Opinion
Opinion By: Andy Beshear,Attorney General;Gordon Slone,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
Michael Vaughan ("Appellant") initiated this appeal by letter dated September 17, 2018, challenging the September 11, 2018, denial by Luther Luckett Correctional Complex ("LLCC") of his August 29, 2018, request for the "KY Dept. of Correction's Healthcare management plan for inmates diagnosed with [Hepatitis] C, and/or the KY Dept. of Corrections Protocol for inmates with [Hepatitis] C." Citing KRS 61.878(1)(l) and KRS 197.025(2), the agency denied the request as the Hepatitis C treatment plan does not contain a specific reference to Appellant.
The present appeal was received by this office on September 17, 2018, and a response was received on October 3, 2018, from attorney Angela Cordery, of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. Ms. Cordery's response reiterated the agency's reason for denial and cited multiple decisions of this office affirming such denials on the basis that the requested records did not contain a specific reference to the inmate requester pursuant to KRS 197.025(2) and KRS 61.878(1)(l).
As KRS 197.025(2) provides:
KRS 61.870 to 61.884 to the contrary notwithstanding, the [D]epartment [of Corrections] 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 consistently interpreted this provision as supporting the Department's position that only documents mentioning the inmate by name need be provided. 15-ORD-146, 05-ORD-130; 03-ORD-073; 99-ORD-157; 98-ORD-150. Since the Hepatitis C treatment plan documents do not mention Appellant specifically, KRS 197.025(2) is dispositive of this appeal and LLCC's actions complied with the law.
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 shall be notified of any action in circuit court, but shall not be named as a party in that action or in any subsequent proceeding.