"According to records obtained through the state's Open Records Act, the LRC paid Interior Design $848,637.88 for desks, chairs and bookcases. Included in the cost was $56,981.60 for delivery and installation.
"The bill to Response Marketing for chairs was $70,176."
A reminder that records of the Legislative Research Commission and the General Assembly are no longer subject to the Kentucky Open Records Act.
Since June 29, access to records of lawmakers and their administrative support arm is governed by KRS 7.119 and limited — per KRS 7.119(2) — to:
"[B]ills and amendments introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives, Senate and House Journals, Acts of the General Assembly, roll call votes, final reports of committees, Kentucky Administrative Regulations, documents showing salary and expenses paid to members of the General Assembly and all employees of the legislative branch, contracts, receipts and work orders for repairs or renovations to legislative offices or facilities, items cataloged in the legislative library, the Legislative Record, and informational and educational materials offered by the public information office, including legislative videotapes and photographs, calendars, and meeting notices."
Purchase orders and invoices fall somewhere within these narrow parameters. It is otherwise safe to assume that they would not have been released. KRS 7.119(4) states:
"If a request for records in the custody of the Legislative Research Commission or the General Assembly not described in subsection (2) of this section or in KRS 7.117 is made to the director of the Legislative Research Commission, those records shall not be subject to disclosure. A request for review of the denial of the disclosure shall be made to the Legislative Research Commission, which shall issue its decision within thirty (30) days of the first scheduled meeting held following receipt of the request for review. That decision shall be final and unappealable."
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51395
The Herald-Leader made its request under the Open Records Act, but the Legislative Research Commission provided the requested records under KRS 7.119.
It could hardly do otherwise with truckloads of large boxes carrying new office furniture — on public display.
It's great to know that at least some records of the Legislative Research Commission and the General Assembly are still available for public inspection, albeit under far less generous terms than the Open Records Act provides.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=23058
