Last month the Massachusetts Legislature delayed a scheduled vote on a public records reform bill after getting pressure from the very politicians who will have to pay the price for concealing such public documents. The Massachusetts Municipal Association (MMA) initially opposed the public records reform bill, but after realizing there was too much momentum in […]
July 16, 2015 BOSTON – Next Wednesday, the state’s public records law will be one step closer to being a real law with real penalties, after forty years of being merely a suggestion for public officials to turn over public documents when requested. MGL Ch. 66 mandates that public agencies turn over public documents within ten […]
By: Bharani Padmanabhan – June, 2015 This month, Valley Patriot Publisher Tom Duggan was front and center in this state’s media environment for a couple of days. Most media people referred to him by name except for Dan Kennedy who refused to do so while using Tom’s testimony to support the new public records bill. Tom had […]
By: State Rep. Linda Dean Campbell June, 2015 Massachusetts gets an F grade for access to public records according to some very respected public interest groups. A number of bills have been filed to change this including legislation filed by Senator Ives and co-sponsored by both Representative DiZoglio and myself. As a member of the […]
Massachusetts Legislators, members of the media and 1st amendment advocates testified last month before a joint House and Senate committee on Beacon Hill, asking legislators to add penalties to the state’s fake public records law. The law, MGL Ch. 66, states that the keeper of records in any municipality or public agency must turn over public […]
NEIL HARRINGTON IS THE POSTER BOY When I started this journey to reform our state’s public records law five years ago I had no idea that the Town of Salisbury would feature so prominently in my motivations to add stiff penalties for officials who refuse to turn over public documents. Yet, here we are. […]
By: State Senator Katy Ives – June, 2015 Last week, I testified on a bill I filed, S.1700, An Act Relative to Obtaining Information, before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight. This bill promotes access to information, available to all, within a reasonable time frame and for residents to have recourse in […]
Listen to or Download Hour 1: Methuen Mayor Steve Zanni talks about running for reelection, the new turf at Nicholson Stadium, and more. Listen to or Download Hour 2: State Senator Katy Ives talks about her transparency bill, S-1700 which will penalize public officials who refuse to comply with the state’s public records law. Ives also […]