Kentucky Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Kentucky, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Would Kentucky's proposed 2000 ban on below-cost gasoline sales survive constitutional review?
The Attorney General predicted that a court would find the proposed motor-fuel pricing bill unconstitutional under Kentucky's ban on arbitrary power because its cost formulas included store…
Could Louisville require residents to lock up concealable firearms by city ordinance in 1999?
The Attorney General concluded that Louisville's ordinance requiring concealable firearms to be locked when not carried was invalid. State law expressly barred cities from regulating firearm…
Did Kentucky's 1988 state lottery amendment authorize video lottery terminals?
The Attorney General concluded that Kentucky's state lottery exception did not authorize video lottery terminals. In the opinion's view, the legislature would need a further constitutional amendment…
Could Kentucky teachers buy retirement service credit before retiring and pay in installments in 1999?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that eligible active teachers could buy up to five years of qualifying service credit without retiring and could pay in installments. The retirement system also…
Could a Kentucky superintendent promote his son from teacher to assistant principal in 1999?
The Attorney General concluded that the superintendent could not promote his son to assistant principal if the new job carried greater discretion and responsibility. A lower salary or a principal's…
Could a Kentucky city or county give public money to a nonprofit organization in 1999?
The Attorney General concluded that a city or county could appropriate money to a nonprofit if it was earmarked and used for a public purpose. The nonprofit's private status alone did not decide the…
Could a Kentucky fiscal court member also sit on a county tourism commission in 1999?
Yes, in the circumstances the Attorney General examined. The two offices were not inherently incompatible, and appointment by the county judge/executive was not self-appointment by the fiscal court,…
Could a Kentucky journeyman plumber repair pipes without a master plumber's supervision in 1999?
No. The Attorney General concluded that a licensed journeyman needed a master plumber's supervision for plumbing work, including repairs. A maintenance worker could make minor repairs under a…
Could Kentucky's community college boards change which institution awarded degrees to protect accreditation in 1999?
The Attorney General concluded that the University of Kentucky and KCTCS boards could use their statutory corrective authority to shift degree awards under their accreditation agreement. The…
Could a Kentucky mail-order pharmacy fill a prescription from a doctor licensed only in another state?
The 1999 opinion concluded that a Kentucky pharmacy could fill a prescription from a practitioner licensed in the practitioner's home state even without a Kentucky license. The Attorney General…
Did a full-time Kentucky deputy sheriff qualify for police funding even when assigned to court security?
The 1998 opinion concluded that a full-time sworn deputy sheriff qualified for Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program funding regardless of primary assignment, including court security. It said…
Could a Kentucky employer ban a licensed employee's concealed weapon inside the employee's own parked car?
The 1998 opinion concluded that an employer could prohibit concealed weapons on its premises generally, but could not bar a licensed employee from keeping one in the employee's personally owned…
Could Kentucky keep opened bid documents secret after rejecting the bids and switching to negotiations?
No, under the 1998 opinion. Sealed-bid documents became public when the bids were opened; rejecting them and starting a later competitive negotiation did not make those already opened bids confidential.
Did Kentucky's weight allowance for forest-product trucks require exclusive timber hauling?
The 1998 opinion said the ten-percent weight tolerance applied to properly registered vehicles carrying primary forest products, even if they did not carry those products exclusively. The separate…
Was Kentucky liable if elk it reintroduced damaged someone's property?
In 1998, the Kentucky Attorney General concluded that the state should not be liable for damage caused by elk released into the wild. The opinion found no general waiver of immunity for wildlife…
Did Kentucky hazardous duty retirees get the new three-year benefit formula while keeping a seven-percent contribution rate?
The 1998 opinion concluded that hazardous duty members of the Kentucky Employees Retirement System received the new three-year salary calculation but kept a seven-percent employee contribution rate.…
Could Louisville's aldermanic president punish one board member without a vote of the full board?
The 1998 opinion said the Louisville Board of Aldermen's president lacked authority to discipline a member alone; the statute gave that power to the full board. It did not decide whether the…
Could a Kentucky university hire a trustee's spouse for professional services without bidding?
In 1998, the Kentucky Attorney General said a trustee's marriage to a contractor did not automatically give the trustee a disqualifying interest. If the trustee did have a personal financial…
Did Kentucky retirees have to receive the same health benefits as the 1994 Kentucky Kare Standard plan?
The 1998 opinion read Kentucky law to require health coverage for eligible retirees with at least the benefits of the 1994 Kentucky Kare Standard plan. The Attorney General said the law did not…
Could Kentucky's legislative education watchdog approve school assessments and regulations before they took effect?
In 1998, the Attorney General concluded that proposed legislation would violate Kentucky's separation of powers by requiring the legislative Office of Education Accountability to approve the…
Could Kentucky wildlife and water patrol officers enforce criminal laws beyond fish and boating rules?
The 1998 opinion concluded that conservation and former water patrol officers had equal authority to enforce Kentucky criminal laws under the commissioner's direction, while the State Police request…
Could Kentucky eliminate jury trials in paternity cases without violating its constitution?
In 1998, the Kentucky Attorney General concluded that the General Assembly could repeal the statutory right to a jury trial in a paternity case. The state constitution preserved no such right…
Could a Kentucky legislator vote in a floor session by live audio and video from another location?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said an absent legislator could watch or listen to a session by audio and video, but could not participate in floor debate, vote, or count toward a quorum without being…
Did Kentucky's superintendent residency rule apply to people appointed before the rule took effect?
Yes. The AG said all Kentucky public school superintendents had to establish state residency, including those appointed before the amendment. It treated residency as a present duty rather than a…
Could a Kentucky school board appoint its acting superintendent to the permanent superintendent job?
