Open Records Request

The Kansas Open Records Act
(KORA)

A Guide to the Rights of the Public
and the Responsibilities of the
Kansas Real Estate Commission

Prepared by the Kansas Real Estate Commission

Please visit our web site at www.kansas.gov/krec.

Persons with disabilities may contact the Public Information Officer at (785) 296-3411 or the Kansas Relay Center at 1-800-766-3777 for copies of this information in an accessible format.

YOUR RIGHTS UNDER KORA

You may inspect and obtain copies of public records which are not exempted from disclosure by specific law during our regular business hours.

You may obtain a copy of the agency's policies and procedures for access to records, and to request assistance from the Commission's Freedom of Information Officer.

To receive a written response to your request within three business days after receipt of the request.

This response may inform you that it will take additional time to produce the records in the instance of complex requests, voluminous records, unresolved legal issues or difficulty in accessing archived records.

The response may deny your request in whole or in part. The denial will identify those documents which are denied and provide specific legal authority for the denial.

You may bring a private lawsuit in district court or file a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General's Office if you feel you are wrongly denied records that you have a right to access.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

You must request identifiable records (written, photographic or computerized). KORA does not require an agency to answer questions, or prepare reports.

We may require you to put your request in writing and to provide proof of identity if requested.

Reasonable fees, not exceeding the actual cost, may be charged for access to records, copies of records and staff time for processing your request.

WHAT KINDS OF RECORDS
ARE AVAILABLE?

Most records maintained by public entities are open for public inspection and copying. Records commonly requested include, but are not limited to:
Statutes
Regulations
Policies
Minutes and Records of Open Meetings
Salaries of Public Officials
Agency Budget Documents

NOTE: An agency is only required to provide public records that exist. There is no requirement for the agency to create a record upon request.

EXCEPTIONS TO THE OPEN
RECORDS ACT

Though KORA operates on the presumption that all public records shall be open to the public, KORA recognizes that certain records contain private or privileged information. The KORA lists several exceptions including but not limited to:

Records whose disclosure is prohibited by State or Federal law.
Personnel information of Public Employees.
Medical treatment records which pertain to an identifiable patient.
Testing and examination materials prior to the administration of the exam or if the materials are to be re-used.
Records of individual test or examination scores other than records showing only passage or failure.
Records reflecting the work product of an attorney.
Records privileged under the Rules of Evidence.
Notes and preliminary drafts.
Correspondence between the Commission and a private individual other than that correspondence intended to provide notice of an action, policy or determination.
Records of agencies involved in administrative adjudication or civil litigation, compiled in the process of detecting or investigating violations of civil law or administrative rules and regulations if disclosure would interfere with the process or reveal a confidential source or undercover agent.
Criminal investigation records.
Public records containing information of a personal nature where the public disclosure thereof would constitute a clearly unwanted invasion of personal privacy.

This list is merely illustrative and not exhaustive. For a complete list of exempt records, see K.S.A. 45-221.

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES

We must appoint a Freedom of Information Officer who can answer your questions and settle disputes under KORA.

We must make facilities available to you for inspecting our records.

We must allow you to make abstracts or to have copies of our records made.

We must adopt procedures for requesting access and obtaining copies of our records.

We must act upon requests for documents within three business days of receipt of the request or give you an explanation of the reason for delay.

We must have a records custodian available during all regular business hours and have procedures for allowing access on those business days when regular office hours are not maintained.

If a document partially contains exempt information, we must redact the exempt information and provide you with the remainder of the record.

We must provide you with a written statement citing the specific provisions of the law under which we are denying access if you so request. This statement must be provided within three business days after receipt of the request.

REQUESTING A RECORD

Consult the Commission's Freedom of Information Officer to determine if the record you need exists or is available.

Be prepared to provide a detailed description of the record you seek. Make your request as specific as possible to expedite the process.

You may be asked to submit your record request in writing using the following form: [html] [Word] [pdf]

Most records will be made available within three business days from the time the request is received.

If the request is delayed or denied, you will be provided a written explanation for the delay or denial within those three days.

If you have questions about your request, please contact the Commission's Freedom of Information Officer:

Sherry C. Diel
Executive Director
Kansas Real Estate Commission
Three Townsite Plaza, Suite 200
120 SE 6th Avenue
Topeka, Kansas 66603-3511
(785) 296-3411

This brochure pertains to laws in effect as of July 1, 2000.

Open Records Policy

It is the official policy of the Kansas Real Estate Commission (hereinafter referred to as "Commission") that public records maintained by the Commission be accessible to the public in accordance with the Kansas Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215, et seq. Access to public records will be provided timely, with due regard for the privacy of individuals licensed by the Commission, and with due regard for preserving the records maintained by the Commission. In furtherance of this policy, the Commission hereby adopts the following procedures for satisfying requests for access to open records pursuant to K.S.A. 45-220.

