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Massachusetts Public Records Law is a
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
in
detailing what kinds of documents are actually
public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential and generally pertain to the conduct of government.
For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the optio ...
. It is a
state law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...
that is similar to the federal
Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request:
* Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Australian act
* ...
, which was signed into law by
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
in 1966.
According to the ''Boston Globe'' newspaper in 2016, "Massachusetts is currently the one state in the country where the
Legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
,
judiciary
The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
, and
governor’s office all claim to be completely exempt from the
ublic recordslaw." Many voters would welcome more government transparency. For example, in 2020, a "
ballot question
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 16 house districts found overwhelming support for increasing transparency."
Interest groups focusing on the issue include Act on Mass and the
New England First Amendment Coalition.
Requirements
The
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
and other agencies are required under the Public Records Act to disclose records and documents upon request. There are exemptions to Public Records Act that the government can use to keep certain records private.
The Massachusetts Public Records Law parallels FOIA. All records including photographs,
memos, books, papers, maps, recorded tapes,
financial statement
Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities and position of a business, person, or other entity.
Relevant financial information is presented in a structured manner and in a form which is easy to un ...
s,
statistical
Statistics (from German: ''Statistik'', "description of a state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. In applying statistics to a scientific, industria ...
tabulation
A table is an arrangement of information or data, typically in rows and columns, or possibly in a more complex structure. Tables are widely used in communication, research, and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, comp ...
s, or other
documentary materials or
data
In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...
are considered public information in Massachusetts, unless they are withheld from public view under one of the sixteen exemptions.
See also
*
Massachusetts Archives
The Massachusetts Archives is the state archive of Massachusetts. It "serves the Commonwealth and its citizens by preserving and making accessible the records documenting government action and by assisting government agencies in managing their p ...
*
References
Further reading
* (about "bill updating and giving teeth to the Massachusetts’ public records law, described as one of the weakest in the country")
* .
("Agencies are charging exorbitant fees for records, effectively denying access by making it unaffordable")
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External links
Massachusetts Public Records Act on Sunshine ReviewOpen Government Guide to Massachusetts*
*
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Massachusetts statutes
Freedom of information legislation in the United States
History of Massachusetts
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