Request By:
Hon. Ralph E. McClanahan
Judge/Executive
Court House
Irvine, Kentucky 40336
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
In your letter to Mr. Charles Runyan of March 11, 1978, you request an opinion relating to the Kentucky Open Records Law. You specifically ask if the office of County Judge/Executive is required to comply with a request of a local newspaper for a list of salaries and other information about employees. You state: "No such lists as requested exist." You also refer to the Privacy Act of 1974.
The Privacy Act of 1974 is a part of the Federal Administrative Procedure Statute. The provisions of the Act apply only to federal agencies as defined by 5 U.S.C. § 522(e). It has no bearing on state agencies.
Under the Kentucky Open Records Law, KRS 61.870-61.884, a public agency is not required to create a document which does not already exist. An agency is required to allow inspection of all of its records unless the records are exempted by their nature under KRS 61.878. If a public record contains material which is not excepted, the public agency is required to separate the excepted material and make the nonexcepted material available for examination. KRS 61.878(3).
Public records pertaining to the position and salary of public employees are not exempted from inspection. We discussed the question of information concerning city employees in OAG 77-723 (copy enclosed). What we said in that opinion will apply equally to county employees.
Along with your letter you sent a copy of an executive order you issued setting forth rules and regulations on open records. Rule (b) reads as follows:
"No written information can leave this office unless the letter of request indicates for what reason it is needed and for what purpose it is to be used."
We must point out that the Kentucky Open Records Statute does not require that a requester must state the reason for his request to inspect or copy public records. KRS 61.872 provides that all public records shall be open for inspection by any person except records exempted by their nature. We believe your executive order is in error in requiring a statement of a reason before allowing copying of a record.