Another threat to "free and open examination" of public records averted, this time by our neighbor to the south — Tennessee — as the University of Memphis withdraws a proposal to inspect a person's cellphone, and to charge a fee, when the person takes a picture of a public record using his/her personal cellphone.
Kentuckians must remain vigilant to similar efforts to curtail their existing statutory rights as bad ideas flourish in a hostile legislative environment.
An important reminder: In the current legal battle over access to public officials/employees' communications about public business on privately own devices and/or accounts, *no one* has *ever* proposed that these public officials/employees be required to hand over their private cellphones to open records requesters — much less the public agencies they serve — to satisfy an open records request.
But these public officials/employees should think long and hard about prematurely deleting those public business related communications on private devices or accounts or concealing them when they are requested under the open records law. Existing Kentucky law makes both a crime.
https://www.facebook.com/419650175248377/posts/985729188640470/?d=n
And another reminder: Under Kentucky law, *only* county clerks are authorized to "restrict[ ] the use of devices including but not limited to scanners, cameras, computers, personal copiers, or other devices that may be used by an individual seeking a copy of a document maintained by the clerk."
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=40089
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"University of Memphis withdraws proposal to inspect cell phones, charge when someone takes picture of public record"
By Deborah Fisher|
Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|
"The University of Memphis has withdrawn a proposed rule that would have required public records requestors who took pictures of public records to hand over their phone so the university could check it for what they photographed and would have allowed the university to charge the person a "production cost" even though the university itself did not produce the copies."
Read more. . .
https://tcog.info/u-of-memphis-withdraws-proposal-to-inspect-cell-phone…
