23-ORD-059
March 15, 2023
In re: Chad Heath/Kentucky Transportation Cabinet
Summary: The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (“the Cabinet”) did
not violate the Open Records Act (“the Act”) when it did not respond to
a request to inspect records that was not submitted to the email address
of its official records custodian, which is posted on the Cabinet’s website.
Open Records Decision
Chad Heath (“the Appellant”) attempted to email an open records request to
the Cabinet. However, he claims he could not find the email address for the Cabinet’s
official records custodian. Thus, he sent an email to “info@dmv.com” and
“cotoaddriverslicenseteam@ky.gov.” He attached to the email a document titled “open
records request,” in which he complained that the Cabinet’s official records
custodian’s email address was not on its website, and a request for the “employer
identification number that the employees at the . . . Cabinet are employed at [sic].”
The Appellant then initiated this appeal, claiming the Cabinet violated the Act by
failing to respond to his request.
On appeal, the Cabinet claims it never received the request. It notes
“info@dmv.com” is “not a government email address.” Even though the Cabinet does
own the other email address, it explains it is used to send driver’s license renewal
notices and is “effectively unmonitored.”
A resident of the Commonwealth may submit a request to inspect public
records by email. KRS 61.872(2)(b)4. However, he must do so by sending the email to
“the e-mail address designated in the public agency’s rules and regulations.” Id.
Moreover, a public agency “shall display in a prominent location accessible to the
public, including on its Web site” those rules and regulations and its recordscustodian’s email address. KRS 61.876(2). The Cabinet provides proof it complied
with KRS 61.876(2) by providing a link to “Request an Open Record” on its website.
Clicking that link generates a blank email addressed to the Cabinet’s records
custodian. Thus, the Cabinet has displayed “on its Web site” its records custodian’s
email address, “KYTC.OpenRecords@ky.gov.”
Because the Appellant did not email his request to the Cabinet’s records
custodian at the email address posted on its website, he did not comply with
KRS 61.872(2)(b)4., and the Cabinet did not receive his request. Accordingly, the
Office cannot find that the Cabinet failed to respond to a request it did not receive.
See, e.g., 22-ORD-201; 21-ORD-163.1
A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it by initiating action in the
appropriate circuit court under KRS 61.880(5) and KRS 61.882 within 30 days from
the date of this decision. Under KRS 61.880(3), the Attorney General shall be notified
of any action in circuit court, but shall not be named as a party in that action or in
any subsequent proceedings. The Attorney General will accept notice of the complaint
emailed to OAGAppeals@ky.gov.
Daniel Cameron
Attorney General
s/ Marc Manley
Marc Manley
Assistant Attorney General
#071
Distributed to:
Chad Heath
Jesse Rowe
1
The Appellant’s request also did not “describe[e] the records to be inspected.” KRS 61.872(2)(a)
(emphasis added). Rather, the Appellant’s request sought information, not public records. The Act does
not require a public agency to answer requests for information. See, e.g., 22-ORD-022 (the agency did
not violate the Act by denying a request for it to “identify” certain employees or for not providing the
“number of empty beds” at a correctional facility because these requests did not describe public records
to be inspected). Specifically, the Appellant asked the Cabinet to provide him its employer
identification number. Employer identification numbers are not public records, but numbers issued by
the United States Internal Revenue Service to identify employers. Such numbers appear on employees’
W-2 forms.