Opinion
Opinion By: Albert B. Chandler III, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Kentucky State Police (KSP) violated the Open Records Act in failing to respond to Tommy L. Jones' open records request dated May 23, 2003. In a letter addressed to "Kentucky State Police, Records Section, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601," Mr. Jones asked: "I would like to know once a officer comes on the scene of a crime and gather all the information from the victim, can another officer alter the form without doing a follow-up report. Please give me this information pertaining to the proper procedure of the uniform citation." For the reasons that follow, we conclude the KSP did not violate the Act.
After receipt of notification of the appeal and a copy of Mr. Jones' letter of appeal, James M. Herrick, Legal Counsel, KSP provided this office with a response to the issues raised in the appeal. In his response, Mr. Herrick advised:
This is to respond to the appeal filed by Tommy L. Jones, # 139869, in the above-referenced Open Records matter. The KSP records custodian has no record of receiving a request from Tommy L. Jones on or since May 23, 2003. Additionally, Mr. Jones' letter constitutes a request for information, which is not within the purview of the Open Records law and could properly have been denied if it had been received.
To begin, we have no reason to doubt the KSP's claim that it had not previously received Mr. Jones' May 23, 2003 request and address only the merits of its subsequent response to that request.
The Kentucky Open Records Act provides persons access to public records. KRS 61.872(2) provides as follows: "Any person shall have the right to inspect public records. The official custodian may require written application, signed by the applicant and with his name printed legibly on the application, describing the records to be inspected." As noted in previous decisions of the Attorney General, requests for information are outside the scope of open records law and an agency is not obligated to honor a request for information under the law. 02-ORD-88; KRS 61.870 et seq. The Kentucky Open Records Act addresses requests for records, not requests for information. 03-ORD-028. At page 2 of 95-ORD-131, the Attorney General observed.
Requests for information, as distinguished from records, are outside of the scope of the open records provisions. See, e.g., OAG 89-77. Our position is premised on the notion that "[o]pen records provisions address only inspection of records . . . [and] do not require public agencies or officials to provide or compile specific information to conform to the parameters of a given request.
Mr. Jones' request was clearly one for information, rather than one for a precisely described record. Accordingly, we find no error in the KSP's substantive response that a public agency is not required to honor a request for information under the Open Records Act and that the agency could properly have denied the request on that ground, if it had in fact received such a request from Mr. Jones.
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.
Tommy L. Jones, # 139869Northpoint Training CenterP.O. Box 479, Dorm 4Burgin, KY 40310
Diane SmithOfficial Custodian of RecordsKentucky State Police919 Versailles RoadFrankfort, KY 40601
James M. HerrickLegal CounselKentucky State Police919 Versailles RoadFrankfort, KY 40601