FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Attorney General’s Office ruled that the Lexington Police Department violated the state’s Open Records Act when it denied a records request by demanding proof of residency beyond what the law allows — a decision that arrives as state lawmakers consider legislati on that would impose new identification requirements on public records requesters. In a decision issued March 19, Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office found that the department improperly rejected a request from Nathan McCamish for organizational and network audits of its Flock surveillance system dating back to October 2025. The department denied the request under KRS 61.872(2)(a), claiming the application contained “incomplete information” because McCamish had not provided a mailing address or phone number. Officials said they were unable to verify his residency status without that information. But the Attorney General’s office found that McCamish had already stated he was an individual residing in the Commonwealth — which is all the law requires. Under the Open Records Act, a public agency may ask an applicant to state how they qualify as a Kentucky resident, but the statute does not authorize agencies to demand proof of that claim. McCamish told The Lexington Times that the dispute was not about identification but about the department requiring more than what the law permits on its standard open records request form. “Requiring anything more than a statement that the requester lives in Kentucky — such as checking a box on the form — is blatantly unlawful and has been ruled so for many years now,” McCamish said. He added that he has won several previous appeals with nearly identical fact patterns, but those cases were dismissed as moot after the agencies eventually provided the requested records. In this case, McCamish said, the department has still not released any Flock system records despite losing the appeal. The department has 30 days from the date of the decision to appeal to circuit court. Timing coincides with HB 567 debate The ruling comes as HB 567, a bill that would authorize public agencies to require photo identification as proof of residency along with a written records request, has passed the Kentucky House of Representatives 71-19 and now heads to the Senate. The Kentucky Open Government Coalition has criticized the bill, arguing it reinforces barriers to public records access and poses unresolved privacy concerns around the retention of copies of identification documents by government agencies. McCamish said the bill should not pass in any form, citing privacy, security, efficiency and equity concerns. He also raised doubts about one argument made by critics of the legislation — that the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act would shield requesters’ personal information in the event of a data breach involving collected identification records. “The DPPA will not provide protections for citizens for when the inevitable data breach happens, because such disclosure has to be intentional,” McCamish said, adding that other privacy laws may still offer requesters some recourse. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Patrick Flannery, R-Olive Hill, has said agencies would have broad discretion in implementing the photo ID requirement, including whether to accept identification by mail, fax or email rather than requiring in-person presentation. Critics have argued the bill’s language is ambiguous enough to allow some agencies to require requesters to appear in person. The decision was signed by Assistant Attorney General Matthew Ray. 26-ORD-110Download The post Kentucky AG: Lexington Police Violated Open Records Law by Demanding Proof of Residency appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less