Kansas Open Records Act Request

KANSAS OPEN RECORDS ACT REQUEST

(K.S.A. 45-215 through 45-223)

PRACTITIONER NOTES

1. Direct the request to the record custodian. If the recipient is not the custodian, K.S.A. 45-218(c) requires notice to the requester and the custodian's name and location if known or readily ascertainable.
2. An agency may require a written request but generally may not require a particular form. It ordinarily may require only the requester's name and address, information needed to identify the records, and information needed to establish a right of access. K.S.A. 45-220(b).
3. A request must be acted upon as soon as possible and no later than the end of the third business day after receipt. This is not necessarily a three-day production deadline. If access is not immediate, the custodian must give a detailed explanation of the cause for delay and the place and earliest time and date the record will be available. K.S.A. 45-218(d).
4. If access is denied, the custodian must provide, upon request, a written statement of the grounds citing the specific legal provision. That statement is due no later than the end of the third business day after the custodian receives the request for the statement. K.S.A. 45-218(d).
5. KORA has no statutory free allowance for requests under one hour or one hundred pages and no general $0.25-per-page cap. Current K.S.A. 45-219(c) permits reasonable fees up to actual cost, including attributable staff time for review and redaction.
6. When charging staff time, the agency must use in good faith the lowest-cost staff category reasonably necessary, base the charge on salary or hourly wage, and exclude employee benefits. On request, the agency must provide an itemized cost statement with employee rates and other fees. K.S.A. 45-219(c)(3), (4).
7. If needed staff time will exceed five hours or estimated staff cost will exceed $200, the agency must make reasonable efforts to discuss cost mitigation. The requester need not narrow the request, but failure to respond by the end of the third business day after reasonable contact efforts causes the request to be deemed withdrawn until the requester contacts the agency. K.S.A. 45-219(e).
8. KORA does not create a mandatory poverty or public-interest fee waiver. An agency may choose not to charge or may reduce fees as a policy matter. Executive-branch state-agency fee reasonableness may be appealed to the Secretary of Administration. K.S.A. 45-219(d).
9. A request is not a contract. Delete unused bracketed instructions and do not add warranties, covenants, defaults, cure periods, indemnities, force majeure, arbitration clauses, jury waivers, assignment restrictions, integration clauses, or execution formalities.

REQUEST LETTER

Date: [DATE]

Method: [EMAIL / MAIL / FACSIMILE / PORTAL / HAND DELIVERY]

To:
[RECORD CUSTODIAN / FREEDOM OF INFORMATION OFFICER]
[PUBLIC AGENCY]
[OFFICE OR DIVISION]
[ADDRESS / EMAIL / FACSIMILE / PORTAL]

From:
[REQUESTER NAME]
[TITLE / ORGANIZATION, IF ANY]
[MAILING ADDRESS]
[EMAIL]
[TELEPHONE]

Re: Kansas Open Records Act Request — [SUBJECT]

Dear Record Custodian:

Under the Kansas Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215 through 45-223, I request inspection and/or copies of the following public records.

1. Records Requested

1. [DESCRIBE THE FIRST RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
2. [DESCRIBE THE SECOND RECORD OR DISCRETE RECORD SET.]
3. [ADD ADDITIONAL ITEMIZED REQUESTS.]

Date range: [START DATE] through [END DATE]

Relevant office, official, employee, contractor, project, contract, incident, matter, or file number: [DETAILS]

Helpful custodians, email addresses, search terms, databases, or data fields: [DETAILS]

This request seeks records the agency presently possesses. It does not ask the agency to conduct research, answer questions, create a record, or fulfill a prospective request for records not yet in existence. If clarification would help identify the records or reduce cost, please contact me at [EMAIL / TELEPHONE].

2. Inspection, Copies, Format, and Delivery

I request:

• ☐ inspection during regular office hours;
• ☐ electronic copies in the format in which the agency maintains the records;
• ☐ electronic copies in this existing reproducible format: [FORMAT];
• ☐ paper copies;
• ☐ inspection first, with copies selected afterward; or
• ☐ another available method: [METHOD].

Preferred delivery or inspection method: [EMAIL / SECURE LINK / PORTAL / APPOINTMENT / MAIL / PICKUP].

If the requested format is not maintained or cannot be reproduced with the agency's existing capability, please identify the available format before incurring additional cost.

