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 record appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet properly relied on KRS 197.025(2) in denying Uriah Pasha's July 13, 2012, request for administrative regulations relating to sentencing credits for good behavior. That provision is incorporated into the Open Records Act by operation of KRS 61.878(1)(l). 1 It is the decision of this office that 03-ORD-073 is dispositive of the issue on appeal. A copy of 03-ORD-073 is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. As an inmate confined in a jail or correctional facility, Mr. Pasha 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. KRS 197.025(2). This statute constitutes an absolute prohibition on inmate access to any and all records that do not contain a specific reference to the inmate, including policies and procedures. We therefore affirm the denial of Mr. Pasha's request for administrative regulations that do not contain a specific reference to him under authority of KRS 197.025(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.
Distributed to:
Uriah PashaAlea Amber Arnett
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 KRS 61.878(1)(l) authorizes 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.