Public records reform bill released

Agencies would have 60 days maximum to reply

Jim Haddadin/Daily News Staff

FRAMINGHAM — A bill released Thursday by the Senate would cap at 60 days the amount of time government agencies have to respond to public records requests and allow those who are improperly denied records to recoup their legal fees if they prevail in court.

The Senate Ways and Committee on Thursday released its version of a bill aimed at strengthening the state's public records law.

Among other reforms, the measure would revamp the timeline for cities, towns and other public agencies to respond to requests. State law currently requires records custodians to respond within 10 days, though advocates say that rule is commonly ignored in Massachusetts.

“We all know that that can stretch into months,” said Sen. Karen Spilka, an Ashland Democrat who chairs the committee that formulated the Senate bill.

The bill would require public agencies to fulfill requests within 15 days, or if that isn’t feasible, respond within 10 days to the requester to indicate more time is needed. In total, agencies would have up to 30 days to comply, although they could also request a single 30-day extension from the state’s supervisor of records, giving them a maximum window of 60 days to satisfy the request.

The bill sets a tighter timeline for compliance than similar legislation passed late last year by the House, which allows the supervisor of records in Secretary of State William Galvin's office to indefinitely extend the period agencies have to fulfill requests.

The Senate bill also mandates that public agencies must pay legal costs for those who win a lawsuit seeking access to records. The House version makes that decision optional, leaving it up to a judge to decide whether to award attorney’s fees.

Advocates for reform have identified mandatory payment of legal fees as a top priority, arguing the change will provide an incentive for those who are denied access to records to seek relief in court. However, the Senate bill includes caveats that limit the privilege to certain types of requesters.

Those who request records for commercial or private purposes “unrelated to disseminating information about government activity” would not qualify. Fee payments would also be denied if a judge determines the agency named in the lawsuit reasonably relied on an opinion of the supervisor of records, the attorney general or an appellate court when denying access to its records. The privilege would also be barred if a request was filed to "harass" an agency.

Spilka said she met with municipal leaders while drafting the bill and incorporated their feedback to address “legitimate needs and concerns” about compliance.

“We really did try to listen to everybody ... then take into account what would be the best for transparency and accountability,” Spilka said.

The House bill, passed on the last day of the legislative calendar last year, fell short of delivering many reforms sought by newspaper publishers and government transparency advocates, who argue flaws in the current law place Massachusetts out of step with many other parts of the country.

The Senate bill won praise Thursday from a coalition pushing for public records reform, including the ACLU of Massachusetts, Common Cause and the New England First Amendment Coalition.

"With this bill, the Senate has shown that it takes seriously the importance of reforming our public records law," Bob Ambrogi, executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, said in an announcement. "This bill would significantly enhance the ability of citizens and journalists to obtain records on a timely basis at a reasonable cost and to enforce their rights when they are wrongfully denied access to public records."

Senators have until 5 p.m. Monday to file amendments to the bill. The Senate is scheduled to debate it on Feb. 4.

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 617-863-7144 or jhaddadin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JimHaddadin.

Requires cities, towns and government entities to designate a record access officer.

Requires records be provided by electronic means unless they aren't available in electronic form.

Increases the time, from 10 to 15 days, in which a government entity must generally comply with requests. Caps response time at 60 days.

Limits charges for standard black and white paper copies or printouts to 5 cents per page.

Requires state entities to provide four hours and cities and towns to provide two hours of free labor to comply with records requests.

Caps additional charges at $25 per hour.

Requires the supervisor of records to notify the attorney general if a government entity fails to comply with an order.

Mandates the superior court to award attorney's fees to requesters who win a lawsuit against an agency that improperly withholds records.

Requires municipalities, to the extent feasible, to post certain commonly available public record documents on a website maintained by the municipality.

Highlights of the Senate bill