Opinion
Opinion By: Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; James M. Ringo, Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the actions of the Casey County Health Department and the Lake Cumberland District Health Department relative to the open records request of William Wells for "any and all records you have either stored in a computer or on paper in which the name Pheleisha Ann Vene Melton and/or Dorothy Ann Melton appear on."
By letter dated June 10, 2005, Rosalie Wright, Medical Records Custodian, Lake Cumberland District Health Department, responded to Mr. Wells' request, advising, in relevant part:
We have received your request for a copy of all records which contain the name of Pheleisha Ann Vene Melton as well as your attachment of a court ordered paternity test. Unfortunately we cannot release a copy of her medical record without the written consent of the custodial parent and we have been unable to contact her.
?
If you wish to contact the mother of this child and ask her to complete a written consent for you to receive a copy of the child's record, then we will be happy to comply with your request.
We are asked to determine whether the agency's action violated the Open Records Act. For the reasons that follow, we find that the response was procedurally deficient.
KRS 61.880(1) establishes procedural guidelines for agency response to open records requests. That statute provides:
Each public agency, upon any request for records made under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, shall determine within three (3) days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the request, within the three (3) day period, of its decision. An agency response denying, in whole or in part, inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exception authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exception applies to the record withheld. The response shall be issued by the official custodian or under his authority, and it shall constitute final agency action.
(Emphasis added.)
The agency's response does not cite the specific exception that authorizes withholding access to the requested records nor explain how that exception applies to the records withheld, as required by KRS 61.880(1). If a statutory basis exists, the agency should promptly advise Mr. Wells and must articulate the basis in terms of the requirements of KRS 61.880(1). See, for example, 97-ORD-167, copy enclosed, where the Cabinet for Health Services cited KRS 61.878(1)(l) and KRS 210.235, the relevant statutes in that decision, in denying a request for medical records. This is not to say that the agency wrongly denied access to the requested records, but did not follow the procedural requirements of KRS 61.880(1). If no statutory basis exists, the records should be made available to Mr. Wells.
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.
William Wells, # 1618423001 W. Hwy. 146LaGrange, KY 40032
Sandra PorterRecords CustodianCasey County Health DepartmentP. O. Box 778Liberty, KY 42539-0519
Thomas M. Weddle, Jr.Casey County AttorneyP. O. Box 519Liberty, KY 42539-0519
Rosalie WrightMedical Records CustodianLake Cumberland District Health Department500 Bourne StreetP. O. Box 800Somerset, KY 42502