Request By:
Uriah Pasha, # 092028
Ms. Kim Campbell
Amy V. Barker, Esq.
Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
The question presented in this appeal is whether the Kentucky State Reformatory ("KSR") violated the Kentucky Open Records Act in its disposition of inmate Uriah Pasha's January 23, 2017, request for "[a] copy of the 'Inmate Pay Sheet, ' (Ky Doc Report No. IJPR150-13) Facility: Ky. State Reformatory that were printed out with "Uriah Pasha # 092028," thereon for the periods: 10/15/2015-03/03/2016; 01/01/2016-07/05/2016; 09/19/2016-11/02/2016." We find no violation of the Act.
On January 27, 2017, KSR Offender Information Specialist Kim Campbell responded to Mr. Pasha's request:
Upon reviewing your file, this is a duplicate request for records and you were previously sent a response on 12/2/2016 and provided with copies of Unit B pay sheets that contained your name.
An agency is not required to provide duplicate copies of records. ?
There are no other pay sheets listed with your name on them for the time periods stated above. None of the pay sheets located contain a specific reference to you and the records are exempt from disclosure to you under KRS 61.878(1)(l) and KRS 197.025(2). No records responsive to your request exist since you failed to sign in as explained in your recent appeal [17-ORD-005].
Mr. Pasha's appeal was received in this office on February 2, 2017. He argues as follows:
The Inmate Pay Sheet is not the same as the sign-in sheet requested in [17-ORD-005].
The Ky. DOC Report No. IJPR150-13, is a computerized document that every Unit within the Ky. DOC generates to record its workers days on the job. This sheet is mandatory and has to be printed-out. Every unit through-out the Department has to compose them each month.
The sign-in sheet the KDOC offered up in [17-ORD-005] is the visitation sheet that everyone who enters into the Segregation Unit has to sign when they enter and leave the unit to show what times they were there. It[']s not the same as the Inmate Pay Sheet.
On February 7, 2017, Amy V. Barker, Assistant General Counsel, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, responded to the appeal on behalf of KSR. She explains:
? Pasha worked in Unit D during the dates at issue. ? Unit D does not use the inmate pay sheet record that can be generated in KOMS. It uses the sign in sheets addressed in [17-ORD-005]. Unit D is not required to use the inmate pay sheet and did not use it for the period requested. ? Offender Information staff at KSR generated the inmate pay sheet reports for the time in question and none of them contained a specific reference to inmate Pasha since Unit D does not use them to document inmate work.
She provides a statement from KSR Administrative Section Supervisor Philip Campbell, who indicates that "while the Kentucky Offender Management System (KOMS) has a feature that can generate inmate pay rosters/sheets it is not required that supervisors use it. Supervisors can choose whatever method they wish in tracking their inmate workers' time -- so long as that method is functional and records are retained." Additionally, a statement from Kim Campbell advises that "Mr. Pasha's name is not on any of the pay sheets" from the requested dates, "as these are not used to keep track of pay for Unit D."
As we noted in 17-ORD-005, a recent appeal involving Mr. Pasha's request for sign-in sheets, KRS 197.025(2) provides as follows:
KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, the department shall not be required to comply with a request for any record from any inmate confined in a jail or any facility or any individual on active supervision under the jurisdiction of the department, unless the request is for a record which contains a specific reference to that individual.
The Attorney General has long interpreted this provision as meaning that only documents mentioning the inmate by name need be provided. See, e.g. , 99-ORD-157. Since the inmate pay sheets for Unit D that could be generated for the dates in question do not mention Mr. Pasha by name, KRS 197.025(2) is dispositive of this appeal and KSR properly denied the 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 must be notified of any action in circuit court, but should not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceedings.