Request By:
Charon Anderson, # 177122
Wendy Higgins
Amy V. Barker
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 Western Kentucky Correctional Complex did not violate the Open Records Act by requiring Charon Anderson to prepay for copies of grievance number 7490, "with the evidence attached," which she requested on October 4, 2013. Although WKCC initially denied Ms. Anderson's request on the basis of a corrections policy, the facility reevaluated its position following receipt of her appeal and agreed to make the records available to her upon receipt of copying costs. Ms. Anderson asserts that she is entitled "under Policy and Procedure," to a free copy. Alternatively, she asserts that if she must pay for a copy, and she has insufficient funds in her inmate account, "a CPO is to be sent so that the funds can be debited at a later time."
Ms. Anderson requested a copy of grievance number 7490, with attachments, under authority of Chapter 61 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, thus invoking the provisions of the Open Records Act. Our review of WKCC's disposition of her request must be conducted under that Act. KRS 61.872(3)(b) provides:
(3) A person may inspect the public records:
(Emphasis added.) Additionally, KRS 61.874(1) provides:
Upon inspection, the applicant shall have the right to make abstracts of the public records and memoranda thereof, and to obtain copies of all public records not exempted by the terms of KRS 61.878. When copies are requested, the custodian may require a written request and advance payment of the prescribed fee, including postage where appropriate. If the applicant desires copies of public records other than written records, the custodian of the records shall duplicate the records or permit the applicant to duplicate the records; however, the custodian shall ensure that such duplication will not damage or alter the original records.
(Emphasis added.) As this office observed in 95-ORD-105, "[t]hese statutes contain no provision for waiver of the prepayment requirements for inmates. " A copy of 95-ORD-105 is attached hereto and incorporated by reference. Accord 02-ORD-096; 12-ORD-187 (enclosed).
Here, as in 12-ORD-187, the record on appeal does not support Ms. Anderson's claim that she has been denied access to the records identified in her request. WKCC stands ready to fulfill her request when Ms. Anderson presents payment for copies of those records. Under these circumstances, we assign no error to WKCC.
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.