Kentucky Open Records Act

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Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State Open Meeting Laws
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Kentucky Open Records Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Kentucky, so that citizens have some idea of what is happening with their government. Statues KRS 61.870 to 61.884 define the law.

The Kentucky Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

[edit] Kentucky's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Kentucky #28 in the nation with an overall percentage of 51.30%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Kentucky 47 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 26 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Kentucky's law as the 7th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C+".[3]

[edit] Public Records

"The General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 is that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.878 or otherwise provided by law shall be stricly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials of others."[4]

[edit] Open Meetings

The Kentucky Revised Statutes define the purpose for open meetings law as: "the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret and the exceptions provided for by... law shall be strictly construed."[5]

[edit] Proposed changes

See also Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009.

Senator John Schickel has proposed Senate Bill 30 [6] which would exempt the recordings of calls to 911 from public access. The bill allows for transcripts of the calls to be made public, but not the actual audio. [7] Opponents of the bill are calling it "a waste of time, your tax dollars and is a dangerous move toward limiting free speech and open records/sunshine laws" [8] and "a poorly thought out solution to a mostly non-existent problem." [9]

SB 30 has been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and now heads to the floor for a vote. [10]

Senate Bill 188 [11] would create a General Assembly Accountability and Review Division to conduct investigations, audits and reviews and otherwise monitor the activities of public agencies. The agency would be exempt from KORA. [12] The Kentucky Press Association is opposing the exemptions provisions in the bill. [13]

[edit] Who May Request Kentucky Records?

Anyone may request public records in Kentucky. "All public records shall be open for inspection by any person". [14]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

[edit] Relevant legal cases

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 61, Section .871
  5. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 61, Section .800
  6. ↑ Text of SB 30
  7. ↑ Lawmaker pushes to keep 911 calls off the airwaves, Kentucky.com, January 25, 2009
  8. ↑ the 'Ville Voice "From Dept of Wasting Your Time & Money", January 26, 2009
  9. ↑ Keep public records open, Kentucky.com, February 18, 2009
  10. ↑ Ky. bill advances to keep 911 calls off airwaves, Lexington Herald-Leader, February 5, 2009
  11. ↑ Text of SB188
  12. ↑ Powerful watchdog agency proposed, Courier-Journal, February 21, 2009
  13. ↑ Press group opposes closing records of legislative probes, Courier-Journal, February 24, 2009
  14. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes, 61.872
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