(A) (1) As defined in § 34.01 of this chapter, and subject to the limitations set forth in § 34.22 of this subchapter, any resident of the Commonwealth shall have the right to inspect public records. The official custodian may require a written application, signed by the applicant and with his or her name printed legibly on the application, describing the records to be inspected. The official custodian may require the applicant to provide a statement in the written application of the manner in which the applicant is a resident of the Commonwealth under KRS 61.870(1)(a) through (f).
(a) The written application shall be hand delivered;
(b) Mailed;
(c) Sent via facsimile; or
(d) Sent via e-mail to the public agency’s official custodian of public records or his or her designee at the email address designated in the public agency’s rules and regulations adopted pursuant to KRS 61.876.
(2) A public agency shall not require the use of any particular form for the submission of an open records request, but shall accept for any request the standardized form developed under KRS 61.876(4).
(KRS 61.872(2))
(B) If the custodian determines that a person’s request is in compliance with the Open Records Law, being KRS 61.870 et seq., and the requested records are immediately available, the custodian shall deliver the records for inspection. Suitable facilities shall be made available in the office of the City Clerk-Treasurer for the inspection. No person shall remove original copies of public records from the offices of any public agency without the written permission of the official custodian of the record.
(KRS 61.872(1))
(C) An applicant may inspect public records during the regular business hours of the city, or by receiving copies of the public records from the city through the mail if the applicant’s residence or principal place of business is outside of the county in which the city is located and he or she has precisely described public records which are available within the city.
(D) Upon inspection, the applicant shall have the right to make abstracts of the public records and memoranda thereof, and to obtain copies of all public records not exempted by the terms of KRS 61.878. When copies are requested, the custodian may require a written request and advance payment of the prescribed fee as defined in § 34.01 of this chapter, including postage where appropriate. If the applicant desires copies of public records other than written records, the custodian of the records shall duplicate the records or permit the applicant to duplicate the records; however, the custodian shall ensure that such duplication will not damage or alter the original records.
(KRS 61.874(1))
(E) Nonexempt public records used for noncommercial purposes shall be available for copying in either standard electronic or standard hard copy format, as designated by the party requesting the records, where the agency currently maintains the records in electronic format. Nonexempt public records used for noncommercial purposes shall be copied in standard hard copy format where agencies currently maintain records in hard copy format. Agencies are not required to convert hard copy format records to electronic formats.
(F) The minimum standard format in paper form shall be defined as not less than 8-1/2" by 11" in at least one color on white paper, or for electronic format, in a flat file electronic American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format. If the public agency maintains electronic public records in a format other than ASCII, and this format conforms to the requestor’s requirements, the public records may be provided in this alternate electronic format for standard fees as specified by the public agency. Any request for a public record in a form other than the forms described in this section shall be considered a nonstandardized request.
(KRS 61.874(2))
(G) Unless an enactment of the General Assembly prohibits the disclosure of public records to persons who intend to use them for commercial purposes, if copies of nonexempt public records are requested for commercial purposes, the public agency may establish a reasonable fee. The public agency from which copies of nonexempt public records are requested for a commercial purpose may require a certified statement from the requestor stating the commercial purpose for which they shall be used, and may require the requestor to enter into a contract with the agency. The contract shall permit use of the public records for the stated commercial purpose for a specified fee. The fee may be based on the cost to the public agency of media, mechanical processing and staff required to produce a copy of the public record or records or the cost to the public agency of the creation purchase, or the acquisition of the public records.
(KRS 61.874(4))
(H) It shall be unlawful for a person to obtain a copy of any part of a public record for a:
(1) Commercial purpose, without stating the commercial purpose, if a certified statement from the requestor was required by the public agency pursuant to division (G) above;
(2) Commercial purpose, if the person uses or knowingly allows the use of the public record for a different commercial purpose; or
(3) Noncommercial purpose, if the person uses or knowingly allows the use of the public record for a commercial purpose. A newspaper, periodical, radio, or television station shall not be held to have used or knowingly allowed the use of the public record for a commercial purpose merely because of its publication or broadcast, unless it has also given its express permission for that commercial use.
(KRS 61.874(5))
(I) Online access to public records in electronic form, as provided under this section, may be provided and made available at the discretion of the public agency. If a party wishes to access public records by electronic means and the public agency agrees to provide online access, a public agency may require that the party enter into a contract, license, or other agreement with the agency, and may charge fees for these agreements. Fees shall not exceed:
(1) The cost of physical connection to the system and reasonable cost of computer time access charges; or
(2) If the records are requested for a commercial purpose, a reasonable fee based on the factors set forth in division (G) above.
(KRS 61.874(6))
(Prior Code, § 34.05)