Kansas Open Records Act
K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.
Kansas Department of Agriculture
Legal Section
1320 Research Park Drive
Manhattan, Kansas 66502-5000
Telephone: (785) 564-6715
Facsimile: (785) 564-6777
E-Mail Address:
Ronda.Hutton@ks.gov
KANSAS OPEN RECORDS ACT - K.S.A. 45-201 et seq.
You have the right to inspect and obtain copies of public records maintained by the Kansas Department of Agriculture that are not exempt from disclosure. You may request the records using the online request form below.
The Kansas Open Records Act does not require the department to prepare a report or create a record at your request.
We will act on your request for public record by the end of the third business day after we receive your written request. If it takes longer than three business days, we will notify you. Acceptable reasons for taking additional time include the need to maintain normal and necessary department activities, voluminous records, complicated request parameters, unresolved legal issues, or difficulty accessing archived public records.
Your request may be denied in whole or in part. If it is denied, we will identify generally the records denied and the specific legal authority for the denial.
- Statutes, regulations, policies
- Minutes and documents cited in open, public meetings
- Salaries and basic information about public employees
- Budget information
- Licensing data about regulated industries
Some records may contain private, privileged or confidential information. Exceptions to the Kansas Open Records Act may include, but not limited to, the following:
- Certain personnel information
- Records protected by the attorney-client privilege or an attorney work product
- Notes and preliminary drafts
- Correspondence between a private individual and a government agency
- Records related to matters in which administrative or civil litigation is pending, if the records were compiled in the process of detecting or investigating the violations involved.
A detailed list of exemptions to the Kansas Open Records Act can be found in K.S.A. 45-221(a).
The principal office of the Kansas Department of Agriculture is 1320 Research Park Drive, Manhattan, Kansas 66502. Regular office hours Monday through Friday are from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m., excluding official state holidays. Records may be viewed at the office.
A request for records must be in writing, either by clear and understandable letter or on the department’s form. You may complete and submit the open records request online. You may also submit the request in person, by fax to (785) 564-6777, or by mail to:
Kansas Department of Agriculture
Legal Section
1320 Research Park Drive
Manhattan, Kansas 66502
If you have questions, or a difference of opinion with a records custodian, you may contact Ronda Hutton at (785) 564-6715.
No fee or charge shall be assessed for the copying of documents responsive to a request made by any resident of Kansas under this act, up to and including the first 100 pages of copies.
You will be charged reasonable fees for staff time and expenses incurred processing your request. We may require advance payment of the fee.
Fees will be assessed as follows:
| Copies |
25¢ per page after the first 100 pages |
| Color Copies |
50¢ per page after the first 100 pages |
| Fax |
40¢ per page, 15-page maximum including cover page |
| |
| Staff Time |
| Records custodian, |
| Clerical and secretarial |
$20 per hour charged in quarter-hour increments |
| Administrative/professional |
$28 per hour charged in quarter-hour increments |
| |
| Additional Fees |
Any other actual costs incurred by the Kansas Department of Agriculture in connection with fulfilling a record request |
25¢ copy charge is a per-page charge. It is assessed to reimburse the department for routine costs associated with retrieving, reviewing and copying requested records possessed and located by the department. This charge does not include staff time to locate records that are not readily accessible, to determine what specific records meet the requestor’s criteria, to segregate public from non-public information, to access records from archives, or other similar and necessary services.
Records may be faxed if the request is for no more than 15 pages including the cover page. Fax charge of 40¢ per page includes all domestic fax transmission charges.
No fee will be charged unless the total combined fee for staff time and expenses exceeds $50.
Please click the link below to make your request.
Upon completion of the form, you will receive a confirmation email.
Be sure to check your junk mail folder if you do not immediately receive the email.