45-229. Legislative review of exceptions to disclosure; continuation of sections listed. (a) It is the intent of the legislature that exceptions to disclosure under the open records act shall be created or maintained only if:

(1) The public record is of a sensitive or personal nature concerning individuals;

(2) the public record is necessary for the effective and efficient administration of a governmental program; or

(3) the public record affects confidential information.

The maintenance or creation of an exception to disclosure must be compelled as measured by these criteria. Further, the legislature finds that the public has a right to have access to public records unless the criteria in this section for restricting such access to a public record are met and the criteria are considered during legislative review in connection with the particular exception to disclosure to be significant enough to override the strong public policy of open government. To strengthen the policy of open government, the legislature shall consider the criteria in this section before enacting an exception to disclosure.

(b) Subject to the provisions of subsections (g) and (h), any new exception to disclosure or substantial amendment of an existing exception shall expire on July 1 of the fifth year after enactment of the new exception or substantial amendment, unless the legislature acts to continue the exception. A law that enacts a new exception or substantially amends an existing exception shall state that the exception expires at the end of five years and that the exception shall be reviewed by the legislature before the scheduled date.

(c) For purposes of this section, an exception is substantially amended if the amendment expands the scope of the exception to include more records or information. An exception is not substantially amended if the amendment narrows the scope of the exception.

(d) This section is not intended to repeal an exception that has been amended following legislative review before the scheduled repeal of the exception if the exception is not substantially amended as a result of the review.

(e) In the year before the expiration of an exception, the revisor of statutes shall certify to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives, by July 15, the language and statutory citation of each exception that will expire in the following year which meets the criteria of an exception as defined in this section. Any exception that is not identified and certified to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives is not subject to legislative review and shall not expire. If the revisor of statutes fails to certify an exception that the revisor subsequently determines should have been certified, the revisor shall include the exception in the following year's certification after that determination.

(f) "Exception" means any provision of law that creates an exception to disclosure or limits disclosure under the open records act pursuant to K.S.A. 45-221, and amendments thereto, or pursuant to any other provision of law.

(g) A provision of law that creates or amends an exception to disclosure under the open records law shall not be subject to review and expiration under this act if such provision:

(1) Is required by federal law;

(2) applies solely to the legislature or to the state court system;

(3) has been reviewed and continued in existence twice by the legislature; or

(4) has been reviewed and continued in existence by the legislature during the 2013 legislative session and thereafter.

(h) (1) The legislature shall review the exception before its scheduled expiration and consider as part of the review process the following:

(A) What specific records are affected by the exception;

(B) whom does the exception uniquely affect, as opposed to the general public;

(C) what is the identifiable public purpose or goal of the exception;

(D) whether the information contained in the records may be obtained readily by alternative means and how it may be obtained;

(2) an exception may be created or maintained only if it serves an identifiable public purpose and may be no broader than is necessary to meet the public purpose it serves. An identifiable public purpose is served if the legislature finds that the purpose is sufficiently compelling to override the strong public policy of open government and cannot be accomplished without the exception and if the exception:

(A) Allows the effective and efficient administration of a governmental program, which administration would be significantly impaired without the exception;

(B) protects information of a sensitive personal nature concerning individuals, the release of which information would be defamatory to such individuals or cause unwarranted damage to the good name or reputation of such individuals or would jeopardize the safety of such individuals. Only information that would identify the individuals may be excepted under this paragraph; or

(C) protects information of a confidential nature concerning entities, including, but not limited to, a formula, pattern, device, combination of devices, or compilation of information which is used to protect or further a business advantage over those who do not know or use it, the disclosure of which information would injure the affected entity in the marketplace.

(3) Records made before the date of the expiration of an exception shall be subject to disclosure as otherwise provided by law. In deciding whether the records shall be made public, the legislature shall consider whether the damage or loss to persons or entities uniquely affected by the exception of the type specified in paragraph (2)(B) or (2)(C) would occur if the records were made public.

