Kentucky Open Records Act

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Contents

State sunshine
State laws
How to ask for records
Transparency headlines
Statutory changes
Notable FOIA requests
State sunshine lawsuits
State court cases
E-mail access
Private agency, public dollars
The WikiFOIA portal

The Kentucky Open Records Act is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Kentucky, so that citizens have some idea of what is happening with their government. Statues KRS 61.870 to 61.884 define the law.

The Kentucky Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

Kentucky's transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Kentucky #28 in the nation with an overall percentage of 51.30%. [1]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Kentucky 47 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 26 out of the 50 states.[2]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Kentucky's law as the 7th best in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C+".[3]

Public Records

"The General Assembly finds and declares that the basic policy of KRS 61.870 to 61.884 is that free and open examination of public records is in the public interest and the exceptions provided for by KRS 61.878 or otherwise provided by law shall be stricly construed, even though such examination may cause inconvenience or embarrassment to public officials of others."[4]

Open Meetings

The Kentucky Revised Statutes define the purpose for open meetings law as: "the formation of public policy is public business and shall not be conducted in secret and the exceptions provided for by... law shall be strictly construed."[5]

Who May Request Kentucky Records?

Anyone may request public records in Kentucky. "All public records shall be open for inspection by any person". [6]

For requester residency requirements in other states, see the list of who can make public record requests by state.

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ Integrity Index available for download here
  2. ↑ Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, 2007
  3. ↑ Freedom of Information in the USA, 2002
  4. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 61, Section .871
  5. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 61, Section .800
  6. ↑ Kentucky Revised Statutes, 61.872
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