mike bodette, working in partnership with the globe, enlisted aid of massachusetts students to test the response. when asked by an average citizen, in this case a student at northeastern, more than haft equal's 351 cities and towns failed to respond as required by law enforcement and when we ultimately identified ourselves as journalists, the apologies came and so did the records but the open records law plies to the requests of all citieses -- citizens. quite often, journalists all over boston have experienced difficulty in obtaining records requested in a timely fashion or without incurring thousands in processing fees. the governor says they support perhaps the commonwealth should just put everything on line, dramaticy increasing transparency with far greater efficiency than the current requirements. in the meantime, the legislature needs to quickly pass a public records reform bill, one that is clear to all