Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether Kentucky Alternative Programs II, Inc. is a public agency within the meaning of KRS 61.870(1)(a) through (k), and therefore violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in not responding to the request of Jean Smallwood to inspect and copy specified records. 1 Based on the limited evidence of record, KAP appears to be a private agency which does not derive any of the funds expended by it in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from state or local authority funds or otherwise qualify as a public agency for purposes of the Open Records Act. Accordingly, KAP was not statutorily obligated to honor Ms. Smallwood's request.
In a letter dated December 16, 2004, Ms. Smallwood, Department of Public Advocacy Criminal Defense Investigator, directed a request to inspect and copy eleven categories of KAP operational and financial records to the "Custodian of Records for KAPS." Having received no response "of any kind, written, verbal or electronic," Ms. Smallwood filed this appeal by letter dated December 29, 2004. On appeal, Ms. Smallwood argues:
KAPS is an organization which functions as a private misdemeanor probation office in several Kentucky District Courts. Pursuant to KRS 533.010(12) it collects public monies from probationers as ordered by the District Courts. In Hardin County, this relationship is codified in the Local Court Rules (exhibit B).
It is the DPA's contention that KAP "functions as a quasi-public entity which is funded by public money and which functions to achieve a public purpose, under the direction of the District Courts of this state." DPA is "unaware of any other function or source of funding for ["KAP."] Since KAP has refused to respond to its request in any manner, the DPA has no information about KAP which would lead it to believe that KAP is not subject to the Open Records Act. Accordingly, Ms. Smallwood contends that KAP's failure to respond within three days is a violation. Attached to Ms. Smallwood's letter of appeal are copies of her request, a confirmation of her facsimile transmission to KAP, and the relevant section of the Hardin District Court Rules.
Upon receiving notification of Ms. Smallwood's appeal from this office, Terry L. Mann responded on behalf of KAP. According to Mr. Mann: "Kentucky Alternative Programs is a private corporation that has no contractual relationship with nor does it receive any funding from any government entity. Therefore, it is not covered by the 'Open Records Act. '" Noticeably absent from Mr. Mann's response is any documentation to support this assertion. Unable to conclusively resolve the threshold issue of whether KAP is a public agency in the relevant sense based upon the limited and conflicting evidence of record, this office requested that KAP provide documentation to substantiate its claim, including its current annual budget, and posed a series of questions to KAP pursuant to KRS 61.880(2)(c) and 40 KAR 1:030, Section 3. 2 More specifically, the Attorney General requested that KAP respond to the following commonly asked questions based upon KRS 61.870(1):
1) How did KAP originate? More specifically, was KAP created by or pursuant to state or local statute, executive order, ordinance, resolution, or other legislative act?
2) Who are the members of KAP's governing body and how are they appointed? Do any of those members hold public office, and if so, what offices do those members hold?
3) Was KAP established or created by a public agency or is it controlled by a public agency?
4) Does KAP currently derive any funds expended by it in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from state or local authority funds per KRS 61.870(1)(h)?
However, by letter dated January 25, 2005, Paul J. Vesper advises this office that his client "objects to providing the information" requested since "it is not a 'public agency' or a 'quasi-public entity' funded by public money under the direction of any organization or governmental body. " In lieu of elaborating or providing responsive documentation, Mr. Vesper further indicates that the information being sought "should be obtainable from the Secretary of State's office with a simple inquiry," a copy of which is attached to his letter. In his view, KAP has "no further obligation to provide more information than the statutes require." However, the information provided should suffice to establish that DPA's appeal is "misplaced, misdirected," and should have been "investigated more thoroughly" prior to being initiated.
Upon receiving KAP's supplemental response, this office forwarded a copy to Ms. Smallwood via facsimile to afford her the opportunity to address the arguments raised by KAP. As of this date, neither Ms. Smallwood nor the DPA has responded. Although Ms. Smallwood's appeal is premised on the assumption that KAP is a public agency for purposes of the Open Records Act, both KRS 533.010(12) and the Local Rules upon which Ms. Smallwood relies support the position of KAP. Absent evidence to the contrary, this office must therefore conclude that KAP is not a public agency.
