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Hopkinton council adopts resolution opposing bills that would broaden public-records access
Summary
The Hopkinton Town Council voted to adopt a resolution opposing Senate Bill 909 and House Bill 6273, saying the measures would expand public access to private records, reduce fees, raise penalties and place burdens on small towns and first responders.
The Hopkinton Town Council voted to adopt a resolution opposing Senate Bill 909 and House Bill 6273, measures that would change access under the state’s public records law. The measure, sponsored by Councilor Gary, passed unanimously at the meeting after a discussion led by the town attorney and the town clerk.
Town attorney Steve Seifel, who helped draft the resolution using a League of Cities and Towns opposition letter as a starting point, told the council the bills would “open up a lot of private personal stuff that has nothing to do with how the government functions” and would increase time and cost burdens on local staff. “It’s hard to exaggerate how much time is wasted by public records requests that are not the purpose of the public records laws,” Seifel said.
Seifel and the town clerk said the bills would reduce the fees towns may charge for responding to requests, increase penalties for noncompliance, and require release of materials that local officials currently treat as nonpublic — including some police records where no arrest occurred. Seifel said those changes could discourage people from calling first responders and would strain small local public bodies that lack dedicated records-staffing resources.
Councilors also noted that the League of Cities and Towns, which represents municipalities across the state, has expressed opposition to the bills and that a letter from the town administrator of Lincoln — written from his perspective as a former police officer — raised similar concerns about policing and privacy. Seifel said enforcement of the Access to Public Records Act would remain with the attorney general’s office if the bills pass.
Resident speakers at the meeting asked why Hopkinton was moving to adopt the resolution before the bills had cleared committee and before further state action. Seifel and other council members said the timing reflects the pace of legislative activity: “These things happen quickly on the state level,” a council member said, arguing the town should “stay ahead of these things.”
The council’s resolution adds Hopkinton’s voice to the League’s opposition and was approved by voice vote with the meeting record noting votes by the councilors present.
