Were Kentucky county association reinsurance and unemployment funds public agencies under the Open Records Act?

Plain-English summary

In 1993, Kentucky's Attorney General concluded that two Kentucky Association of Counties programs were public agencies for purposes of the Open Records Act. The KACo Reinsurance Trust Program was formed by public agencies under an interlocal agreement. The KACo Unemployment Compensation Self-Insurance Fund consisted of governmental entities organized as a group account. Both fit the statute's description of an interagency body of two or more public agencies. The AG said the unemployment fund had to release its nonexempt public records; it reached the same public-agency classification for the reinsurance program.

The answer built on earlier Attorney General open-records decisions about other KACo programs. The opinion classified these entities but did not decide whether any particular record was exempt.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1993. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical summary

Reinsurance trust administrators

The AG described the trust as an association of public agencies created under the Interlocal Cooperation Act, initially by Pendleton and Marshall counties. On that structure, it concluded the trust fell within KRS 61.870(1)(k) and was subject to the Open Records Act.

Unemployment insurance fund administrators

The AG said the fund's governmental participants had organized a group account under KRS 341.281(3). Because it was an interagency body, the opinion classified it as a public agency and said it had to release nonexempt public records.

People seeking fund records

The opinion's public-agency conclusion meant the two programs were within the Open Records Act as the AG read it in 1993. It did not hold that every record held by either program had to be disclosed regardless of an exemption.

Common questions

Were KACo's reinsurance trust records subject to the Kentucky Open Records Act?

The AG said the trust was a public agency because it was formed by public agencies under an interlocal agreement. That classification brought it within the Act.

Did the same rule apply to KACo's unemployment insurance fund?

Yes. The AG classified the fund as an interagency body of governmental entities and said it had to release nonexempt public records.

Did the opinion say every fund record had to be released?

No. It decided public-agency status and referred to release of nonexempt records; it did not decide a dispute over any particular document or exemption.

Why did the programs count as public agencies?

The AG applied KRS 61.870(1)(k)'s interagency-body definition. The trust was formed under an interlocal agreement by counties, and the unemployment fund was a group account of governmental entities.

Background and statutory framework

Senator Susan Johns asked whether two more KACo programs were public agencies in light of earlier open-records decisions about other KACo funds. The AG focused on each program's structure. It applied KRS 61.870(1)(k), which covered interagency bodies of at least two public agencies, to the trust's county signatories and the unemployment fund's governmental participants.

Citations and references

• KRS 61.870(1)(k): public-agency definition quoted in the opinion's first footnote.
• KRS 65.210 et seq.: Interlocal Cooperation Agreement Act cited for the trust's formation.
• KRS 341.281(3): group account cited for the unemployment insurance fund.
• 92-ORD-1232, 92-ORD-1245 and 93-ORD-96: prior Attorney General open-records decisions discussed in the opinion.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Opinions/Opinions/OAG93-065.htm

Original opinion text

OAG 93-65

September 29, 1993

Senator Susan Johns, Chairperson

Program Review and Investigations Committee

Legislative Research Commission

Frankfort, KY 40601

Dear Senator Johns:

You have requested an opinion from the Attorney General on an issue relating to the Kentucky Open Records Act and programs administered by the Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo). Specifically, you ask whether, in light of this Office's holdings in 92-ORD-1232 and 92-ORD-1245, the KACo Reinsurance Trust Program (KRT) and the KACo Unemployment Compensation Self-Insurance Fund (KACo Unemployment Insurance Fund) are public agencies for purposes of the Open Records Act.

In 92-ORD-1232, we held that a number of programs administered by KACo, including the Kentucky Association of Counties All Lines Fund (KALF), the Kentucky Association of Counties Leasing Fund (COLT), the Kentucky Association of Counties Medical Program (KAMP), and the Kentucky Association of Counties Advance Revenue Program (KARP), were public agencies within the meaning of KRS 61.870(1)(k) [1] insofar as they are constituted as interagency bodies of two or more political entities, agencies, or subdivisions of the state formed under the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement Act, codified at KRS 65.210 et seq. In 92-ORD-1245, we held that KACo-KLC Workers Compensation Self Insurance Fund (KACo-KLC), an interagency body of two or more public agencies formed pursuant to KRS 342.350(4), was a public agency within the meaning of KRS 61.878(1)(k). Most recently, we have declared that KACo itself is a public agency. 93-ORD-96. Because it receives at least 25% of its funds from state or local authority, KACo falls within the parameters of KRS 61.878(1)(h), [2] and is therefore subject to the Open Records Act.

We have not had occasion to address the question which you raise: Whether the Open Records Act is applicable to KRT and the KACo Unemployment Insurance Fund? It is the opinion of this Office that both of these entities fall within the parameters of KRS 61.878(1)(k), and must therefore be treated as public agencies for purposes of the Open Records Act.

As you note in your August 30 letter to this Office, KRT was created in 1990 under the Interlocal Cooperation Act as an association of public agencies for the purpose of providing reinsurance to self-insurance and insurance pools providing primary insurance to public agencies. The original signatories to the agreement were Pendleton County and Marshall County. Like KALF, COLT, KARP, and KAMP, KRT is an interagency body of two or more public agencies within the meaning of KRS 61.870(1)(k), and is therefore subject to the Open Records Act.

Similarly, the KACo Unemployment Insurance Fund is a public agency, as defined in KRS 61.870(1)(k), and must comply with the provisions of the Open Records Act in releasing nonexempt public records. The Fund's bylaws indicate that it was formed "for the purpose of allowing eligible government entities located or operating in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to exhibit sufficient financial strength to establish a group account as reimbursing employers pursuant to KRS 341.275, 341.277, and 341.281." Like the KACo-KLC Workers Compensation Self-Insurance Fund, the KACo Unemployment Insurance Fund thus consists of two or more governmental entities which have organized a group account pursuant to KRS 341.281(3). It too is an interagency body of two or more public agencies. By the express terms of KRS 341.281(3) and KRS 61.870(1)(k), the KACo Unemployment Insurance Fund is a public agency, and its records are public records.

Sincerely yours,

CHRIS GORMAN

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Amye B. Majors

Assistant Attorney General

(502) 564-7600

ABM:jgh/1243

cc: Vic Hellard, Director

Legislative Research Commission

Capitol Building

Frankfort, KY 40601

Joe Fiala

Legislative Research Commission

Capitol Building

Frankfort, KY 40601

Footnotes

[1]KRS 61.870(1)(k) defines a public agency as "[a]ny interagency body of two (2) or more public agencies where each public agency is defined in [preceding paragraphs (a) through (j) of this definitional subsection.]"

[2]KRS 61.870(1)(h) defines a public agency as "[a]ny body which derives at least twenty-five percent (25%) of its funds expended by it in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from state or local authority funds."