Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, 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 the Department of Corrections did not violate the Open Records Act in the disposition of Gerald Morris's September 26, 2008, request for "a copy of the document used to authorize Gerald Morris #101185 to be housed at the Kentucky State Penitentiary . . . as a pre-trial detainee for the McCracken County Jail." Mr. Morris expressed the belief that he was "entitled to one free copy of commitment documentation."
The Department of Corrections responded to Mr. Morris's request by advising him that "a contract consisting of two pages would comply with the request," and agreeing to provide him with a copy of the contract upon receipt of a 62 cents money order to cover the costs of copies and postage.
We find no error in the Department's disposition of Mr. Morris's request. We further find that Friend v. Rees, 696 S.W.2d 325 (Ky. App. 1985) is directly controlling. In Friend v. Rees, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, the Kentucky Court of Appeals held that an inmate is entitled to a copy of a record under the Open Records Act only after he or she has complied with the reasonable copying charge requirement, codified at KRS 61.874(1) and KRS 61.872(3)(b), applicable to all requesters. Accord 95-ORD-105 and 08-ORD-044 (enclosed).
Mr. Morris may obtain a copy of the record identified in his request upon prepayment of copying and postage charges in the amount of 62 cents. The Department's position in this regard does not violate the Open Records Act but is, instead, entirely consonant with 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.