Commissioner of Public Safety v. Freedom of Information Commission; Tax Assessor of the Town of North…

Summary

The court held that the statutory prohibition on disclosing protected public officials' residential addresses applies to motor-vehicle grand lists and the component data supplied to municipal assessors. Reading the public-records, grand-list, and address-protection statutes together, the court concluded that the assessor was required to redact protected residential addresses before disclosure and that the agency's contrary interpretation was not entitled to deference. Justice Norcott, joined by Justice Eveleigh, concurred in the judgment but concluded that the statutory scheme was ambiguous and that legislative history confirmed the same result.