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PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING PUBLIC RECORDS
(A) (1) 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 as defined in § 34.01.
(2) The written application shall be:
(a) 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 e-mail address designated in the public agency's rules and regulations adopted pursuant to KRS 61.876.
(3) 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) All public records shall be open for inspection by any resident of the Commonwealth, except as otherwise provided by KRS 61.870 to 61.884, and suitable facilities shall be made available by each public agency for the exercise of this right. No resident of the Commonwealth 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) A resident of the Commonwealth may inspect the public records:
(1) During the regular office hours of the public agency; or
(2) By receiving copies of the public records from the public agency through the mail. The public agency shall mail copies of the public records to a person whose residence or principal place of business is outside the county in which the public records are located after he or she precisely describes the public records which are readily available within the public agency. If the resident of the Commonwealth requesting the public records requests that copies of the records be mailed, the official custodian shall mail the copies upon receipt of all fees and the cost of mailing. (KRS 61.872(3))
(D) The applicant shall have the right to make abstracts of the public records and to obtain copies of all public records not exempted by this chapter. When copies are requested, the custodian may require a written request and advance payment of the prescribed fee as defined in § 34.01. (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 8½ inches x 11 inches in at least one (1) 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)(b))
(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 subsection (G) of this section: or
(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;
(2) If the records are requested for a commercial purpose, a reasonable fee based on the factors set forth in subsection (G).
(KRS 61.874(6))
If the public record is in active use, in storage, or not otherwise available, the official custodian shall immediately so notify the applicant and shall designate a place, time, and date for inspection of the public records, not to exceed five days (excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays) from receipt of the application, unless a detailed explanation of the cause is given for further delay and the place, time, and earliest date on which the public record will be available for inspection or duplication.
(KRS 61.872(5))
If the application places an unreasonable burden in producing public records, or if the custodian has reason to believe that repeated requests are intended to disrupt other essential functions of the public agency, the official custodian may refuse to permit inspection of the public records or mail copies of public records. However, refusal under this section must be sustained by clear and convincing evidence. (KRS 61.872(6))
(A) If a person enforces KRS 61.870 to 61.884 pursuant to this section, he or she shall begin enforcement under this subsection before proceeding to enforcement under KRS 61.880(2). Each public agency, upon any request for records made under KRS 61.870 to 61.884, shall determine within five days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, after the receipt of any such request whether to comply with the request and shall notify in writing the person making the request, within the five-day period, of its decision. An agency response denying, in whole or in part, inspection of any record shall include a statement of the specific exception authorizing the withholding of the record and a brief explanation of how the exception applies to the record withheld. The response shall be issued by the official custodian or under his or her authority, and it shall constitute final agency action. (KRS 61.880(1))
(B) If a complaining party wishes the Attorney General to review a public agency's denial of a request to inspect a public record, the complaining party shall forward to the Attorney General a copy of the written request and a copy of the written response denying inspection. If the public agency refuses to provide a written response, a complaining party shall provide a copy of the written request. The Attorney General shall review the request and denial and issue within 20 days, excepting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, a written decision stating whether the agency violated provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884. (KRS 61.880(2)(a))
(C) (1) A party shall have 30 days from the day that the Attorney General renders his or her decision to appeal the decision. An appeal within the 30-day time limit shall be treated as if it were an action brought under KRS 61.882.
(2) If an appeal is not filed within the 30-day time limit, the Attorney General's decision shall have the force and effect of law and shall be enforceable in the circuit court of the county where the public agency has its principal place of business or the circuit court of the county where the public record is maintained. (KRS 61.880(5))
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