Request By:
Mr. David C. Fowler
Owensboro City Attorney
P.O. Box 847
Owensboro, Kentucky 42302
Opinion
Opinion By: Chris Gorman, Attorney General; Amye B. Majors, Assistant Attorney General
Mr. Bryan Smeathers, Executive Director of the Owensboro-Daviess County Citizens for Railroad Overpass, Inc., has appealed to the Attorney General, pursuant to KRS 61.880, your response to his request to inspect certain records in the possession of the City of Owensboro, transmitted to your office by fax on December 23, 1991. Although you released those records in a letter dated December 30, 1991, you noted:
It is my opinion that a facsimile of an original letter or document does not constitute a proper written request for inspection of public documents.
Mr. Smeathers asks that we review your position on this issue to determine if it is consistent with the Open Records Act. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that your statements are inconsistent with the Act.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
KRS 61.872(2) provides:
Any person shall have the right to inspect public records during the regular office hours of the public agency. The official custodian may require written application describing the records to be inspected.
This provision does not specify the mode or method by which a written request must be made. It is intended to circumvent disputes relative to the identity of the records requested, and not to create additional obstacles to the release of those records. A fax transmission satisfies this purpose. We therefore find that your position is inconsistent with both the spirit and the letter of the Open Records Law enunciated at KRS 61.882(4), which states:
[F]ree and open examination of public records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.870 to 61.884 or otherwise provided for by law shall be strictly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials or others.
As required by statute, a copy of this opinion will be sent to the requesting party, Mr. Bryan Smeathers. The City of Owensboro may challenge it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5).