BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FORT MITCHELL -- The General Assembly's administrative arm wants a state court to determine whether it must comply with an attorney general's opinion and release a lawmaker's phone records to The Kentucky Enquirer.
Don Cetrulo, director of the Legislative Research Commission, said Monday the agency will appeal the attorney general's opinion to the Franklin Circuit Court in Frankfort this week. "This is a legal question, and we've decided to let a judge decide it," said Mr. Cetrulo, a Fort Thomas native. "We expect a fairly quick ruling on this."
In February, The Kentucky Enquirer requested the phone records of Boone County State Sen. Gex "Jay" Williams, a Verona Republican running for Congress in the 4th District against Boone County Judge-executive Ken Lucas. The request was made under the state's open-records law.
Some of his political opponents began rumors that Mr. Williams was organizing his congressional campaign during the General Assembly's three-month legislative session that ended in mid-April. It is illegal for state lawmakers or employees to use state funds, personnel or time to campaign for office.
Mr. Williams has denied making a large number of campaign-related calls from Frankfort. Late last week, he released the records to the Enquirer for his Senate office line.
The records showed he made less than $4 in calls to four numbers: to his Erlanger campaign office; to Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition and now a campaign consultant working for Mr. Williams; to his Washington pollster; and to his campaign manager in Michigan.
But the Legislative Research Commission has refused to release records for calls Mr. Williams made from the Senate Republican leadership office. Mr. Cetrulo and the commission's attorneys have argued that releasing the records would have a chilling effect on lawmakers talking with their constituents.
Mr. Cetrulo said it is also "reasonable" to expect that lawmakers might make "a few" political, personal or business-related calls, particularly during a long legislative session.
Lawmakers "are here full time for three months," Mr. Cetrulo said. "As long as people don't abuse it, I think it's reasonable to expect that a few calls will be made."
Mr. Williams said he released the records from his personal phone to show he wasn't making a large number of calls. He added that the phone records from the leadership office would probably show he did make some calls, but not many.
Mr. Williams also said he is writing Mr. Cetrulo to ask him to release the record of his calls from the leadership office.
Mr. Cetrulo said Monday he will let the court decide.
The Legislative Research Commission argued that the attorney general's office could not order the records released because such an action violated the constitutional separation of powers. The commission also claimed the records would disclose private matters and would deter constituents from contacting legislators.
Amye Bensenhaver, an assistant attorney general, said in the opinion that the telephone calls were made using government equipment, and the legislature included itself under the terms of the open-records law.
"Members of the General Assembly who use these lines for personal, political or other non-official purposes must be held to the same standard of public accountability as public employees generally," she said.
