Request By:
Honorable Thomas M. Troth
General Counsel
Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Cicely D. Jaracz, Assistant Attorney General
This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion under the Open Records law. Specifically you indicate that Progressive Farmer magazine has requested access to the following lists maintained by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture:
1. Feeder Pig Report Recipient list.
2. Weekly Livestock Summary Recipient list.
3. Weekly Grain Market Summary Recipient list.
4. Ginseng Dealer and Producer list.
5. Kentucky Agricultural News Recipient list.
6. Branding Law Registrant list.
7. AGR Brucellosis Test File list.
8. Brucellosis Ring Test (BRT) Master File list.
9. Licensed Livestock Dealer list.
10. Equine Infectous Anemia (EIA) Test list.
11. Licensed Restricted-Use-Permit Dealer list.
12. Licensed Commercial Pesticide Applicator list.
13. Certified Private Pesticide Applicator list.
14. Certified Non-Commercial Pesticide list.
Progressive Farmer has indicated that these lists are to be used to identify readers as to their crops and livestock and also to solicit new business.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that the Open Records law provides for public inspection of the above lists.
Under the Open Records law, public records are open to public inspection without any required purpose or reason for inspection. Therefore, the purpose intended by Progressive Farmer for access to the above lists is irrelevant.
The Department of Agriculture is not required to compile such lists if they are not already in existence. However, compilation of a list may prove to be more expedient than allowing Progressive Farmer to peruse files in compiling their own list. If the department prepares such a list for the purpose of selling the list, it may charge for the staff required to prepare the list. Any fee for a list already in existence can only be for the copying expense not including the cost of staff. OAG 78-132.
The mandatory requirement of public inspection of public records contains several discretionary exemptions in KRS 61.878. This office cannot find an application of any of the exemptions to the requested lists herein. It is therefore our opinion that the above lists should be made available for public inspection. If no lists exist, then Progressive Farmer should be allowed to compile their own lists.