Email Metadata (Department of Revenue)
| Tracking # |
DGS-97198 |
| Multi Request | Email Metadata |
| Submitted | Oct. 14, 2023 |
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Communications
From: Samuel Newton
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Colorado Open Records Act, I hereby request the following records:
For all emails sent to/from any Colorado owned email address in 2020,2021,2022, please provide the following information:
1. From address
2. To address
3. bcc addresses
4. cc addresses
5. Time
6. Date
Email directories for/related to FOI requests
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 3 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Samuel Newton
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Colorado Open Records Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 20, 2023. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Department of Revenue
Dear Mr. Newton:
We are writing in response to your Colorado Open Records Act request for
names, dates, times, and addresses for all emails "sent to/from any
Colorado owned email address in 2020,2021,2022". Your request was submitted
to The Colorado Department of Revenue. Please clarify whether you are
interested in records from The Department of Revenue only, or other State
agencies as well. Please also clarify that your request for email
directories/email records for or related to open records requests is
concerning emails related to Colorado Open Records Act requests only, and
not all emails to/from Department of Revenue email addresses.
Regards,
Patrick Harton
*Department of Revenue CORA Manager*
www.colorado.gov/revenue/cora
From: Samuel Newton
I am requesting emails to and from Department of Revenue.
Concerning emails related to Colorado Open Records Act requests only.
From: Department of Revenue
Dear Mr. Newton:
We are writing in response to your Colorado Open Records Act request below.
Your request involves records that cannot be reasonably gathered, reviewed
and prepared within the three-day period without substantially interfering
with the custodian’s obligation to perform her other public services.
Accordingly, pursuant to C.R.S. 24-72- 203 (3) (b)(III), we will be taking
up to an additional seven working days to complete your request.
Regards,
Patrick Harton
*Department of Revenue CORA Manager/Administrator*
www.colorado.gov/revenue/cora
From: Department of Revenue
Good afternoon,
Your patience in further follow-up to your request is appreciated. I am
assisting Mr. Harton with this matter. The Department of Revenue does not
maintain a log of incoming and outgoing emails related to CORA requests or
any other record that would isolate the specific information requested.
Records are not created in response to a request. The only responsive
records would be the emails themselves (with email addresses of all
requestors redacted as required by state statute), as well as additional
redactions for PII and any confidential material. If the body or substance
of the emails is not of interest, that portion of every email could be
redacted in its entirety to reduce the amount of time required to review
the emails for release. Given the volume of emails involved (thousands),
there will still be substantial costs involved to prepare and redact any
degree of information in these files. Please advise if you would like us to
move forward with this request for what can be provided and we will prepare
a cost estimate for you.
*Anissa Hollingshead*
*Director, Records Management*
[image: Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) logo and link to website]
<https://cdor.colorado.gov/>
www.colorado.gov/revenue/cora
From: Samuel Newton
Are there redactions for Freedom of Information requests?
Which statute are you referencing?
I'd like to move forward with this request.
Could you give me an impression of how you intend to process these records as well?
Are you able to batch process these emails with your IT department?
Regarding costs, aren't those covered by your office since this is past the deadline for a response?
You responded after 3 days requesting more time and those additional 7 working days lapsed on the 22nd.
Body of the emails need not be included.
I'm looking for some basic information about emails. Think of an email like a letter in the mail. The information I need is kind of like the details you see on the envelope, such as who sent it, who it was sent to, and when it was sent.
Specifically, I need:
1. Who sent the email (From Address)
2. Who received the email (To Address)
3. Any hidden recipients (BCC Addresses)
4. Any additional recipients (CC Addresses)
5. The exact time it was sent or received (Time)
6. The exact date it was sent or received (Date)
The IT department can help you find this information because they manage the email system and can easily pull out these details from the emails. It’s like looking at the address and postmark on an envelope, but for emails instead.
From: Department of Revenue
Good afternoon,
You may find it helpful to review the information the Department of Revenue
(DOR) provides on our website about the Colorado Open Records Act, or CORA,
and how these requests are handled. This page also includes an online form
for submitting CORA requests, which I believe you were also provided
yesterday for a separate request that was sent directly to the Auto
Industry Division via email. The page is found at:
https://cdor.colorado.gov/cora
This site includes information that answers your questions regarding what
CORA is, when costs are involved in records requests in Colorado, timing
and CORA, and what information is excluded from release under the Act. Your
direct questions will also be addressed in this correspondence.
