Number 7 August 28, 1970

Number 7 August 28, 1970 Honorable Richard E. McLaughlin Registrar of Motor Vehicles 100 Nashua Street Boston, Massachusetts 02114 Dear Sir: You have requested my opinion as to your authority to permit per- sonnel of various insurance companies to obtain: (1) Records in computer processable form of all suspen- sions and/or revocations of operator licenses or vehicle reg- istrations. (2) Use of a computer terminal so that such information may be gathered by direct inquiry into the Registry's compu- ter. The threshold issue is, of course, whether the Registry records of suspensions and/or revocations of licenses or registrations are public records. ^ Public records are defined in G. L. c. 4, § 7, twenty-sixth as: "... any written or printed book or paper ... of the commonwealth . . . which is the property thereof, and in or on which any entry has been made or is required to be made by law, or which any officer or employee of the common- wealth . . . has received or is required to receive for filing General Laws c. 90, §§ 2 and 30 require that records of registrations and licenses be maintained by the Registrar. General Laws c. 90, § 341 44 P.D. 12 requires that the Registrar maintain "such records and books and pub- lish and distribute such forms and information as will facilitate the oper- ation of the provisions of the eight preceding sections . . ." In turn, the eight preceding sections to which reference is made in section 341 per- tain to compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance. In Canney v. Carrier. 333 Mass. 382, 383, the Supreme Judicial Court stated that the records which the Registrar is required by statute to keep are those enumerated in G. L. c. 90, §§ 2, 30, and 341. See, also. Lord v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, ?>A1 Mass. 608, 61 1 (reports filed under G. L. c. 90, § 26 determined to be "public records"). Therefore, any statutory direction to keep records of suspensions and revocations must be found within the above sections. There is within G. L. c. 90, §§ 2, 26. 30 and 341 no direct and explicit requirement that the Registrar keep records of suspensions and revoca- tions. However, it is my opinion that such a requirement is necessarily implied and must have been intended by the Legislature. General Laws c. 90, § 30 provides, in pertinent part: "A proper record of all applications and of all certificates and licenses issued shall be kept by the registrar at his main office, and such records shall be open to the inspection of any person during reasonable business hours ..." A statute is to be construed, whenever possible so "as to make it an effectual piece of legislation in harmony with common sense and sound reason." Atlast Distributing Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, 354 Mass. 408, 414. In order that G. L. c. 90 as a whole be considered to be an effectual piece of legislation, it is necessary that a "proper record of all . . . certificates and licenses issued" must include records of suspensions and revocations. This is so because other sec- tions of Chapter 90 give specific directions to the Registrar in circum- stances under which an individual's license or registration has been sus- pended or revoked and the Registrar must be aware of suspensions and revocations in order to comply with the directions of such sections. In this regard, G. L. c. 90, § 8 provides in pertinent part: "Application for a license to operate motor vehicles may be made by any person except a person who^has been licensed and whose license is not in force because of revoca- tion or suspension or whose right to operate is suspended by the registrar . . ." And, according to G. L. c. 90, § 10: " . . . [N]o person shall operate on the ways of the com- monwealth any motor vehicle ... if the registrar shall have suspended or revoked any license to operate motor vehicles issued to him under this chapter, or shall have suspended his right to operate such vehicles, and such license or right has not been restored or a new license to operate motor vehicles has not been issued to him . . ." P.D. 12 45 Finally. G. L. c. 90, § 22 provides in part: "The registrar may suspend or revoke any certificate of re- gistration or any license issued under this chapter, after due hearing, for any cause which he may deem sufficient. . . . and neither the certificate of registration nor the license shall be reissued unless . . . the registrar determines that the operator should again be permitted to operate ..." I note that other sections of c. 90 which require knowledge by the Re- gistrar that a license or registration has been suspended or r^^voked are §§22A. 22B. 23. 24 and 24 B. In light of the foregoing. 1 conclude that the provision of G. L. c. 90, § 30 stating that a "proper record of all . . . certificates and licenses is- sued shall be kept by the registrar" requires such "proper record" to include record of suspensions and revocations. "Common sense and sound reason" demand this. Consequently, a Registry record of a sus- pension or revocation is a "written or printed book or paper ... in or on which any entry ... is required to be made by law, or which any otTicer or employee of the commonwealth ... is required to receive for filing," and is therefore a public record under G. L. c. 4, § 7, twenty-sixth. In reaching my decision, 1 have considered the case of Finnegan v. Checker Taxi Co., 300 Mass. 62, and find it inapposite. There, the plain- tiff offered as part of his case Registry "papers containing the operating record" of the defendant's operator. The papers indicated that the operator's license had been suspended and reissued several times in the previous two years. The Court held that the papers in issue were not required to be kept under G. L. c. 90, §§ 2, 30 or 341, and, therefore, were not admissible in evidence as public records. 