Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the United States Drug Enforcement Administration violated the Open Records Act in failing to respond to John Yarbrough's July 1, 2004, request "for any dispatch log, radio transmission logs, time cards or other records identifying the officer employed by [DEA] who was present at a KSP roadcheck at KY 2171 (Earlington Bypass) on May 4, 2002 near midnight, and who was wearing a black swat team like outfit . . . ." For the reasons that follow, we find that DEA is not a public agency within the meaning of KRS 61.870(1) and is not governed by the Open Records Act. We therefore conclude that DEA's apparent failure to respond to Mr. Yarbrough's July 1 request did not constitute a violation of the Act.
KRS 61.870(1) defines the term "public agency" as:
(a) Every state or local government officer;
(b) Every state or local government department, division, bureau, board, commission, and authority;
(c) Every state or local legislative board, commission, committee, and officer;
(d) Every county and city governing body, council, school district board, special district board, and municipal corporation;
(e) Every state or local court or judicial agency;
(f) Every state or local government agency, including the policy-making board of an institution of education, created by or pursuant to state or local statute, executive order, ordinance, resolution, or other legislative act;
(g) Any body created by state or local authority in any branch of government;
(h) Any body which derives at least twenty-five percent (25%) of its funds expended by it in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from state or local authority funds;
(i) Any entity where the majority of its governing body is appointed by a public agency as defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), or (j) of this subsection;
(j) Any board, commission, committee, subcommittee, ad hoc committee, advisory committee, council, or agency, except for a committee of a hospital medical staff, established, created, and controlled by a public agency as defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), or (j) of this subsection; and
(k) Any interagency body of two (2) or more public agencies where each public agency is defined in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), or (j) of this subsection.
Records of agencies falling within the parameters of one or more of these definitional sections are subject to public inspection, unless otherwise exempt pursuant to KRS 61.878(1)(a) through (l), under the mandatory disclosure provisions of the state's Open Records Act.
The United States Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal agency which has operated within the Department of Justice since 1973 and is charged with enforcement of the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States. DEA's records are governed by the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, and are accessible, unless otherwise exempt, through its Freedom of Information Operations Unit (SARO) located at 700 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. The Kentucky Office of the Attorney General is not the appropriate forum for resolution of disputes relating to DEA's disposition of a records request.
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.
Distributed to:
John Yarbrough350 Dulin StreetMadisonville, KY 42431
Tony KingResident Agent in ChargeDrug Enforcement Administration600 Martin Luther King PlaceRoom 1006Louisville, KY 40202