Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo,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 denying Wade McNabb's January 28, 2007, open records request. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that the KSP did not violate the Act.
By letter dated January 28, 2007, Mr. McNabb requested the following "information relative to the organizations, education and training specified in the enclosed curriculum vitae" of Sabrina Christian:
1.) Mailing address.
2.) Full appellation of all organizations denoted by acronym.
3.) Exact dates of attendance at all conferences, seminars, meetings, workshops, etc.
4.) Complete information relative to certifications and accreditations, as well as proficiencies achieved.
5.) Instructors associated with all courses of education and training.
6.) Sponsoring agencies and organizations, not denoted on the curriculum vitae, of all training courses, conferences, seminars, meetings, workshops, etc.
7.) General content of all courses, conferences, seminars, workshops, etc.
8.) Credit hours earned in all noted university courses.
9.) Full appellation of all methodologies, techniques, analyses and systems noted in the curriculum vitae.
10.) Names of supervisors at all noted places of employment.
By letter dated February 8, 2007, Mary Ann Scott, Official Custodian of Records, KSP, denied Mr. McNabb's request, advising:
Please be advised that the Open Records Act does not statutorily obligate an agency to honor a request for information as opposed to a request for a specifically described public record. Within the Office of the Attorney General's 87-84 opinion it states that the primary impact of the Open Records Act is to make available for inspection and copying and not to require the gathering and supplying of information. Therefore your request for information is denied.
After receipt of notification of the appeal and a copy of Mr. McNabb's letter of appeal, Ms. Scott provided this office with a response to the issues raised in the appeal. In her response, Ms. Scott reiterated KSP's position that the Open Records Act does not require an agency to review voluminous records to extract information to satisfy a request for information.
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. McNabb's request was clearly one for information, rather than one for a precisely described record. Accordingly, we find no error in the KSP's 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.
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.
Wade McNabb, # 186567
Mary Ann ScottOfficial Custodian of RecordsKentucky State Police919 Versailles RoadFrankfort, KY 40601
Roger WrightOffice of Legal ServicesKentucky State Police919 Versailles RoadFrankfort, KY 40601