The following Opinions and Open Records/Open Meetings Decisions were issued by the Office of the Kentucky Attorney General last week. The summaries are provided here. To read the full text in each case, go to: https://ag.ky.gov/orom/Pages/2019-OROM.aspx

1. 19-ORD-201 (Lyon County)

Kentucky State Penitentiary ("KSP") cannot produce nonexistent records for inspection or copying nor is KSP required to "prove a negative" in order to refute an unsubstantiated assertion that a letter, or response to it, was created or exists. In the absence of any facts or evidence from which the existence of a responsive document can be presumed, this office has no basis upon which to find that KSP violated the Open Records Act in denying request.

2. 19-ORD-202 (Franklin County)

Office of the Governor violated KRS 61.880(1) by failing to issue a timely denial of a request, and failing to properly invoke KRS 61.872(5) and provide the statutorily required adequate explanation of the cause for delay. The Governor's Office failed to fulfill its duties under the Act by providing a nonresponsive record. The Governor's Office subverted the intent of the Act within the meaning of KRS 61.880(4) by creating unnecessary impediments to effective inspection.

3. 19-ORD-203 (Gallatin County) Gallatin County Planning Commission violated the Open Records Act by failing to respond to a request for records, and failed to cure violation by substantively responding on appeal.

4. 19-ORD-204 (Fayette County)

Lexington Police Department ("LPD") did not violate the Open Records Act ("Act") by withholding the name and personal identifying information of the suspect and victim in Case Reports and Incident Reports on the basis of KRS 61.878(1)(a).