st century

Kris Olson//July 27, 2015//

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Amid press reports of exorbitant fee estimates and extraordinary delays in responding to requests, Beacon Hill legislators are considering a bill that would make the first changes to the state’s public records law since 1973.

The bill would mandate the use of technological advances in the intervening 42 years and rein in costs constructively denying public access to records. It also would take Massachusetts off the short list of three states in which those who wage successful court battles to have records released are unable to recoup their legal fees. Lawyers Weekly reporter Kris Olson discusses the details of the bill with Matthew R. Segal, legal director of the ACLU Foundation of Massachusetts, which has been lobbying for the bill’s passage.

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