Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach concluded Haysville City Council violated the Kansas Open Records Act and must pay a $250 fine and take part in KORA training. (Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — The Kansas attorney general’s office issued a $250 fine to the Haysville City Council for violating the Kansas Open Records Act, officials said Wednesday.
City employees declined without explanation to release copies of photographs requested under the state government transparency law. The photographs should have been released under KORA. The photographs were subsequently presented in court during a jury trial and led to the examination of whether the city committed a KORA violation.
An investigation by the attorney general’s office concluded the Haysville City Council violated the open records act. The city is southwest of Wichita in Sedgwick County.
“Unfortunately, an individual requested an open record and was unknowingly deprived of these city records until it was too late to matter. Therefore, a civil penalty was an appropriate remedy to remind the city of its obligations under the KORA,” said Amber Smith, deputy attorney general for the public protection division.
A consent order included the $250 civil penalty assessed against the Haysville City Council in addition to requirements for supplemental training on the open records act and a commitment to comply with the state law.
“While there is no evidence that the city intentionally violated the KORA, it is necessary to recognize that their actions in responding to an open records request fell short of its legal obligations,” Smith said.
She said it was the attorney general’s responsibility to make certain government bodies required to adhere to KORA made public records available for inspection by any person.
Under Kansas law, individuals can ask to obtain or inspect public records not exempted from KORA by state law. The recipient of a request is required to provide a response to the request within three business days. That reply could range from rejection of the request, production of the records or an explanation why it would take more time to provide the records. If a record request was denied, the government agency is required to identify the reason or legal authority for the decision.
A new state statute, according to Kobach, removed the presumption of a 25-cent per-page fee for copies of a document or digital records requested under KORA. Going forward, he said all KORA fees must be tied to the actual cost of meeting the record request.
The attorney general’s office anticipated the actual cost would be less than 25 cents per page so the fee charged per page would likely decline in Kansas.
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