Our analysis necessarily begins with the definition of the term "public agency" codified at KRS 61.870(1):
"Public agency" means:
(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, ordinances, 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), (j), or (k) of this subsection; by a member or employee of such a public agency; or by any combination thereof;
(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 (k) 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[.]
As evidenced by the record, Kentucky Alternative Programs II, Inc. was incorporated as a "for profit" Kentucky Corporation (KCO) in December 1989, and has 750 "Common No Par Shares." 3 Although the "inquiry" provided by Mr. Vesper reflects that KAP has filed an annual report every year since its inception, KAP has declined to provide this office with a copy of its most recent annual report, current annual budget, or any other documentation to substantiate its claim that KAP is not subject to the Open Records Act. However, KAP characterizes itself as a "private agency," and has expressly denied receiving any public funds on two occasions, maintaining that it has "no contractual relationship with" nor does it operate "under the direction of" any governmental body. In support of her position, Ms. Smallwood relies solely upon KRS 533.010(12) and Rule 15 of the "Local Court Rules" entitled "Monitoring of District Court Probationers by Private Agency."
Pursuant to KRS 533.010(12):
When the court deems it in the best interest of the defendant and the public, the court may order the defendant to placement for probation monitoring by a private agency. The private agency shall report to the court on the defendant's compliance with his terms of probation or conditional discharge. The defendant shall be responsible for any reasonable charges which the private agency charges. (Emphasis added).
When called upon to render a decision involving statutory interpretation, this office is required "to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the General Assembly." Beckham v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, Ky., 873 S.W.2d 575, 577 (1994), citing Gateway Construction Co. v. Wallbaum, Ky., 356 S.W.2d 247 (1962). "We are not at liberty to add or subtract from the legislative enactment nor discover meaning not reasonably ascertainable from the language used." Id. To determine legislative intent, we must refer to the literal language of the statute as enacted rather than surmising what may have been intended but was not articulated. Stogner v. Commonwealth, Ky. App., 35 S.W.3d 831, 835 (2000). In so doing, we "must construe all words and phrases according to the common and approved uses of language." Withers, supra, at 345. 4 By its express terms, KRS 533.010(12) applies to "private" agencies such as KAP. 5 A review of Rule 15 further suggests that KAP is a private rather than public agency, with the implication being that it is excluded from application of the Open Records Act. In relevant part, Rule 15 provides:
15.01. The Hardin District Court adopts Supreme Court Rule 9.000 MONITORING OF DISTRICT COURT PROBATIONERS BY PRIVATE AGENCY as a local rule as hereinafter set out. 6
15.02. Statutory authority.
KRS 533.010(12) permits a court to order a defendant to submit to probation monitoring by a private agency when it is in the best interest of the defendant and the public to do so. The following rules shall apply when a district court orders a private agency to supervise a defendant who has been convicted of a misdemeanor or traffic offense and placed on probation as an alternative sentence to imprisonment.
15.03 Referral to Private Agency - Designation of Agency by Separate Order
A district court may refer a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor or a traffic offense to a private agency for monitoring in accordance with KRS 533.010(12) only when probation monitoring services are not being performed by a governmental agency, a not-for-profit agency or volunteers. Hardin District Court declares that no such governmental agency, not-for-profit agencies or volunteers are available for district court probation supervision and hereby declares a need which shall be filled by separate appointment Order for the Hardin District Court probationary review agency.
15.03. Requirements of a Private Agency
To receive referrals from the district court, the private agency must:
(Emphasis added).
As evidenced by the foregoing excerpt, KAP is properly characterized as a private, independent entity which performs a traditionally governmental function under specific circumstances for profit. Although KAP must adhere to certain judicial guidelines, the record suggests that it was neither created by state or local authority nor "established, created, and controlled by a public agency, " KAP denies operating "under the direction of any organization or governmental body, " and our research revealed no authority to the contrary. However, the analysis does not end there.
