Petitions by Records Access Officers to the Supervisor of Records
Records Access Officers might want to assess fees for providing public records. They can petition the Supervisors of Records about this. They might also need more time to get public records. They can petition the Supervisor of Records about this too.
RAOs can request more time to provide records. A request for an extension has to be made within 20 business days of receiving the request. If the Supervisor has determined that the requested record is a public record, the extension request has to be made within 10 days.
The Supervisor can grant an extension of 20 business days to an agency. They can grant an extension of 30 days to a municipality. They may also grant longer extensions depending on the circumstances.
In most cases, RAOs can charge a maximum of $25 per hour for the time it takes to comply with a request. RAOs can petition the Supervisor to charge an additional fee on top of that. This depends on how much time is spent segregating and redacting records.
RAOs still have to give an initial response to the requester even if they have filed a petition. They have to do this within 10 business days. They also have to give a copy of the petition to the requester.
RAOs are encouraged to send these petitions via email to either RAO.Petitions@sec.state.ma.us or pre@sec.state.ma.us.
RAOs may also send petitions by mail to:
Supervisor of Records
Division of Public Records
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1719
Boston, Massachusetts 02108