Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether Kentucky State Reformatory violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in the disposition of Sammie Byron's written requests dated July 31, 2008, in which he asked for a copy of his time cards for May-September and November of 2007, his "pay slips" for the same period, and the "payroll entry screen for [the] Soap Plant" for the same period, as well as a copy of the "Auditor[']s Report" concerning "'Money Not Due' being put on inmates ['] accounts while employed [sic] at [P]rison [I]ndustries 2007." By letter dated August 21, 2008, Mr. Byron initiated this appeal challenging the decision of Prison Industries Manager Danny Holcomb and Internal Affairs Captain James Moore to deny his requests; however, Mr. Byron did not attach a copy of any denial. Upon receiving notification of Mr. Byron's appeal from this office, Assistant General Counsel Amy V. Barker, Department of Corrections, responded on behalf of KSR, advising that the KSR Coordinator "reviewed her open records request log and did not locate any letters received from Sammie Byron dated July 31." Observing that the KSR Coordinator "cannot respond to letters that she does not receive[,]" Ms. Barker asserts that Mr. Byron "failed to follow the requirements of CPP 6.1 to obtain a Request to Inspect Public Record form from his caseworker and send the request with an Authorization to Use Inmate Account form to the Coordinator through institutional mail as he was required" to do. With regard to application of CPP 6.1, Ms. Barker cites 08-ORD-157, which validates her argument. 1
In our view, the analysis contained in 08-ORD-157 is controlling relative to CPP 6.1; a copy of that decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. As Ms. Barker then observes, "Mr. Byron is not entitled to pay slips or payroll entry screen prints other than the pay slip or screen that contains a specific reference to him." (Emphasis added.) Citing KRS 197.025(2), incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(l), Ms. Barker correctly argues that "[o]ther pay slips and payroll entry screen prints are exempt." 2 In accordance with 08-ORD-202 (issued on September 17, 2008, the day after Ms. Barker's response), a decision involving a nearly identical request from a different inmate housed at KSR, which is directly on point regarding both issues, the Attorney General finds that KSR did not violate the Act in the disposition of Mr. Byron's requests; a copy of that decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. 3
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.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 By letter dated September 26, 2008, but received on September 30, 2008, Mr. Byron disputes Ms. Barker's assertion that he did not comply with CPP 6.1; however, the record is devoid of any objective proof to substantiate his position, and this office is consequently unable to conclusively resolve the related factual dispute. See 08-ORD-066. That being said, Mr. Byron is correct in asserting that is entitled to receive a copy of his time cards, pay slips, and that portion of the payroll entry screen, if any, which contains a specific reference to him per KRS 197.025(2) upon his compliance with CPP 6.1.
2 Although KSR acknowledges that the requested Auditor's Report "references a number of inmates, including Mr. Byron, he would only be entitled to any portions which contain a "specific reference" to him regardless of whether a criminal investigation by the Kentucky State Police is ongoing as KSR has alleged in both instances.
3 A copy of those decisions upon which 08-ORD-157 and 08-ORD-202 are based has also been attached.