Skip to main content

Request By:
Harrison Bailey, # 113353
Bell County Forestry Camp
Route 2, Box 75
Pineville, KY 40977Glenda Gambrel
Open Records Custodian
Bell County Forestry Camp
Route 2, Box 75
Pineville, KY 40977Emily Dennis
Department of Corrections
2439 Lawrenceburg Road
P.O. Box 2400
Frankfort, KY 40602-2400

Opinion

Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Amye L. Bensenhaver, Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Decision

This matter having been presented to the Attorney General in an open records appeal, and the Attorney General being sufficiently advised, we find that Bell County Forestry Camp did not violate the Open Records Act in denying Harrison Bailey's January 4, 2005 request for a copy of the "master menu from Central Office for [the] quarter beginning January, 2005." It is our decision that 99-ORD-102, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated by reference, is controlling. 1 See also 98-ORD-150; 00-ORD-115. At page 2 of that decision, this office concluded that a correctional facility properly relied on KRS 197.025(2) 2 in denying an inmate's request for a copy of its master menu because the menu did not "pertain [] to that individual." The language of KRS 197.025(2) has since been amended so as to place even greater restrictions on inmate access to records. KRS 197.025(2) now provides that only if the requested record "contains a specific reference" to the inmate is the facility required to disclose it, and then only if no other exemption applies to it. We therefore find that Bell County Forestry Camp did not violate the Open Records Act in denying Mr. Bailey's request.


A party aggrieved by this decision may appeal it 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 To the extent that 99-ORD-102 addresses the imposition of sales tax for the "sale" of copies of records, it is inapposite. Bell County Forestry Camp did not attempt to impose sales tax on Mr. Bailey and therefore did not violate the Open Records Act in this respect.

2 Incorporated into the Open Records Act by KRS 61.878(1)(l), authorizing public agencies to withhold:

Public records or information the disclosure of which is prohibited or restricted or otherwise made confidential by enactment of the General Assembly.

LLM Summary
The decision finds that Bell County Forestry Camp did not violate the Open Records Act by denying an inmate's request for a copy of the master menu, citing 99-ORD-102 as controlling and referencing 98-ORD-150 and 00-ORD-115 for additional support. The decision follows the reasoning that the requested records did not pertain to the individual inmate and were thus exempt from disclosure under the amended KRS 197.025(2).
Disclaimer:
The Sunshine Law Library is not exhaustive and may contain errors from source documents or the import process. Nothing on this website should be taken as legal advice. It is always best to consult with primary sources and appropriate counsel before taking any action.
Requested By:
Harrison Bailey
Agency:
Bell County Forestry Camp
Type:
Open Records Decision
Lexis Citation:
2005 Ky. AG LEXIS 78
Forward Citations:
Neighbors

Support Our Work

The Coalition needs your help in safeguarding Kentuckian's right to know about their government.