(A) A requester who is dissatisfied with the city’s handling of an open records request may appeal the city’s response to the Kentucky Attorney General or to the Kenton County Circuit Court.
(B) An inmate confined in a correctional facility must appeal to the Attorney General before appealing to the courts pursuant to KRS 197.025(3) and must do so within 20 days of the city’s denial of a request. All other requesters may bypass the Attorney General and initiate an appeal in the Circuit Court, and there is no time limitation on when the requesters must initiate an appeal.
(C) Pursuant to KRS 61.880(2)(c), the city has the burden of sustaining its action in an appeal to the Attorney General. Pursuant to KRS 61.882(3), the city has the burden of proof in an appeal to the Circuit Court. The city “bears the burden of proof. . . and what it must prove is that any decision to withhold responsive records was justified under the Act.”
(D) Notification of receipt of an open records appeal, and the letter of appeal, shall be immediately directed to the City Clerk or the City Clerk’s designee, and a copy immediately forwarded to the city’s Legal Department.
(E) In an appeal to the Kentucky Attorney General, the city may supplement its denial, or otherwise explain its actions, in writing, and shall provide the appellant with a copy of its written supplemental response. The city shall comply with the Attorney General’s request for additional documentation, and shall provide the appellant with a copy of its written response. If the Attorney General requests a copy of the public records in dispute, the city shall comply with the request but shall not provide the appellant with a copy of the disputed records.
(F) An open records decision issued by the Kentucky Attorney General pursuant to KRS 61.880(2) shall have the force and effect of law if not appealed to the Kenton County Circuit Court within 30 days.
(G) If the city receives an unfavorable ruling from the Attorney General, the city shall, within the 30-day period, determine whether to comply with the decision by releasing the previously disputed records or taking appropriate corrective measures, or to seek judicial review of the adverse open records decision. In no case shall the city ignore an adverse open records decision beyond 30 days and force the requester/appellant to petition the Kenton County Circuit Court to enforce the legally binding open records decision.
(1984 Code, § 37.08) (Ord. O-14-19, passed 6-11-2019)
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, see KRS 61.880(2), (5)(b), 61.882(3)