The following Kentucky Attorney General Opinions and Open Records/Open Meetings Decisions were issued last week. The summaries are listed here. To read the full text in each case, go to the link. https://ag.ky.gov/orom/Pages/2019-OROM.aspx
1. 19-OMD-190 (Gallatin County)
The Gallatin County Ethics Board violated KRS 61.820(2) of the Open Meetings Act in failing to provide a regular schedule of meetings and failing to make that schedule of meetings available to the public. Due to the absence of a regular schedule of meetings, the August 26, 2019 gathering of a quorum of Board members was a special meeting held in violation of the scheduling and notice requirements of KRS 61.823(2), (3) and (4).
2. 19-ORD-191 (Franklin County)
Public Service Commission violated the Kentucky Open Records Act by failing to explain application of exceptions to the Act and failing to establish exemption under KRS 61.878(1)(i) or (j) for majority of requested communications concerning 2019 Senate Bill 100. Two disputed e-mails between PSC and the Energy and Environment Cabinet were preliminary under KRS 61.878(1)(j).
3. 19-ORD-192 (Franklin County)
Kentucky Public Service Commission ("PSC") did not violate the Open Records Act in denying request for "work papers and other records prepared or compiled by Commission Staff that form the basis of calculations of revenue requirements identified in the Staff Report in Case No. 2018-00017" because PSC did not adopt its recommendations on that issue; instead, PCC based the revenue requirements in the agency's Order, i.e., final action regarding the matter, on records it received subsequent to issuing the Staff Report. If any information contained in the responsive "work papers" formed the basis of any of the calculations in the Order, KRS 61.878(4) requires PSC to separate that information and make it available to requester.
4. 19-ORD-193 (Jefferson County)
Private orthopedic medical office did not violate the Open Records Act in not responding to request for records, as it is not a "public agency" under the Act.
