I won't bother to ask what state agency Insider Louisville's Joe Sonka is dealing with. Most are guilty of these same offenses.

His option to appeal to the attorney general yields little to no positive benefit. If he takes the time to do so, his appeal will be logged and notification will be issued to the agency by the attorney general.

The agency will produce the records in the format requested — within the 20 day period for issuing an open records decision — thus "mooting" the appeal under state regulation, or dig in its heels and defend its action.

Worst case scenario, the agency receives an open records decision declaring a violation of the open records law and a stern admonition from the attorney general.

Don't blame the attorney general. His statutory authority is limited to determining whether the agency violated the open records law. He does not have enforcement powers in an open records appeal.

He can do no more than find that a violation has occurred.

Unless the agency can offer a plausible justification for refusing to transmit the requested records electronically, there should be a legal reckoning.

Rather than attempting to dilute our open records law during each legislative session, lawmakers should look for ways to compel compliance and hold agencies accountable when they fail to comply.

Providing a requester with records in an unusable medium is NOT compliance.