(i) (1) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as continued in existence in section 2 of chapter 126 of the 2005 Session Laws of Kansas and that have been reviewed and continued in existence twice by the legislature as provided in subsection (g) are hereby continued in existence: 1-401, 2-1202, 5-512, 9-1137, 9-1712, 9-2217, 10-630, 11-306, 12-189, 12-1,108, 12-1694, 12-1698, 12-2819, 12-4516, 16-715, 16a-2-304, 17-1312e, 17-2227, 17-5832, 17-7511, 17-7514, 17-76,139, 19-4321, 21-2511, 22-3711, 22-4707, 22-4909, 22a-243, 22a-244, 23-605, 23-9,312, 25-4161, 25-4165, 31-405, 34-251, 38-2212, 39-709b, 39-719e, 39-934, 39-1434, 39-1704, 40-222, 40-2,156, 40-2c20, 40-2c21, 40-2d20, 40-2d21, 40-409, 40-956, 40-1128, 40-2807, 40-3012, 40-3304, 40-3308, 40-3403b, 40-3421, 40-3613, 40-3805, 40-4205, 44-510j, 44-550b, 44-594, 44-635, 44-714, 44-817, 44-1005, 44-1019, 45-221(a)(1) through (43), 46-256, 46-259, 46-2201, 47-839, 47-844, 47-849, 47-1709, 48-1614, 49-406, 49-427, 55-1,102, 58-4114, 59-2135, 59-2802, 59-2979, 59-29b79, 60-3333, 60-3336, 65-102b, 65-118, 65-119, 65-153f, 65-170g, 65-177, 65-1,106, 65-1,113, 65-1,116, 65-1,157a, 65-1,163, 65-1,165, 65-1,168, 65-1,169, 65-1,171, 65-1,172, 65-436, 65-445, 65-507, 65-525, 65-531, 65-657, 65-1135, 65-1467, 65-1627, 65-1831, 65-2422d, 65-2438, 65-2836, 65-2839a, 65-2898a, 65-3015, 65-3447, 65-34,108, 65-34,126, 65-4019, 65-4922, 65-4925, 65-5602, 65-5603, 65-6002, 65-6003, 65-6004, 65-6010, 65-67a05, 65-6803, 65-6804, 66-101c, 66-117, 66-151, 66-1,190, 66-1,203, 66-1220a, 66-2010, 72-996, 72-4311, 72-4452, 72-5214, 72-53,106, 72-5427, 72-8903, 73-1228, 74-2424, 74-2433f, 74-4905, 74-4909, 74-50,131, 74-5515, 74-7308, 74-7338, 74-8104, 74-8307, 74-8705, 74-8804, 74-9805, 75-104, 75-712, 75-7b15, 75-1267, 75-2943, 75-4332, 75-4362, 75-5133, 75-5266, 75-5665, 75-5666, 75-7310, 76-355, 76-359, 76-493, 76-12b11, 76-3305, 79-1119, 79-1437f, 79-3234, 79-3395, 79-3420, 79-3499, 79-34,113, 79-3614, 79-3657, 79-4301 and 79-5206.

(2) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as certified by the revisor of statutes to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to subsection (e) and that have been reviewed during the 2015 legislative session and continued in existence by the legislature as provided in subsection (g) are hereby continued in existence: 17-2036, 40-5301, 45-221(a)(45), (46) and (49), 48-16a10, 58-4616, 60-3351, 72-972a, 74-50,217 and 75-53,105.

(j) (1) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as continued in existence in section 1 of chapter 87 of the 2006 Session Laws of Kansas and that have been reviewed and continued in existence twice by the legislature as provided in subsection (g) are hereby continued in existence: 1-501, 9-1303, 12-4516a, 39-970, 65-525, 65-5117, 65-6016, 65-6017 and 74-7508.

(2) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as certified by the revisor of statutes to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to subsection (e) during 2015 and that have been reviewed during the 2016 legislative session are hereby continued in existence: 12-5611, 22-4906, 22-4909, 38-2310, 38-2311, 38-2326, 40-955, 44-1132, 45-221(a)(10)(F) and (a)(50), 60-3333, 65-4a05, 65-445(g), 65-6154, 71-218, 75-457, 75-712c, 75-723 and 75-7c06.

(k) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as certified by the revisor of statutes to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to subsection (e) and that have been reviewed during the 2014 legislative session and continued in existence by the legislature as provided in subsection (g) are hereby continued in existence: 1-205, 2-2204, 8-240, 8-247, 8-255c, 8-1324, 8-1325, 12-17,150, 12-2001, 17-12a607, 38-1008, 38-2209, 40-5006, 40-5108, 41-2905, 41-2906, 44-706, 44-1518, 45-221(a)(44), (45), (46), (47) and (48), 50-6a11, 56-1a610, 56a-1204, 65-1,243, 65-16,104, 65-3239, 74-50,184, 74-8134, 74-99b06, 77-503a and 82a-2210.

(l) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as certified by the revisor of statutes to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to subsection (e) during 2016 and that have been reviewed during the 2017 legislative session are hereby continued in existence: 12-5711, 21-2511, 22-4909, 38-2313, 45-221(a)(51) and (52), 65-516, 65-1505, 74-2012, 74-5607, 74-8745, 74-8752, 74-8772, 75-7d01, 75-7d05, 75-5133, 75-7427 and 79-3234.

(m) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as certified by the revisor of statutes to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to subsection (e) during 2012 and that have been reviewed during the 2013 legislative session and continued in existence by the legislature as provided in subsection (g) are hereby continued in existence: 12-5811, 40-222, 40-223j, 40-5007a, 40-5009a, 40-5012a, 65-1685, 65-1695, 65-2838a, 66-1251, 66-1805, 72-60c01, 75-712 and 75-5366.

(n) Exceptions contained in the following statutes as certified by the revisor of statutes to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to subsection (e) and that have been reviewed during the 2018 legislative session are hereby continued in existence: 9-513c(c)(2), 39-709, 45-221(a)(26), (53) and (54), 65-6832, 65-6834, 75-7c06 and 75-7c20.

History: L. 2000, ch. 156, § 8; L. 2005, ch. 126, § 2; L. 2006, ch. 87, § 1; L. 2007, ch. 195, § 28; L. 2009, ch. 45, § 2; L. 2010, ch. 112, § 3; L. 2011, ch. 11, § 8; L. 2012, ch. 14, § 1; L. 2013, ch. 50, § 1; L. 2013, ch. 133, § 19; L. 2014, ch. 72, § 2; L. 2015, ch. 6, § 1; L. 2016, ch. 82, § 11; L. 2017, ch. 73, § 2; L. 2018, ch. 87, § 7; July 1.

Revisor's Note:

Section was amended twice in the 2006 session, see also 45-229a.

Section was also amended by L. 2013, ch. 51, § 1, but that version was repealed by L. 2013, ch. 133, § 37.

Section was amended twice in the 2016 session, see also 45-229c.