Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that because Dismas Charities, Inc., is not a public agency for open records purposes, it cannot be said to have violated the provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 in the disposition of Terrell Woosley's September 18, 2007, request for records relating to his entrance into, and discharge from, the facility. It is the decision of this office that 02-ORD-119 and 06-ORD-077, copies of which are attached hereto and incorporated by reference, are controlling. These decisions hold that because Dismas Charities, Inc., does not derive at least twenty-five percent of the funds expended by it in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from state or local authority funds, or otherwise fall within the parameters of KRS 61.870(1)(a) through (k), its records are not accessible under the Open Records Act.
In a response to Mr. Woosley's appeal, Dismas Charities reasserts that it is a private not-for-profit national provider for community correction that currently receives only 15.37% of the funds expended by it in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from state or local authority funds, and that it therefore does not qualify as a public agency within the contemplation of the Open Records Act. Based on these assertions, we affirm its position and find that its records are not governed by the provisions of the Act.
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.