A "sleeper" open records decision issued by the attorney general's staff last month may have played a role in the dismissal of Lt. Governor Jenean Hampton's aide, Adrienne Southworth .

The Courier Journal reports that Southworth submitted a request to the Finance and Administration Cabinet in the wake of the dismissal of her supervisor, Steve Knipper. She requested electronic copies of records identifying any officials to whom the power to hire and fire had been delegated.

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/13/fired-je…

Her request was honored, albeit a day late, and Finance required her to review the two pages of responsive records in its offices rather than transmitting the records to her electronically.

Her appeal was based on subversion of the intent of the open records law short of denial of inspection. This is a recognized basis for appeal under KRS 61.880(4). Other examples include "misdirection of the applicant" and imposition of excessive copying fees.

Finance did not deny her access to, or conceal, the records. But it imposed improper impediments to the exercise of her right of access by requiring her to inspect the records, in person, before making copies.

That procedural irregularity resulted in her decision to appeal. And her decision to appeal *might* have contributed to the loss of her job.

The decision, 19-ORD-080 (linked below), was notable from a purely open records perspective because it confirmed the right of a requester to free electronic copies of precisely described public records that are requested and maintained electronically.

Little did we know "the rest of the story."