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Opinion

Opinion By: Jack Conway, 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 Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex did not violate the Open Records Act in denying Larry E. Watkins' July 1, 2010, request "to know exactly when the rule infraction of 'threatening gang activity' went into effect here at EKCC." It is the decision of this office that 95-ORD-131, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein, is dispositive of the issue on appeal. That open records decision recognizes that the "open records provisions address only inspection of records . . . and do not require public agencies to provide information" in answer to a question, and has been adopted in numerous open records decisions issued by the Attorney General since 1995. Accordingly, we find that EKCC did not violate the provisions of the Open Records Act in denying Mr. Watkins' 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.

Larry Watkins, # 096394Jon MotleyJonathan S. Milby

LLM Summary
The decision concludes that the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex did not violate the Open Records Act by denying Larry E. Watkins' request for information about when a specific rule was implemented, as the Open Records Act is intended only for the inspection of records, not for answering questions. The decision follows the precedent set by 95-ORD-131, which clarified the scope of the Open Records Act in similar contexts.
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Requested By:
Larry E. Watkins
Agency:
Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex
Type:
Open Records Decision
Lexis Citation:
2010 Ky. AG LEXIS 164
Cites (Untracked):
  • 95-ORD-131
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