Kentucky bill enhancing police protections from open records requests becomes law without governor action

FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — A bill that allows open records requests in Kentucky to be exempt from the public eye if their disclosure endangers police became law on Thursday without a veto or the governor’s signature.

House Bill 520 amended the current Open Records Request legislature, adding exemptions that prohibit law enforcement records from public viewing if that information poses the risk of harm to a law enforcement agency, per the Kentucky General Assembly website.

This amendment limits the amount of government records officials can allow the public to view after submitting an open records request for arrest reports and 911 call information.

Specifically, the bill amends language in the existing statute that had allowed the withholding of documents that “would cause harm” to a law enforcement agency. HB 520 amended the language to prohibit the public from viewing records that could cause harm not only to the agency but to the overall investigation as well as witnesses, the bill states.

Lawmakers argued that revealing the identity of informants or witnesses connected with investigations could cause harm to the officers or agencies involved.

The bill passed with a committee vote of 25-12 on March 14 and was delivered to the secretary of state’s desk on Thursday with no signature.