This is where we draw the line on "reasonable leniency."

Louisville Metro Government has denied the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting's request for spending records during the coronavirus outbreak.

Metro Government bases its denial on an unsupported claim that producing the nonexempt records would impose an unreasonable burden on Metro Government employees *and* "the residents of Louisville Metro relying on Metro's work if they were to respond to this request at this time."

Unlike some states, Kentucky's open records laws have not been suspended until its emergency declaration is lifted.

Minor modifications to the law have been temporarily implemented under SB 150, primarily extending the deadline for agency response to a request from three business days to ten days.

But virtually all remaining provisions of the law remain as they were before the emergency declaration.

As Louisville First Amendment attorney, Michael Abate, observes "Times like this require more transparency, not less, in order for people to have confidence in government."

Leniency ends where legally indefensible obfuscation and secrecy begins.