This section provides an overview of the Commonwealth laws that may apply to the management of GIS spatial data as public documents and the legal issue pursuant to tax maps.
11.1 TAX MAPS 11.2 PUBLIC RECORDS LAW 11.3 GIS AND PUBLIC PRIVACY CONCERNS 11.4 FEES
Because the primary purpose of parcel map conversion is to provide for the efficient and beneficial management of tax maps, it is important to discuss the legal standing of tax maps. Under Commonwealth law there is no provision regarding how tax (or parcel) maps may be used in the valuation of property. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 184, Section 33 (M.G.L. c.184 § 33) indicates that assessors may use maps to identify parcels taxed and that approximate boundaries without distances are sufficient for this purpose. M.G.L. c.58 § 1A makes reference to the fact that tax maps are an instrument of recording keeping. Under the law, the commissioner of revenue may require of assessors any information regarding the procedures used in keeping records, maintaining tax maps and determining the valuation and classification for taxation of property.
There is no doubt that tax maps are essential as an assessment tool in that they are a convenient record of size, shape, and geographical location of parcels within a municipality. However, tax maps, or digital representations thereof, are not legal conveyances of property. In Massachusetts, only property deeds, filed with the district or county Registry of Deeds, legally convey title (Colleary 1999, np). The deed, and any plans that are referenced and recorded with the deed, provides the precise location and dimensions of the property as measured in metes and bounds (Davis 1956, 194-195). It is for this reason that the feature attribute table of a parcel coverage should contain a source document reference, such as Registry of Deeds book and page number, for each property record in the database.
The legal issues relevant to digital tax parcel data concern public access and protocols for disseminating GIS datasets. M.G.L. Chapter 4, Section 7(26), the Public Records Law, broadly defines public records to include all documentary materials, regardless of their physical form, that are made or received by any office of any Massachusetts government. The statutory definition of public records does not distinguish between traditional paper records and records in digital format (Galvin 1999, 7). Under this law, digital parcel datasets are considered public records and local governments are obliged to furnish copies, at the cost of reproduction, upon request.
11.3. GIS and Public Privacy Concerns
In many respects, the procedures for responding to public record requests for digital data are similar to those currently facing governments, with one exception. The heart of the matter lies with the fundamental ability of a GIS to link a specific location with an infinite number of databases. For example, the feature attribute table of parcel dataset may be joined to databases about health, income, or purchasing habits through an exact match to a street address and/or name contained with the table. A simple query of a single parcel may then provide information far beyond the details of assessed value and date of purchase. A public request for a municipality's parcel dataset, that has been permanently expanded to include information of a personal nature regarding the property-owner and/or resident, raises both ethical issues and state statues protecting personal privacy. It should be noted however, that under the law, governments are not required to create digital records in response to a request for information.
Exemption (c) of M.G.L c.4 § 7(26), the privacy exemption, specifically limits the dissemination of public records that contain: personnel and medical files or information; also any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.
As a general rule, medical information is of a sufficiently personal nature to warrant exemption. Records that implicate intimate details of a highly personal nature, unrelated to medical records or government personnel, are exempt under the law. By extension, portions of public records containing such information are exempt from information requests unless there is a paramount concern for public safety regarding the information in question (Galvin 1999, 3-4).
Local governments using a GIS should recognize that information associated with a specific location may be privacy-sensitive. They should also acknowledge in their preparation and use of digital data the expectation of citizens that public records will not contain information unrelated to the purpose of the data collection. To comply with privacy exemption of the Public Records Law, local governments should consider the adoption of a privacy protection policy regarding the use and dissemination of GIS data. Such a policy would provide the basis for consistent and fair responses to requests for not only parcel data, but all datasets created by the government for their GIS. The policy may also include the following guidelines (Wright 1997, 24):
· construct and manage parcel datasets to include only that information which is traditionally relevant;
· collect, use, manage, and disclose GIS data in an format that maintains anonymity whenever possible; and
· educate all staff involved in the development, use, or delivery of GIS programs including parcel data about the privacy issues of GIS technology.
For more information on Massachusetts Public Records law, contact the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Public Records Division, One Ashburton Place, Rm 1719, Boston, MA 02108, (617) 727-2832, http://www.state.ma.us/sec/pre/prelaw/lawidx.htm.
Local governments should consider in what format parcel datasets will be disseminated and what fees will be assessed. According to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, local governments are obliged only to disseminate digital files in formats available to the government and notify the requestor to make the choice that best suits their needs (Galvin 1999, 8). Fees may cover the cost of the media and the staff time necessary to search for the requested records or segregate exempt information at a rate equal to the hourly wage of the lowest paid employee capable of this work (Galvin 1999, 2).
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