3. Fees and Cost Communication

I authorize lawful fees up to $[AMOUNT]. Please provide an estimate and obtain my written approval before exceeding that amount.

Before requiring payment, please provide the itemized statement available under K.S.A. 45-219(c)(4), including:

1. the hourly rate of each employee involved;
2. the estimated or actual time charged;
3. copying, computer-service, media, mailing, or other direct costs; and
4. the basis for any fee prescribed by another statute.

Please use the lowest-cost category of staff reasonably necessary and exclude employee benefits and incidental costs not attributable to furnishing the records.

If K.S.A. 45-219(e) applies because staff time will exceed five hours or estimated staff cost will exceed $200, please contact me through [EMAIL / TELEPHONE] for the required interactive communication. I understand that I am not obligated to narrow the request, but that failure to respond timely after reasonable contact efforts can cause the request to be deemed withdrawn until I contact the agency.

[OPTIONAL DISCRETIONARY REQUEST: Because disclosure will serve the public interest through [EXPLANATION], please waive or reduce fees to the extent agency policy permits. This does not assert a statutory right to a waiver.]

4. Three-Business-Day Action and Any Denial

Please act on this request as soon as possible and no later than the end of the third business day after receipt, as required by K.S.A. 45-218(d).

If access is not granted immediately, please provide the detailed explanation required by § 45-218(d), including:

1. the cause for further delay;
2. the place where access will be provided; and
3. the earliest time and date the record will be available.

If access to any record or portion is denied, this letter also requests the written statement of grounds authorized by § 45-218(d). Please cite each specific provision of law supporting the denial and furnish the statement within three business days after receiving this request for the statement.

Please separate or delete nondisclosable material and provide all remaining material subject to disclosure under K.S.A. 45-221(d).

If you are not the custodian, please provide the name and location of the custodian as required by K.S.A. 45-218(c), if known or readily ascertainable.

Thank you for your assistance.

Respectfully,

__________________________________
[REQUESTER NAME]
[TITLE / ORGANIZATION, IF ANY]
[DATE]

POST-SUBMISSION AND ENFORCEMENT NOTES

• Preserve the record: Keep the request, proof of receipt, delay explanation, cost communications, itemization, payment, production, and denial statement.
• Three-day rule: A timely detailed delay notice may comply even when records are not yet produced. A bare acknowledgment without the cause, place, and earliest access date may not satisfy § 45-218(d).
• Unreasonable burden: Section 45-218(e) permits refusal when production imposes an unreasonable burden or repeated requests appear intended to disrupt essential functions. The agency must sustain that refusal by a preponderance of the evidence.
• Executive fee appeal: A requester seeking executive-branch records may appeal fee reasonableness to the Kansas Secretary of Administration under § 45-219(d).
• Government complaint: The Kansas Attorney General accepts KORA complaints on its prescribed form under penalty of perjury. Complaints about local units are generally referred to the county or district attorney.
• Private enforcement: Any person may sue in the district court of the county where the records are located for injunction, mandamus, declaratory judgment, or other appropriate relief. Review is de novo, and the public agency bears the burden to sustain its action. K.S.A. 45-222(a)-(c).
• Attorney fees: A prevailing requester does not automatically receive fees. The court awards requester costs and reasonable attorney fees when the agency's denial was not in good faith and lacked a reasonable basis in fact or law. K.S.A. 45-222(d).
• Civil penalty: The up-to-$500 penalty in K.S.A. 45-223 applies in an action brought by the Attorney General or a county or district attorney for a knowing violation or intentional failure to furnish required information. It is not a private-requester penalty and is not a removal-from-office remedy.
• Get legal advice: Exemptions, fee disputes, standing, venue, and enforcement strategy are fact-sensitive. Consult Kansas counsel promptly after denial or disputed delay.

CURRENT OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Kansas Revisor — K.S.A. 45-218, access and response
• Kansas Revisor — K.S.A. 45-219, copies and current fees
• Kansas Revisor — K.S.A. 45-220, request procedures
• Kansas Revisor — K.S.A. 45-221, exemptions and separation
• Kansas Revisor — K.S.A. 45-222, judicial enforcement
• Kansas Revisor — K.S.A. 45-223, civil penalty
• Kansas Attorney General — KORA FAQ and complaint guidance