Request By:
Hon. Peggy D. Guier, Attorney
Legal Services Section
Revenue Cabinet
Capitol Annex
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Carl T. Miller. Jr., Assistant Attorney General
Mr. Joe Szakos has appealed to the Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880 your denial of his request to inspect certain public records in the Revenue Cabinet. The records are described as follows:
1. All correspondence sent or received by the Revenue Cabinet with regard to the feasibility of an unmined minerals tax, since December 1, 1981.
2. Any study on the unmined minerals tax done by or for the Revenue Cabinet in the last ten years.
In your response to Mr. Szakos you denied his request to inspect the records and gave as the reasons for the denial the exemptions provided by KRS 61.878(1)(h)(j) which exempts from mandatory public inspection preliminary recommendations, preliminary memoranda in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated or recommended, and records which are made confidential by state law. You cite KRS 131.190(1) as the statute which makes information confidential by law.
In order that we could properly review Mr. Szakos' appeal we requested that you send us a copy of any records coming under the description of documents stated by Mr. Szakos. You complied with our request and we have reviewed the records.
OPINION OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It is the opinion of the Attorney General that you acted in accordance with the Open Records Law, KRS 61.870 to 61.884, in denying inspection of the requested records. The Revenue Cabinet is permitted to deny the request to inspect the described records because they consist entirely of intraoffice memoranda which are preliminary in nature and which contain expressions of opinion, recommendations and proposals from subordinate state employees to their superiors. Such records are exempt from mandatory public disclosure by KRS 61.878(1)(g)(h). We do not agree with you that the requested records are made confidential by KRS 131.190(1) because they make no mention of any individual taxpayer or information concerning any taxpayer's business. However, since the records may be withheld from public inspection by the permissive exemptions of KRS 61.878(1)(g)(h) the Revenue Cabinet has the option of either allowing inspection of the records or keeping them confidential as it sees fit, provided that it treats all requests to inspect the records according to the same policy.
As directed by statute a copy of this opinion is being sent to the requester who has the right to challenge it in court.