Request By:
Ms. Karen Hyatt
Records Clerk
Kentucky State Penitentiary
Eddyville, Kentucky 42038
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Thomas R. Emerson, Assistant Attorney General
Tommy Crum has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of his request to inspect various documents in your custody. He requested to inspect numerous documents which he said were related to an action in federal court and an Administrative Control Unit (ACU) hearing.
You responded to the request with a one sentence reply on an undated and unsigned "Request for Inspection of Records" form. You wrote as follows: "Please provide this office with a legal document stating this information is for a federal court action."
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
We initially direct your attention to that section of the Open Records Act dealing in part with the responsibilities of a public agency when it receives a request to inspect public documents. KRS 61.880(1) states that a public agency shall determine within three working days after receipt of the request whether to comply with the request. The public agency is required to notify in writing the person making the request. An agency response denying in whole or in part the inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exception relied upon in denying the request. KRS 61.880(2) requires that the public agency forward immediately to the state Attorney General a copy of the written response denying inspection of the public record. See OAG 81-46, a copy of which is enclosed.
As to the reason you set forth for refusing to permit inspection of the public records requested by Tommy Crum, it is our opinion that such a reason is not a proper response to a request to inspect under the Open Records Act. The Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870 to KRS 61.884) does not require that a requesting party state the reason for his request to inspect or copy public records. KRS 61.872 provides in part that all public records shall be open for inspection by any person, except as otherwise provided by KRS 61.870 to KRS 61.884. Thus, under the Open Records Law you cannot require a requesting party to state or verify why he needs to inspect and copy public records. See OAG 78-231, copy enclosed.
Thus it is the opinion of the Attorney General that you violated the provisions of the Open Records Act when you failed to respond to the request to inspect within three working days, when you failed to state the specific exception to the Open Records Act relied upon in refusing to permit inspection and when you failed to send a copy of your written response denying inspection to the Attorney General. Furthermore, you violated the provisions of the Open Records Act when you required the requesting party to state or verify why he needed to inspect and copy public records. You should either make the requested records available for inspection or state in writing what specific exceptions to the Open Records Act you are relying upon in denying the request to inspect.
As required by statute a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requesting party. If you decide not to comply with this opinion you may initiate further proceedings pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).