Request By:
[NO REQUESTBY IN ORIGINAL]
Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that the Oldham County Planning and Zoning Commission violated the Open Records Act by failing to respond to Ms. Ponder's December 9, 1999, request for records relating to certain properties identified in that request. We believe that 00-ORD-1, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling. In addition to the findings and conclusions in that decision, we note that KRS 61.880(1) does, in fact, mandate that:
Each public agency, upon any request for records made under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, shall determine within three (3) days , excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the request, within the three (3) day period, of its decision .
(Emphasis added.) Having exercised its KRS 61.872(2) right to require open records requesters like Ms. Ponder, to submit their requests in writing, it cannot evade its corollary KRS 61.880(1) duty to respond in writing, and within three business days. Contrary to the Commission's view, this is true notwithstanding the fact that it has decided to honor her request by permitting her to conduct an on-site inspection of the records during regular office hours. Because Ms. Ponder resides in the same county where the records are located, KRS 61.872(3)(b) authorizes the Commission to require her to inspect the records prior to furnishing her with copies.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the appropriate circuit court pursuant to KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882. Pursuant to KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General should be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.