FOI Request for proposals to the 2012 "short" Session of the CT Legislature

Only time will tell what the State Police will propose in 2012

From: Edward Peruta [mailto:edperuta@amcable.tv]
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 2:52 PM
To: 'Mancini, Seth'
Subject: RE: Second Request - Foi Request for prompt access to public records

I will accept access on a piecemeal basis with priority to any suggested legislation made from your department to OPM or any other agency for review.

Ed Peruta


From: Mancini, Seth [mailto:Seth.Mancini@ct.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 2:23 PM
To: 'Edward Peruta'
Subject: RE: Second Request - Foi Request for prompt access to public records

Mr. Peruta:

As previously advised, we are in receipt of your request for records from Attorney Steve Spellman pertaining to firearms-related legislative proposals, and it is being processed. I have received 300 pages (eyeball estimate) of records that will be made available to you as soon as they have been reviewed. I will let you know when they are all ready, or I can make them available piecemeal as they are cleared for disclosure if you prefer.

Respectfully,

Seth Mancini

____________________
Sgt. Seth G. Mancini, Esq.
Commissioner's Staff
(860) 685-8150 phone
(860) 685-8354 facsimile

From: Edward Peruta [mailto:edperuta@amcable.tv]
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 8:59 AM
To: Hellier, Dawn; Mancini, Seth; Hatfield, Thomas
Cc: 'Rachel M. Baird'; News David Owens; FOI-DL
Subject: Second Request - Foi Request for prompt access to public records

Commissioner Bradford,

Please forward this email to the Commissioner or hand deliver same.

I am with this second request for prompt access, requesting that the information be made available no later than the close of business on Thursday October 27[SUP]th[/SUP]. I believe that you have the authority to give my request the priority that the law and previous FOI orders mandate. I’m sure that your legislative liaison Attorney Spellman is more than capable of retrieving and producing the requested public records in a prompt manner with minimal effort.

I am sending this request directly to you as the Commissioner and custodian of your department’s public records through your legal affairs unit with the understanding that they do not have the needed authority to demand compliance with the law.

As the Commissioner, I believe that you can provide the proper priority to my FOI request and have the requested records available by the close of business on Thursday October 27[SUP]th[/SUP] 2011.

Should the requested prompt access not be granted by the close of business on Thursday, I will be forced to file the issue with the Freedom of Information in the form of a complaint regarding the denial of prompt access to public records.

Should you have any questions regarding this request, do not hesitate to contact me via email or phone.

Respectfully,

Edward A. Peruta
American News and Information Services Inc.
38 Parish Road
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
860-978-5455

From: Mancini, Seth [mailto:Seth.Mancini@ct.gov]
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 10:06 AM
To: 'Edward Peruta'
Subject: RE: Foi Request for prompt access to public records

Mr. Peruta:

Your request has been received and it will be processed in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act and any other applicable provision of law.

I have contacted Attorney Spellman and asked that he collect the requested information. As in previous years, I understand the scope of your request to be for SLFU and firearms-related legislative proposals.

You will be notified as soon as possible of the results of our search. Please reference file number 11-742 on any future communications regarding this request to ensure its proper handling.

Respectfully,

Seth Mancini

____________________
Sgt. Seth G. Mancini, Esq.
Commissioner's Staff
(860) 685-8150 phone
(860) 685-8354 facsimile

From: Edward Peruta [mailto:edperuta@amcable.tv]
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2011 9:04 AM
To: Hellier, Dawn; Mancini, Seth; Hatfield, Thomas
Cc: 'Rachel M. Baird'; info@ctsportsmen.com
Subject: Foi Request for prompt access to public records

To: Commissioner Reuben F. Bradford Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection:
C/O Atty. Dawn Hellier, Sgt. Seth Mancini and Trooper Thomas Hatfield

It’s that time of year again.

I am requesting prompt access to ALL records related to proposals suggested, being considered or submitted from The Department of Public Safety for the 2012 legislative session.

This request is similar to requests made in previous years.

The information is being requested in electronic format and may be sent via email or on a single CD so that the information may be promptly distributed to members of the public in a timely manner.

Paper copies are NOT requested or desired.

Thank you in advance for your prompt attention to this request.

Ed Peruta
American News and Information Services Inc.
38 Parish Road
Rocky Hill, CT 06067
860-978-5455
edperuta@amcable.tv

Thank you for doing this important intelligence gathering for us every year. I know it often comes with substantial personal expense and effort, good to know someone is willing to take it on to help get things done.

Thanx! I've seen your data in the past, but never the letters and responses.

300 pages...... interesting, by the time we get to testify in committees, they are more like 4 or 5 pages for all the legislation!

Jonathan

Thank you, Ed!

Ed, I'd like to add my thanks to that of Rich and Jonathan; your work on this is pivotal in firearms owners not being blindsided at the last minute!

Duane

Information to be posted soon

I will be obtaining access to the records and possible copies for publication this morning.

I can't help but wonder who the client is when they claim "Attorney Client" privilege but that may be an issue for another time.



From: Mancini, Seth [mailto:Seth.Mancini@ct.gov]
Sent: Wednesday, October 26, 2011 3:08 PM
To: 'Edward Peruta'
Subject: RE: Second Request - Foi Request for prompt access to public records

Mr. Peruta:

As the records you requested include many duplicates and needed little in the way of redaction, the review has been completed and they are available for your inspection. One redaction was made pursuant to Conn. Gen. Stat. § 1-210(b)(10) (attorney/client privileged communication and/or work product). These records include hard copy and printed electronic documents from Attorney Spellman pertaining to firearms and SLFU legislative proposals. The information includes records that were used exclusively within the agency, as well as the agency legislative package that was recently sent out.

Respectfully,

Sgt. Seth Mancini

____________________
Sgt. Seth G. Mancini, Esq.
Commissioner's Staff
(860) 685-8150 phone
(860) 685-8354 facsimile

Edward Peruta said:

I can't help but wonder who the client is when they claim "Attorney Client" privilege but that may be an issue for another time.

Click to expand...

Just a visiting former bureaucrat interested in seeing how you folks do things, but if I may offer an informed guess?

Correspondence between Mr. Spellman and the CSP would be attorney/client privileged if he is offering an opinion regarding the law or offering legal advice on how to proceed regarding any matter. In other words, you are being told you can see what they came up with but not the reasoning they used to arrive at the final product. As I understand CT FOIA (and that's not saying much) any correspondence circulated internally asking for opinions or suggestions would fall under the "working papers" exclusion so you might not see what the boys in the back room had to say to the guy in the corner office about if something would fly or not, or how they could fix it so it would fly.

stay safe.