Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,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 the Department of Corrections, Health Services Division did not violate the Open Records Act in refusing to waive copying fees incurred by Ruben R. Salinas in the agency's reproduction of records to which he requested access under the Kentucky Open Records. As noted in 95-ORD-105, a copy of which is enclosed, 61.874(1)(l) 1 states that "[w]hen copies are requested, the custodian may require a written request and advance payment of the prescribed [copying] fee, including postage where appropriate." This statute "contain[s] no provision for waiver of the prepayment requirement for inmates. " 95-ORD-105, p. 3; accord, Friend v. Rees, 596 S.W.2d 325, 326 (Ky. App. 1985) (holding that inmate complaint of violation of the Open Records Act, premised on the imposition of a ten cents per page copying fee, was properly dismissed). A copy of Friend v. Rees , is enclosed. On this basis we conclude that Mr. Salinas' claim that the Department of Corrections, Health Services Division violated the Open Records Act is without merit.
Either party may appeal this decision 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.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1 In addition, KRS 61.872(3)(b) states that a public agency must:
mail copies of the public records to a person whose residence or principal place of business is outside the county in which the public records are located after he precisely describes the public records which are readily available within the public agency. If the person requesting the public records requests that copies of the records be mailed, the official custodian shall mail the copies upon receipt of all fees and the cost of mailing .
(Emphasis added.)