Public records could be more easily accessible

Published 6:10 am Friday, July 2, 2021

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Attorney General Daniel Cameron has announced his office filed a regulation to establish a new standardized form that the public may use to make open records requests on public agencies subject to the Open Records Act.

“Earlier this year, the General Assembly passed House Bill 312, which requires our office to develop a standard form for statewide open records requests,” said Cameron. “We fulfilled this statutory duty by filing regulations to create the form, and we invite the public to comment on both of these regulations.”

To comply with the new law, Cameron filed an emergency regulation which will take effect immediately. Entitled “Standardized Open Records Request Form,” it provides agencies and members of the public with access to the form.

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Although public agencies must accept a request using the form, the public is not required to use the form to make a request under the act.

In addition to the emergency regulation, his office also filed an identical ordinary regulation under the same name, which will replace the emergency regulation after legislative approval by the legislature’s Administrative Regulations Review Subcommittee.

To view the proposed standardized open records request form, visit the attorney general’s website.

To assist public agencies, Cameron has also issued an advisory, which can be viewed here. The advisory outlines recent statutory changes to the Open Records and Open Meetings Acts so that public agencies may ensure they comply with the law.

Those wishing to submit a public comment or speak at the public hearing on the emergency and the ordinary regulation may email Marc Manley at marc.manley@ky.gov. The public comment period for the emergency regulation, which is designated 40 KAR 1:040E, ends at 11:59 p.m. on August 31, 2021. A public hearing will occur at 10:00 a.m. on August 22, 2021, in Conference Room A at the Capitol East Complex, 1024 Capital Center Drive in Frankfort.

The public comment period for the ordinary regulation, designated 40 KAR 1:040, ends at 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2021. A public hearing will occur at 10:00 a.m. on September 22, 2021, at the same location.

To view the proposed emergency regulation and ordinary regulation, visit the Legislative Research Commission’s website here.