Information that is public knowledge may often remain in the dark, but a Madison County organization Monday showed the public how the Sunshine Law can bring otherwise undisclosed information to light.
The League of Women Voters of Berea and Madison County, along with Eastern Kentucky University‚s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, hosted the public forum, “What You Need to Know about Your Right to Know” Monday evening at the new Business and Technology Center on EKU’s campus.
An audience of EKU journalism students and a group of several interested citizens gathered to hear featured panelists that included: Assistant Attorney General Amye Bensenhaver; former Kentucky Press Association President and Managing Editor of the Danville Advocate Messenger John Nelson; Bill Estep, an investigative reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader; and Richmond Register Editor Jim Todd.
Monday’s event was tied in with national Sunshine Week, which was honored earlier this month.
Kentucky’s open records law requires that upon a request for a certain public record(s), the entity being asked for the information must respond within three business days, or a fine can be administered by the courts charging that entity $25 for each additional day they withhold the information.
In the 1980s, the Kentucky’s Attorney General Office received about 50 appeals each year, Bensenhaver said. An appeal is filed after an entity has either failed to provide the information in a timely manner or has given specific reason(s) as to why the information cannot be released.
At present, the Attorney General Office receives between 250 and 300 appeals each year, she said.
Bensenhaver encouraged the audience to not always take “no” for an answer. If an entity denies releasing the requested information and has provided reasoning that is not satisfactory to the person seeking the information, they have the right to appeal that decision to the Attorney General’s office.
“If you feel strongly about it, you should appeal it and have some confidence that maybe this time, things will work,” she said.
While serving as president of the Kentucky Press Association, Nelson teamed with EKU journalism students to do an audit of every county in the state. This audit would determine the amount of willingness found among those in charge of dispersing public records.
“By in large, Kentucky agencies passed the test,” Nelson said.
As part of his duties as KPA president, Nelson would talk to all newly elected state officials about sunshine laws and what they are required to produce when asked.
“I deal with elected officials on a day-to-day basis, and as each new mayor and each new council comes along, it’s an educational process. We have to teach them what their responsibilities are. Sometimes they care, and sometimes they don’t care”
Nelson said he plans to do another audit in the future.
“I don’t know when the next audit will be, but if I did, I wouldn’t tell anybody,” he said.
Estep is a veteran investigative reporter who sent out 25 Freedom of Information forms just within the past week.
Throughout his career, Estep has faced many slammed doors when trying to obtain public information.
“You are not required to say why you want the information,” Estep said. “That’s something you’ll be asked almost every time you’re dealing with the city or county government.”
He admitted that obtaining access to public information can be trying at times, but there is almost always a reward at the end, he said.
“One of my favorite parts about the law is that even though such examination may cause inconvenience and/or embarrassment to public officials, well, I love to inconvenience and embarrass public officials,” he said among an amused audience.
Todd talked of a recent incident that occurred after reporter requested public information from a city official.
The letter sent to the city employee was close to being a standard Freedom of Information request letter. It also was the same letter that was sent to several other second-class cities (such as Richmond) within the state.
The reaction of the official came as a shock to both Todd and the reporter requesting the information.
The official, for whom the letter was addressed, contacted the city attorney to review the language in the letter.
The last two paragraphs of the letter explained the open records law and continued to state the penalties that could occur if a response was not received from the city within three business days.
“The city attorney called me and said that he felt like the letter was threatening,” Todd said. “Some of these people don’t know the law, and just because they tell you “no,” don’t ever give up.”
There are several ways to write an open records request, but the League of Women Voters of Berea and Madison County now offer a link on the group’s Web site (www.lwvbmc.iclub.org) that contains several formats for open record request letters.
To learn more about national Sunshine Week and open meetings and open records laws, visit www.sunshineweek.com.
“Whether you call them sunshine laws or freedom-of-information laws, they are meant to protect the right of all citizens to know what the government is doing,” Fraas said. “Whenever the media fight for access to records or meetings, they actually are carrying the torch for the citizens.”
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.
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