The Kentucky Attorney General issued the following open records decisions last week:
1. 21-ORD-180 (In re: Chris Dixon/Board of Nursing)
Summary: The Board of Nursing violated the Open Records Act when it denied a request for records without explaining how the cited exemptions applied to the records it withheld. On appeal, the Board failed to carry its burden that KRS 61.878(1)(i) and KRS 61.878(1)(j) applied to deny a former public agency employee inspection of records related to him. See KRS 61.878(3). However, the Board did carry its burden on appeal that the attorney-client privilege applied to withhold records, and that KRS 61.878(1)(a) applied to redact personal contact information.
https://ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2021/21-ORD-180.pdf
2. 21-ORD-181 (In re: WFPL News/Cabinet for Health and Family Services)
Summary: The Cabinet for Health and Family Services violated the Open Records Act when it failed to explain how exceptions to the Act applied to the record withheld. However, the Cabinet did not violate the Act when it withheld information that is prohibited from disclosure under state law.
https://ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2021/21-ORD-181.pdf
3. 21-ORD-182 (In re: Michael Grigsby/Department of Corrections)
Summary: The Department of Corrections violated the Open Records Act when it entirely withheld a record under KRS 197.025(6) instead of separating exempt information from nonexempt information and providing the latter as required under KRS 61.878(4).
https://ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2021/21-ORD-182.pdf
4. 21-ORD-183 (In re: John Yarbrough/Hopkins County Health Department)
Summary: The Hopkins County Health Department did not violate the Open Records Act when it denied a request to inspect records that do not exist within its possession or when it denied inspection of records that were prohibited by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
