Public records law debate expected in fall

With legislation to overhaul the state’s public records law expected to be taken up in the fall, the MMA, Massachusetts Municipal Lawyers Association and other municipal groups are working with bill sponsors and lawmakers to try to fashion a balanced approach that would modernize the law in a way that meets the needs of those seeking public records and can be implemented by the cities, towns and state government agencies that must administer it.
 
The MMA opposed the bill (H. 3663) that was released in mid-July by a legislative committee for immediate debate in the House and asked that more time be given to address concerns by local officials about the cost of the bill and how it would be implemented. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and was not acted on before the summer recess.
 
The MMA objected to provisions in the bill that would substantially increase the cost of complying with public record requests, impose unrealistic deadlines to comply with even the most complex and voluminous requests, expose cities and towns to penalties based on weak standards, and fail to protect local officials and taxpayers from the burden of increasingly frequent requests designed simply to harass a community.
 
At a May legislative hearing on several public records bills, the MMA testified that it is important that the public records law be reviewed and updated to reflect changes in the nature of public records, advances in technology, increasing concerns about privacy, and the need of citizens for good timely information. The MMA proposed that there be a study of how to update the records law so that a final bill would be balanced and effective and meet the needs of all the parties that work with it.
 
In addition to the public records legislation currently before the House Ways and Means Committee, Secretary of State William Galvin has filed a citizen petition to amend the law that could be on the ballot for the 2016 state election. Galvin’s petition is intended to tighten weak elements of the law relating to the enforcement of public records requests.