The Freedom of Information Act is a federal law that does not apply to
state agencies. As our site notes, we treat requests that cite FOIA as
though they were made pursuant to state law, §§ 24-72-201 thru 206, C.R.S.
– Colorado Open Records Act or CORA – Part 2: Inspection, Copying, and
Photographing
<https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&crid=c5740c9c-26b3-4352-8ce0-6c1332b95975&nodeid=AAYAAOAABAACAAB&nodepath=%2FROOT%2FAAY%2FAAYAAO%2FAAYAAOAAB%2FAAYAAOAABAAC%2FAAYAAOAABAACAAB&level=5&haschildren=&populated=false&title=Part+2+Inspection%2C+Copying%2C+or+Photographing&config=014FJAAyNGJkY2Y4Zi1mNjgyLTRkN2YtYmE4OS03NTYzNzYzOTg0OGEKAFBvZENhdGFsb2d592qv2Kywlf8caKqYROP5&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fstatutes-legislation%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A61P5-WVF1-DYDC-J45W-00008-00&ecomp=6gf59kk&prid=33a0f3f6-f515-4863-8993-ede06a154596>
.
Your metaphor of looking at an envelope for details of correspondence being
similar to identifying that information from an email is appreciated, as
that reinforces what I consistently use in training about records
management. The method of delivery is not what is significant, rather, it
is the content that determines what is a record and how it must be
maintained. Similarly to how the Department of Revenue does not maintain a
log of all incoming postal mail that lists the recipient's address, the
sender’s address, and the delivery timing indicated by the postmark, the
Department also does not maintain a record of incoming email that isolates
the 6 data points being requested.
There is no duty to create a new record in order to fulfill a request for
records. There is no existing record containing just the information you
are requesting. What is available and can be provided are the emails
themselves with required redactions. Similarly, if you wished to know this
sort of information from postal mail, any physical mailing envelopes would
be the responsive records we have available for your review. When those
physical envelopes are maintained, it may be with their contents that would
need to be separated out to provide just the envelopes, just as is the case
with emails, where the transmitted content is stored as part of the
information about the method of delivery. You could then compile the
information you are looking for from what is provided.
Redactions are required under the Colorado Open Records Act whenever an
identified record contains information that cannot be released. This would
include any personally identifying information as well as anything else
specified under statute that cannot be released. Relating to the
information you are specifically requesting from these emails,* the email
addresses from those who are sending requests to the Department of Revenue
as part of a CORA request cannot be released.* The statute being referenced
is part of CORA, found under §24-72-204(2)(a)(VII), as cited below:
24-72-204. Allowance or denial of inspection - grounds - procedure - appeal
- definitions - repeal.
(1) The custodian of any public records shall allow any person the right of
inspection of such records or any portion thereof except on one or more of
the following grounds or as provided in subsection (2) or (3) of this
section:
…
(2)
(a) The custodian may deny the right of inspection of the following
records, unless otherwise provided by law, on the ground that disclosure to
the applicant would be contrary to the public interest:
…
(VII) Electronic mail addresses, telephone numbers, or home addresses provided
by a person to an elected official, agency, institution, or political
subdivision of the state for the purposes of future electronic
communications to the person from the elected official, agency,
institution, or political subdivision;
To fulfill your request, we would be able to provide you with the emails
responsive to the parameters you have specified, redacted for all but:
1. Who sent the email if they were within the Department of Revenue (DOR)
(From Address)
2. Who received the email if within DOR (To Address)
3. Any hidden recipients if within DOR (BCC Addresses)
4. Any additional recipients if with DOR (CC Addresses)
5. The exact time it was sent or received (Time)
6. The exact date it was sent or received (Date)
We have identified 15,521 responsive emails.
The Colorado Open Records Act allows charging a statutorily capped hourly
rate for work preparing materials for release under the Act, including
performing necessary redactions. Our current rate for fulfilling requests
is $30 an hour after the first hour, as posted on our website shared above.
The timing of the fulfilment of a request has no bearing on the obligations
relating to the costs under the Act. Delays are something we actively seek
to avoid and very few of our total requests are not fulfilled within the
statutory time frame. Unfortunately, last Friday’s CrowdStrike issues took
our CORA Manager, Mr. Harton, offline from last Friday morning until this
morning, resulting in unavoidable delays.
