Yet another stunning victory for open government, and this on an issue of the broadest possible public interest.

Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled today that the Office of the State Budget Director violated the open records law in denying attorney Ellen Suetholz's request for a copy of the actuarial analysis of the Governor's original pension bill — presented with great fanfare to the public — commissioned and paid for by the Kentucky Retirement Systems.

Suetholz is affiliated with the Kentucky Public Pension Coalition.

Judge Shepherd rejected the budget director's arguments that the actuarial analysis qualifies for nondisclosure as a preliminary draft, note, or correspondence with a private individual (KRS 61.878(1)(i)). Further, he rejected the argument that the actuarial analysis constitutes opinion, recommendation, or policy formulation KRS 61.878(1)(j).

Judge Shepherd concluded that the actuarial analysis was not preliminary to any pending agency action. "The Governor made his policy recommendation public, and likewise he is required to make the tax-payer funded economic analysis of it public."

"It is the Governor's recommendation that is at issue here, not the General Assembly's enactment of legislation." The disputed record "merely provided economic analysis of that recommendation."

The opinion identifies several instances in which the actuarial analysis concludes that recommendations made by the Governor would not achieve the stated goals, remarking that the open records law requires disclosure even if it causes "inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials."

It concludes, "Because the stakes are so high, the need for full public disclosure of all relevant information to inform public debate is equally high."

The opinion directs disclosure of the analysis to Suetholz, and submission of a motion for attorneys' fees and penalties, within ten days.

The litigants should prepare for a long battle in the courts on this one.