Request By:
Mr. John D. Flowers, Manager
Military Records and Research Library
Department of Military Affairs
Office of the Adjutant General
Boone Center
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Cicely D. Jaracz, Assistant Attorney General
This office is in receipt of your letter requesting an opinion under the Open Records law. Specifically, you indicate that a woman has requested to inspect the records of a deceased veteran which are on file in your office. This woman indicated that she was never married to the deceased veteran, but she and the veteran had a son who purportedly took the veteran's name. Her request was on behalf of her son so that he may know the veteran's service history regarding military battles and decorations among other things.
You state that the veteran's record in question is now under state jurisdiction "following his military duty as a veteran from Kentucky." Your denial states that "(t)his office acts under the mechanics of the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552) and in instances where the veteran is deceased his next of kin (wife, son and/or daughter) could request his official records over their signature with proper identification." You therefore denied inspection based on the requestor's admission that she was never married to the veteran.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that your denial was proper under the Kentucky Open Records law.
The deceased veteran's records are subject to the Kentucky Open Records law as they constitute "public records" retained by a "public agency." KRS 61.870(1)(2). They are therefore open to public inspection unless exempted by one of the provisions of KRS 61.878.
It is our opinion that the deceased veteran's records are exempted by KRS 61.878(1)(i) which excludes from public inspection: "All public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited by federal law or regulation."
You state that your office acted under the Privacy Act of 1974 in denying the woman's request. If disclosure is prohibited under this federal act, then KRS 61.878(1)(i) exempts disclosure under the Kentucky Open Records Law.