If you wish to receive an electronic file of the emails with the
information we are able to provide, but no email addresses from those
outside the Department of Revenue, we will prepare a formal cost estimate
for you to move forward. My rough estimate based on the number of
responsive records would be for approximately 86 hours; charges for 85
hours would total $2,550. *If you wish to proceed,* I will ask Mr. Harton
to review and finalize my estimate to send to you along with instructions
to pay via online portal or postal mail.
Best Regards,
Anissa Hollingshead
*Department of Revenue Director of Records Management*
www.colorado.gov/revenue/cora
From: Samuel Newton
Please send the invoice.
From: Department of Revenue
Dear Mr. Newton:
We are writing in response to your Colorado Open Records Act request. We
have completed a preliminary search for records potentially responsive to
your request to estimate the amount of staff time required to fulfill your
request. As previously stated, we estimate it will require a minimum of
eight five (85) hours of staff time to complete your request. Please note
that this is an estimate only, and the actual time spent and related costs
could vary. It is important to also note that, as written, the majority of
the substantive material contained in the records released in response to
your request will be redacted per statute.
Pursuant to statute and DOR policy we assess a $30/hour research fee after
the first hour of staff time taken to respond to open record requests. We
are forwarding a link to a portal to submit payment of $2550 (85 x 30)
electronically by credit or debit card. We can also accept a check or money
order made out to The Department of Revenue. To pay by mail, please send
payment to The Colorado Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 17087, Denver,
Colorado 80217-0087 Attn: Yvonne Candelaria.
Regards,
Patrick Harton
*Department of Revenue CORA Manager/Administrator*
www.colorado.gov/revenue/cora
From: Department of Revenue
Select the link to make a payment for your CORA request. - https://go.egov.com/0AebbCF
From: Samuel Newton
How much for 10 of the emails?
From:
—-—-—-—
Reply above this line.
This is a confirmation email to let you know that the DGS Portal Support Team has received your request. We will be contacting you if we need additional information.
Reply to this email to provide additional information on this request or contact the Service/Help Desk by calling 303-534-3468. Please have your ticket number available when calling.
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From: Samuel Newton
The metadata is a record with the emails themselves.
Not a new record being created.
This would be a manipulated record.
From: Department of Revenue
—-—-—-—
Reply above this line.
This is a confirmation email to let you know that the DGS Portal Support Team has received your request. We will be contacting you if we need additional information.
Reply to this email to provide additional information on this request or contact the Service/Help Desk by calling 303-534-3468. Please have your ticket number available when calling.
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From: Department of Revenue
—-—-—-—
Reply above this line.
Katrina DeFeo commented on the following request:
*DGS-97133: RE: Colorado Open Records Act Request: Email Metadata (Department of Revenue)
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting the Tyler Colorado Support Team. The Colorado Open Records Act Office would be able to assist you.
Let me provide you with their contact information:
Colorado Open Records Act Office
Email: [1]CORA@coloradoSOS.gov
Thank you,
Tyler Colorado Support Team"
Reply to this email to respond to this comment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] mailto:CORA@coloradoSOS.gov
__________________________
Katrina DeFeo resolved the following request as Done:
*DGS-97133: RE: Colorado Open Records Act Request: Email Metadata (Department of Revenue)
Please reply to this email to confirm the request has been resolved. If we do not receive feedback related to this request within one business day, the request will be closed.
How was our service for this request?
https://coloradointeractive.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5/DGS-97133/feedback?token=0ced5bed6e13cb85a41922e8be01adcefb6043de
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From: Department of Revenue
—-—-—-—
Reply above this line.
Katrina DeFeo commented on the following request:
*DGS-97198: RE: Colorado Open Records Act Request: Email Metadata (Department of Revenue)
"Hello,
Thank you for contacting the Tyler Colorado Support Team. The Colorado Open Records Act Office would be able to assist you.
Let me provide you with their contact information:
Colorado Open Records Act Office
Email: [1]CORA@coloradoSOS.gov
Thank you,
Tyler Colorado Support Team"
Reply to this email to respond to this comment.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] mailto:CORA@coloradoSOS.gov
__________________________
Katrina DeFeo resolved the following request as Done:
*DGS-97198: RE: Colorado Open Records Act Request: Email Metadata (Department of Revenue)
Please reply to this email to confirm the request has been resolved. If we do not receive feedback related to this request within one business day, the request will be closed.
How was our service for this request?
https://coloradointeractive.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/5/DGS-97198/feedback?token=69e59f792638fdb6696058b1c3df77cedbd0a449
This is shared with requests@muckrock.com
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