Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo,Attorney General;Michelle D. Harrison,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Cabinet for Health and Family Services violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in failing to respond upon receiving the request of Steven J. Farmer for "a paper copy of an [e-mail] transmission originating from the Lexington Office of Inspector General in January of 2005 and a paper copy of an [e-mail] responding to this above-cited transmission, which originated in the Cabinet's inter-agency child care facility, Ramey-Estep Homes, Inc." Upon receiving notification of Mr. Farmer's appeal from this office, Jon R. Klein, Assistant Counsel, responded on behalf of the Cabinet. As correctly observed by Mr. Klein:
The appeal is a follow-up to appeals in Log Numbers 200500340, 200500280, and 200500294.
As previously stated in those appeals, the Cabinet is not in possession of any record that matches the description given by Mr. Farmer. Thus, the Cabinet cannot comply with Mr. Farmer's request. See 02-ORD-144, p. 3.
In both 05-ORD-109 (Log Numbers 200500280 and 200500294) and 05-ORD-132 (Log Number 200500340), copies of which are attached hereto and incorporated by reference, this office conclusively resolved the sole issue presented by this appeal in favor of the Cabinet. Although Mr. Farmer has framed his request somewhat differently, the outcome remains the same as "there is no record of any email communications between the Lexington office of OIG and Ramey-Estep Homes, Inc., during the month of January 2005." 05-ORD-132, p. 2 (emphasis added). Accordingly, the Cabinet has now fully complied with the Act by again notifying Mr. Farmer that no responsive records exist. 1
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.
Steven J. FarmerP. O. Box 603Dyersburg, TN 38029-0603
Carrie HallRecords Management SectionDivision for Protection and PermanencyCabinet for Health and Family Services275 East Main Street, 3E-GFrankfort, KY 40621-0001
Jon R. KleinAssistant CounselCabinet for Health and Family ServicesOffice of Legal Services275 East Main Street, 5W-BFrankfort, KY 40621
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 Although this office is unable to resolve the factual issue regarding actual delivery and receipt of Mr. Farmer's request, the Cabinet committed a procedural violation of the Act in failing to respond within three business days assuming that the Cabinet received the request at issue dated June 3, 2005, in a timely manner.
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