The Kentucky Open Government Coalition is reacting to a 4-2 decision by the Kentucky Supreme Court Thursday, ruling that messages sent by public officials on private cell phones or email accounts are not public records — therefore not subject to the Open Records Act.
The court ruled against the coalition in favor of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission. The initial case derived from an open records request made by the nonprofit in 2021 that included asking for texts and emails from the commissioners, who had no state-issued email addresses or phone numbers at the time. Thursday’s decision reverses a prior ruling by the state Court of Appeals in the coalition’s favor.
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