300 Mass. 62, 70, cit- ing Commonwecilth v. Slavski, 245 Mass. 405, 417. However, the Slavski decision makes clear that the Court was concerned with eviden- tiary matters, specifically the public records exception to the hearsay rule and the best-evidence rule. See, also, Canney v. Carrier, supra, at 383-84. Standards are different from determining what are "public re- cords" under the rules of evidence. See Amory v. Commonwealth, 321 Mass. 240, 252. Hence, it is consistent with Finnei^an v. Checker Taxi Co., supra, to determine that the records of suspensions and revocations are required to be kept under G. L. c. 90, § 30, and therefore are public records under G. L. c. 4, § 7, twenty-sixth. In Lord v. Rci^istrar of Motor Vehicles, supra, at 612. the Court of- fered as an indicium in determining whether certain records are public, whether they could conceivably have usefulness to the general public. In my opinion, information whether a license or registration has been sus- pended or revoked can have such usefulness. Kor example, an employer may wish to determine whether the employee's license is presently valid before allowing him the use of a company vehicle; or. an individual may wish to verify the validity of an automobile registration before driving it. For the above reasons, I have decided that Registry records on sus- pensions and revocations are public records. 46 P.D. 12 In addition to the requirement of G. L. c. 90, § 30 that Registry "rec- ords shall be open to the inspection of any person during reasonable bus- iness hours," G. L. c. 66, § 10 provides in part: "Every person having custody of any public records shall, at reasonable times, permit them to be inspected and ex- amined by any person, under his supervision, and shall fur- nish copies thereof on payment of a reasonable fee." The latter statute has been interpreted as allowing any person the right to inspect and copy public records, with no limitation on the use to be made of such copies. The applicant need only refrain from interfering unduly with the work of the office and must submit to such reasonable supervision as will guard the safety of the records and assure equal op- portunity for all. Direct Mail Service v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, 296 Mass. 353, 355-57. There is nothing in Direct-Mail Service v. Registrar of Motor Vehi- cles, supra, to indicate that copies of public records in computer pro- cessable form cannot be provided to interested applicants as long as there is no undue interference and a reasonable fee is paid. It is there- fore my opinion that the Registrar may provide, in computer processable form, records of suspensions and revocations. Finally, there appears to be no difference between providing suspension/revocation information through the lease of a terminal in the Registry's computer and providing it through more conventional methods. I have been informed that computer technology is such that data provided through a computer terminal can be strictly limited to cer- tain information. In the instant situation, it should be made certain that only such information as comes within the definition of "public records" is disseminated. Also, the insurance industry may not so use the termi- nal as to interfere with use of the computer by the Commonwealth or to endanger the records stored within the computer. However, here again I am assured that safeguards are easily implemented, and additionally, a reasonable fee can be determined reflecting the value of the use of such a terminal. In conclusion, then, it is my opinion that: (1) The Registrar may make available the records of all suspensions and revocations in computer processable form to members of the insur- ance industry: and (2) The Registrar may allow members of the insurance industry to use a computer terminal by which they can inquire directly into the Registry's computer. Very truly yours, ROBERT H. QUINN Attorney General P.D. 12 47 Numbers September IL 1970 Honorable John F. X. Davoren Secretary of the Commomvealth State House Boston, Massachusetts 02133 Dear Secretary Davoren: By a letter dated August 1. 1970. you have asked me whether the fol- lowing question is one of public policy in accordance with section 19 of Chapter 53 of the Massachusetts General Laws: "Shall the Representative from this District be instructed to vote to approve the passage of a constitutional amendment reducing the size of the Massachusetts House of Representa- tives from 240 members to 160 members?'" It is my opinion that the question presented is an "important public question*" in which "every citizen of the Commonwealth has an in- terest" and is therefore a question of "public policy" within the mean- ing of G.L. c. 53. § 19. See 1939 Opinions of the Attorney General, pp. 99-100; 1955 Opinions of the Attorney General, pp. 51-52. See also 8 Opinions of the Attorney General, 1928. 490. 491-94; 1965 Opinions of the Attorney General, pp. 92-93. You have requested further that if 1 determine the question submitted to be one of "public policy" and therefore properly included on the elec- tion ballot in the 7th Essex Representative District, that I supply your office with a suitable statement of the question for presentation upon the ballot. It is my opinion that the question, as presently stated, is in proper form and may be printed on the ballot as such. See 1965 Opinions of the Attorney General, p. 93. Very truly yours. ROBERT H. QUINN Attorney General