Citing KRS 61.870(1)(h), the Attorney General has consistently recognized that "a private agency does not come within the purview of the Open Records Act unless it derives at least twenty-five percent of the funds expended by it in the Commonwealth from state or local authority funds." 97-ORD-114, p. 1; 95-ORD-79. Although the paucity of evidence presented precludes us from conclusively establishing that KAP does not fall within the parameters of this provision, KAP has asserted that it does not receive funding from any governmental entity and is not "funded by public money. " Ms. Smallwood does not dispute that KAP is private, arguing instead that it "functions as a quasi-public entity which is funded by public money and which functions to achieve a public purpose" without further elaboration. However, Ms. Smallwood's sole argument is based on a faulty premise, namely, that the "reasonable charges" paid by individual defendants directly to KAP for services rendered pursuant to KRS 533.010(12) is the functional equivalent of "public money, " i.e., state or local authority funds. In OAG 88-64, this office observed:
Given the limited role [of] the Attorney General contemplated by the statutes and the office's limited resources, the Attorney General cannot truly be a "judge" in the sense of reviewing volumes of documents, listening to testimony, considering briefs, etc. In the final analysis, the application and meaning of the Open Records Act can only be determined by a court of law.
Id., p. 1. As is so often the case, this appeal presents factual issues which this office is simply not equipped to resolve. However, the weight of the evidence does not support the proposition that KAP is a "public agency" within the meaning of KRS 61.870(1). Accordingly, KAP cannot be said to have violated the Act in refusing to honor Ms. Smallwood's request.
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating an 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:
Jean Smallwood916 N. Mulberry StreetP.O. Box 628Elizabethtown, KY 42702
Terry MannKentucky Alternative Programs II, Inc.241D East Tenth StreetNewport, KY 41071
Paul J. Vesper28 West 5th StreetCovington, KY 41011
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 Although Ms. Smallwood refers to KAP as "Kentucky Alternative Program Services, Inc.," Paul J. Vesper advises this office that he represents "Kentucky Alternative Programs, II, Inc.," to which he believes our "correspondence of January 20, 2005[, requesting additional information] should have been addressed." Upon receiving notification of Ms. Smallwood's appeal from this office, Terry L. Mann, an unidentified representative, responded on behalf of KAP on letterhead from "Kentucky Alternative Programs," and referred to the entity as such in his response. Given this discrepancy, the undersigned conducted independent research in order to determine the proper name of the entity against which Ms. Smallwood filed the instant appeal. According to the "Online Business Data Base" of the website maintained by the Secretary of State, the status of "Kentucky Alternative Programs, Inc." is inactive, and a representative of that office confirmed that it has been dissolved, while both "Kentucky Alternative Programs II, Inc." and "Kentucky Alternative Programs Services, Inc." are classified as "Active-Good." Each entity has a separate organization number and is categorized as a "KCO-Kentucky Corporation." Both "Kentucky Alternative Program Services, Inc." and "Kentucky Alternative Programs, II, Inc." list 241 East 10th Street Newport, KY 41071 as the "Principal Office," and list Terry L. Mann as the Registered Agent." Absent evidence to the contrary, this office proceeds on the assumption that Kentucky Alternative Programs II, Inc. is the proper entity, as clarified by Mr. Vesper, despite how the terms have been used interchangeably.
2 KRS 61.880(2)(c) provides:
The burden of proof in sustaining the action shall rest with the agency, and the Attorney General may request additional documentation from the agency for substantiation.
Likewise, 40 KAR 1:030, Section 3 provides:
Additional Documentation. KRS 61.846(2) and 61.880(2) authorizes the Attorney General to request additional information from the agency against which a complaint is made. If documents thus obtained are copies of documents claimed by the agency to be exempt from the Open Records Law, the Attorney General shall not disclose them and shall destroy the copies at the time the decision is rendered.
3 Standing alone, this status is not determinative. However, the fact that KAP is not a non-profit organization weighs in favor of our position when viewed in context.
4 In the absence of a statutory definition, a dictionary may be consulted to ascertain the "common and approved" meaning of a term. See Young v. Commonwealth, 96 S.W.2d 670, 672 (1998). In this context, "private" is defined as: "Of, relating to, or derived from nongovernment sources: private funding. " The American Heritage College Dictionary 1109 (4th ed. 2002) (emphasis added).
5 KAP does not challenge the DPA's assertion that it is governed by KRS 533.010(12), and this is consistent with our research.
6 SCR 9.010, Whenreferral to a private agency is permitted, provides:
A district court may refer a defendant convicted of a misdemeanor or a traffic offense to a private agency for monitoring in accordance with KRS 533.010(12) only when probation monitoring services are not being and cannot be performed by a governmental agency, a not-for-profit agency or volunteers.