Massachusetts Public Records Law
E670239
Massachusetts Public Records Law is a state statute that guarantees public access to most government records in Massachusetts, promoting transparency and accountability in state and local government.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts Public Records Law canonical | 1 |
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Massachusetts statute
ⓘ
freedom of information law ⓘ |
| administeredBy |
Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Public Records Division of the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| allows | agencies to charge certain fees for responding to public records requests ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
audio records
ⓘ
data stored in databases ⓘ electronic records ⓘ paper records ⓘ photographic records ⓘ records made or received by a government entity ⓘ records made or received by certain government employees ⓘ video records ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction | Commonwealth of Massachusetts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| appliesToLevelOfGovernment |
local government in Massachusetts
ⓘ
state government of Massachusetts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| contains | exemptions to disclosure ⓘ |
| definesTerm | public records ⓘ |
| enforcedBy | Supervisor of Records in the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth’s office NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| establishes |
appeal procedures for denied public records requests
ⓘ
deadlines for responding to public records requests ⓘ grounds for denying public records requests ⓘ procedures for making public records requests ⓘ |
| exemptionIncludes |
certain policy deliberation materials
ⓘ
investigatory materials compiled by law enforcement ⓘ personnel and medical files where disclosure may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy ⓘ records specifically exempted from disclosure by statute ⓘ trade secrets and confidential commercial or financial information ⓘ |
| governsAccessTo | public records ⓘ |
| hasPurpose |
to guarantee public access to most government records in Massachusetts
ⓘ
to promote accountability in government ⓘ to promote transparency in government ⓘ |
| hasScopeLimitation |
does not generally apply to the Massachusetts judiciary’s adjudicatory records
ⓘ
does not generally apply to the Massachusetts legislature ⓘ |
| influencedBy | open government and transparency principles ⓘ |
| legalCitation | Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 66 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| limits | the amount and type of fees that may be charged for public records ⓘ |
| providesFor |
administrative appeal to the Supervisor of Records
ⓘ
judicial review in Massachusetts courts ⓘ |
| relatedStatute | Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 4 Section 7 clause Twenty-six NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo | federal Freedom of Information Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| requires |
agencies to assist requesters in making focused and effective requests
ⓘ
agencies to provide records in electronic form when feasible ⓘ constitutional officers to provide access to public records upon request ⓘ independent state authorities to provide access to public records upon request ⓘ municipal agencies to provide access to public records upon request ⓘ records custodians to maintain and preserve public records ⓘ records custodians to respond to public records requests ⓘ state agencies to provide access to public records upon request ⓘ |
| subjectOf | 2016 legislative reforms to strengthen enforcement and access ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.