Opinion
Opinion By: Daniel Cameron,Attorney General;James M. Herrick,Assistant Attorney General
Open Records Decision
Inmate Wayne Bodytko ("Appellant") sent an open records request to Community Transitional Services, LLC ("CTS"), for copies of certain records relating to his time as a resident at the CTS facility. CTS denied Appellant's request on the grounds that it was a private entity not subject to the Act.
CTS is a private limited liability company operating a halfway house in Louisville, Kentucky, under a contract with the Kentucky Department of Corrections ("DOC"). On appeal, Appellant offers no evidence that CTS is a "public agency" as defined by KRS 61.870(1).
Under KRS 61.870(1)(h), a private entity may be considered a "public agency," and therefore subject to the Act, if twenty-five percent (25%) of the funds it expends in a fiscal year are derived from state or local funds. "However, any funds derived from a state or local authority in compensation for goods or services that are provided by a contract obtained through a public competitive procurement process shall not be included in the determination of whether a [private entity] is a public agency under this subsection[.]" KRS 61.870(1)(h).
In 17-ORD-106 (copy attached), this Office found that CTS was not a public agency because its contract was obtained through a public competitive procurement process. Here, CTS affirms that this is still the case, and Appellant offers no proof to the contrary. Since the analysis in 17-ORD-106 is directly on point, this Office adopts that decision as if fully set forth herein. As a private entity not covered by KRS 61.870, CTS was not required to comply with the provisions of the Act.
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 proceedings.