1. Records Custodian
   1. Official Records Custodian. The Executive Director of the Commission is hereby designated as the Official Records Custodian, and is responsible for maintaining public records of the Commission.
   2. Other Designated Custodians. The Official Records Custodian may delegate other Commission staff to serve as record custodians as necessary. Such record custodians may be given charge over records that relate to the custodian's official duties.
   3. The Official Records Custodian, and any person designated as a record custodian, shall be responsible for compliance with the Kansas Open Records Act, and shall fully effectuate the policies set forth herein.
   4. All inspections and copying of records maintained by the Commission shall be performed by or under the supervision of the Official Records Custodian or other designated custodian.
2. Office Hours for Records Requests.
   Regular office hours are Monday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (excluding Official State holidays). The Commission may require any person desiring to inspect or obtain copies of the Commission's records to provide the Commission 24 hours advance notice of their desire to access records. The notice must be specific enough to reasonably identify the records sought and the identity of the person requesting the records.
3. Form of Request
   All persons requesting inspection of a record shall make such request in writing to the records custodian. When appropriate, the records custodian can waive the written request requirement. Forms for requesting access to an open record shall be made available to any person at no cost. However, if a written request for an open record is not submitted on the form approved by the Commission, the requester shall be given a response if the request sufficiently identifies the record sought and includes the name and address of the party requesting access to the record. The requester may be required to provide written assurances that the public record will not be used for any purpose prohibited by law.
4. Charges for Access to Records
   1. Purpose of charges. Inspection and copying charges, as allowed by K.S.A. 45-219, may be charged for the actual cost of staff time, research, and materials used. The record custodian may waive the costs when deemed appropriate.
   2. Costs of staff time and copying. Charges for inspection and copying of public records shall be as follows:
      1. staff time to search, retrieve and mail records shall be the lesser of either:
         1. $5.00 for the first 15 minutes, $7.50 for 30 minutes, and $15.00 per hour, or
         2. the actual time spent by staff to respond to the request multiplied by the actual salary or hourly rate of the staff member.
      2. The rate charged for copying records shall be $.25 per page.
      3. The rate charged for research conducted by individuals who are not members of the Commission staff, including the fees charged by information technology personnel to develop queries to obtain computer records, shall be the actual cost incurred by the Commission.
      4. The rate charged for staff time to prepare records for inspection shall be the rate prescribed in subsection (1) above.
      5. Upon request, the requester shall be provided a reasonable estimate of the charges that will be incurred for the time that will be required to provide access to open records.
      6. Fax copies shall be charged at a rate of $1.00 per page. Records in excess of 10 pages will not ordinarily be provided by fax.
   3. Advance payment. When the estimated costs of making records available or the copying of records exceeds $5.00, advance payment may be required.
5. Prohibited Use of Records. The use of names derived from a public record is limited by K.S.A. 45-221 or K.S.A. 2009 Supp. 45-230 and amendments thereto. In accordance with K.S.A. 45-220, if access to a record maintained by the Commission is for the purpose of revealing the identity of one or more persons, then the requester shall be required to submit a written verification that:
   1. The requester has a right to access the records and the basis of that right; or
   2. The requester does not intend to, and will not:
      1. use any list of names or addresses contained in or derived from the records or information for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any property or services to any person listed or to any person who resides at any address listed; or
      2. sell, give or otherwise make available to any person any list of names or addresses contained in or derived from the records or information for the purpose of allowing that person to sell or offer for sale any property or service to any person listed or to any person who resides at any address listed.
   3. If the custodian does not know the requester, proof of identity may be required prior to releasing any names derived from a record. If proof of identity is required, a copy of such proof shall be attached to the request.
6. Removal of Records. Removal of records from the office shall not be permitted without the written permission of the Official Records Custodian that states the location to which the record will be moved and the date of return. A Record Checkout Log shall be maintained by the Official Records Custodian, or their designee, to monitor the removal and return of any record removed from the Commission office. However, records will only be removed from the Commission office pursuant to a records request when the inspection or copying of the records, at the discretion of the Official Records Custodian, cannot be reasonably provided at the Commission office.
7. Denial of Access to Records.
   1. The record custodian may refuse to provide access to a record if the request places an unreasonable burden on the agency, or if the custodian has reason to believe that repeated requests are intended to disrupt other functions of the Commission. A refusal for either reason shall not be made without first attempting to contact the requester to narrow the scope of the request.
   2. The record custodian may refuse to provide access to a record for any reason listed in K.S.A. 45-221 and amendments thereto.
   3. Upon denial of a request for access to records, the Official Record Custodian shall provide a detailed written statement to the requester notifying such person of the grounds for denial of the request.
8. Office Procedure: Response to Record Access Requests.
   1. All requests shall be acted upon within 3 business days after receiving the request.
   2. The record custodian shall prepare, within the statutory time frame, a written response to the requester acknowledging the request. If requested, the records custodian shall provide copies of the records requested, unless:
      1. it is impossible to determine from the request what records are desired. In that event, a statement indicating that it is impossible to determine what records are desired and requesting further identification of the records sought shall be sent to the requester;
      2. the request is for a list or label of names derived from public records. In that event, the records custodian shall mail the form approved by the Commission to the requester requiring that the requester complete and sign the acknowledgement that the requester will not use the information derived from the records for any purpose prohibited by law.
      3. access cannot be granted immediately. In that event, a statement must be sent to the requester within three business days of receipt of the request stating the reason for the delay and the date that the records will be made available;
      4. the request is denied. In that event, the record custodian shall issue a detailed statement within three business days of receipt of the request stating the legal basis for the denial; or
      5. the request involves substantial copying that would place an unreasonable burden on staff. In that event, a statement shall be forwarded to the requester either:
         1. advising that additional time will be required to respond;
         2. requesting the requester to limit the scope of the request; or
         3. advising that the records will be made available for personal inspection and copying at a location designated by the Official Records Custodian.
9. Notice of Policy.
   A copy of this policy shall be made available to any party upon request at no cost. In addition, a copy of the Commission's brochure regarding rights and responsibilities of the Commission and the requester under the Kansas Open Records Act shall be conspicuously posted in the Commission office and shall be made available upon request at no cost to the requester. Questions regarding this policy should be addressed to the Official Records Custodian, Kansas Real Estate Commission, Three Townsite Plaza, Suite 200, 120 SE 6th Avenue, Topeka, Kansas 66603-3511, phone (785) 296-3411, fax (785) 296-1771. Requests for this information in an alternative format accessible to persons with disabilities may be made by contacting the Official Records Custodian at (785) 296-3411 or the Kansas Relay Center at 1-800-766-3777.