Opinion
Opinion By: Jack Conway, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
This matter having been presented to the Office of the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that although the Henderson County Jailer violated KRS 61.880(1) 1 in failing to issue a timely written response to Harold Jones' June 9, 2011, request to inspect the Henderson County Detention Center's "Operations Manual of Policy and Procedure," he properly denied that request in later correspondence prompted by Mr. Jones' appeal. In that correspondence, Henderson County Attorney Steven R. Gold denied the request, on behalf of the jailer, explaining that KRS 197.025(2) and KRS 197.025(6) 2 authorize nondisclosure of inmate requests for records that do not contain a specific reference to the inmate requester and "policies and procedures . . . which address the security and control of inmates and penitentiaries. " In support, Mr. Gold cited 08-ORD-008 and 08-ORD-222 asserting that "[a]s an inmate confined in a jail or correctional facility," Mr. Jones is not entitled to obtain records under the Open Records Act "unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to him." We agree with this analysis and find that 03-ORD-150 and 09-ORD-057, along with the open records decisions cited by Mr. Gold, are dispositive of the issue on appeal. Copies of these decisions are attached hereto and incorporated by reference. We therefore conclude that the Henderson County Jailer violated KRS 61.880(1) in failing to issue a timely written response to Mr. Jones' request, but that the Jailer properly denied that request on the basis of KRS 197.025(2) and (6), both of which are incorporated into the Open Records Act by KRS 61.878(1)(l). 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.
Distributed to:
Harold Jones, # 137917Ron HarringtonSteven R. Gold
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 61.880(1) provides:
Each public agency, upon any request for records made under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, shall determine within three (3) days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the request, within the three (3) day period, of its decision. An agency response denying, in whole or in part, inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exception authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exception applies to the record withheld. The response shall be issued by the official custodian or under his authority, and it shall constitute final agency action.
2 KRS 197.025(2) and (6) provides:
(2) KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, the department shall not be required to comply with a request for any record from any inmate confined in a jail or any facility or any individual on active supervision under the jurisdiction of the department, unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to that individual.
. . .
(6) The policies and procedures or administrative regulations of the department which address the security and control of inmates and penitentiaries shall not be accessible to the public or inmates. The Administrative Regulations Review Subcommittee's review process for any of these policies and procedures or administrative regulations, which may be filed with the regulations compiler, shall be conducted in closed sessions and held confidential.
3 KRS 61.878(1)(l) authorizes public agencies to withhold:
Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly.