Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Michelle D. Harrison, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
At issue in this appeal is whether the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in denying Cheryl Stout's July 19, 2010, request for "four copies of my inmate photo ID card." In a timely written response, WKCC advised Ms. Stout that her request had "been addressed already." WKCC attached the previous (undated) responses from the agency, which it apparently provided to her on June 21, 2010, and which, in relevant part, denied her request on the basis of KRS 197.025 (implicitly subsection (1)). Ms. Stout initiated this appeal by letter dated August 4, 2010. Upon receiving notification of her appeal from this office, Amy V. Barker, Assistant General Counsel, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, responded on behalf of WKCC, advising that Ms. Stout "previously requested copies of her inmate I.D. photo in a request dated June 17, 2010," and was denied access for the reasons indicated above on June 21, 2010. Ms. Barker attached a copy of the June 17 request as well as the June 21 response to her August 16 letter. Quoting the language of KRS 197.025(3), pursuant to which inmates are required to appeal from the denial of a request submitted under the Act within twenty days, 1 Ms. Barker argued that "the twenty day timeframe in which Ms. Stout could file an appeal [from the June 21 denial] ended on July 12, 2010." Because Ms. Stout's appeal was dated August 4, Ms. Barker concluded, the "appeal is time barred and the AG should not render a decision on the merits." We agree.
As noted, WKCC denied Ms. Stout's initial request on June 21, 2010. Ms. Stout's appeal is dated August 4. By its express and mandatory language, KRS 197.025(3) applies to "any denial" of a request made by any inmate under the Open Records Act. As with any decision involving statutory interpretation, our duty "is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the General Assembly." Beckham v. Board of Education of Jefferson County, 873 S.W.2d 575, 577 (Ky. 1994)(citation omitted). Because Ms. Stout is "a person confined in a penal facility," and she failed to challenge WKCC's disposition of her initial request within twenty days, her appeal is untimely; this office is therefore precluded from addressing the merits of her appeal by operation of KRS 197.025(3). To hold otherwise would circumvent the intent of the General Assembly as expressed in KRS 197.025(3). In our view, 07-ORD-058 and 08-ORD-209 are controlling on the facts presented; a copy of each decision is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. 2
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.
Cheryl Stout, # 222530Klaytor BurdenAmy V. Barker
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 197.025(3) provides:
KRS 61.880 to the contrary notwithstanding, all persons confined in a penal facility shall challenge any denial of an open record with the Attorney General by mailing or otherwise sending the appropriate documents to the Attorney General within twenty (20) days of the denial pursuant to the procedures set out in KRS 61.880(2) before an appeal can be filed in a Circuit Court.
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2 This office does not reach the question of whether the agency was authorized to withhold the requested photo ID on the basis of KRS 197.025(1).
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