No. The AG read KRS 160.350(1) to bar anyone appointed acting superintendent from applying for or being appointed to the permanent superintendent position. It applied that bar to both kinds of…
Where did a Kentucky parent file to change a child support order after moving counties?
The 1997 AG opinion said a party seeking to modify child support should file a motion in the court that entered the decree, even if a parent or child had moved to another county. It recognized that…
Did Kentucky's local life-insurance premium tax include advance payments collected in a policy's first year?
Yes. The AG said a local tax based on first-year life-insurance premiums covered all premiums actually collected during that year, including a lump sum paid for coverage in later years. The opinion…
What did Kentucky county clerks charge to record and release a property-backed bail bond in 1997?
The AG concluded that the total charge to record and release the real-estate bail bond described in the opinion was $21: two $8 recording charges, two $1 postage charges, and a $3 legal process tax.…
Did Kentucky's right-to-farm statute prevent counties from regulating industrial-scale hog operations?
The 1997 AG opinion said KRS 413.072 did not prevent local governments from regulating the industrial-scale hog operations then proposed in western Kentucky. It read the statute's protection as…
Could Kentucky begin removing an elected official after an accepted felony guilty plea but before sentencing?
Yes, if the court had accepted the felony guilty plea. The 1997 AG opinion said an ouster action could begin before sentencing, but ordinarily should wait for final judgment because a plea might be…
Did Kentucky's county tax rollback rule apply to a soil and water conservation millage tax?
Yes. The AG said the 1992 removal of a separate rate limit from the soil and water conservation tax statute ended its conflict with the county tax rollback statute. It overruled an earlier opinion…
Could a Kentucky school district pay retiring teachers for only some unused sick leave days?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said a school district could choose whether to pay for unused sick leave at retirement, but if it did, it had to count every accumulated day and apply one rate. It rejected…
Did Kentucky's 1992 university nepotism rule cover part-time workers and relatives of appointed regents?
Yes. The AG read KRS 164.360(2) to prohibit employment of a person whose relative served on that institution's board of regents, without implied exceptions for appointed regents, part-time…
Were Kentucky students excused from compulsory school attendance after becoming parents?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said KRS 159.030 contained no school attendance exemption for mothers, fathers, or married students. It expressly overruled an earlier opinion that had recognized exemptions…
Could Kentucky teachers work fewer than 185 days if their district lengthened each student instructional day?
No. The 1997 AG opinion said the student instructional requirement could be met in fewer calendar days by lengthening school days, but the statutes still specified 185 workdays for teachers. It…
Could a Kentucky state agency use one design-build contract for an energy-saving project without following procurement rules?
The AG concluded that Kentucky's energy savings contract law did not displace the Model Procurement Code. A single design-build contract was permissible, but the opinion also applied architectural…
When did ordinary Kentucky laws passed in the 1997 special session take effect?
The AG said ordinary acts from Kentucky's 1997 First Extraordinary Session became effective at the first moment of August 29, 1997. This calculation excluded general appropriation bills and acts…
Could Kentucky lawmakers put Louisville's mayoral powers and Jefferson County's executive powers in one new office?
The 1997 AG opinion said the General Assembly could create a city-county mayor executive, abolish Louisville's mayoral office, and transfer executive powers from both governments to the new office…
Must a Kentucky planning commissioner recuse himself when a competing engineering firm brings a zoning application?
The AG concluded that the chairman's possible gain from denying a competing firm's application was too speculative to establish a financial conflict under the joint planning commission statute. It…
Did a Kentucky hospital need family permission before using organs a person donated on a driver's license?
The 1997 AG opinion said a hospital with notice of a person's valid anatomical gift did not need to obtain permission from next of kin before removing donated organs. It also explained how a donor…
Could Kentucky court clerks give state social services workers an unmasked domestic violence petition?
Yes, for workers acting in their official capacity. The AG concluded that they were not “the public” under KRS 403.770(1), so a clerk could not use that public-access redaction rule alone to…
Was a four-government Kentucky airport board valid if it began with ten members instead of six?
The AG concluded that this joint air board was not legally constituted because the participating governments had not followed the six-member formation rule. It left the effect of later ordinances…
Could a Kentucky newspaper use a Periodicals mailing permit where the legal-notice law required a Second Class permit?
Yes. The AG concluded that KRS 424.120's reference to a “Second Class” mailing permit should be read as a “Periodicals” permit after USPS renamed the category without changing its eligibility requirements.
Could a Kentucky school council close extracurricular practices to parents despite a school board open-practice policy?
No. The AG concluded that a local school board could require extracurricular practice sessions to be open to parents. The school council's authority over programs and supervision did not let it…
Could a Kentucky county use its 911 service fee to buy street signs with 911 address names?
No. The AG concluded that street signs were part of the road system, not the 911 emergency telephone service defined by the funding statute. Their usefulness to responders did not make them an…
Could a private buyer of a Kentucky delinquent tax bill recover attorney fees from the taxpayer?
No. The AG concluded that a court could not award attorney fees to a private party collecting a purchased certificate of delinquency. The collection statute did not expressly authorize the fees, and…
Could Kentucky require voters to join a party 19 months before its primary?
The AG concluded in 1997 that Kentucky's party-registration statute had become unconstitutional when a missing general election stretched the wait for some primaries from about seven to 19 months.…
Could Kentucky judges ban weapons throughout a courthouse shared with county offices?
The AG concluded that circuit and district courts could ban deadly weapons in the courthouse space provided for court use, even within a shared building. The opinion found no authority for judges to…
Could a combined city-county rate board approve sewer charges for both jurisdictions by one majority vote?
No. The AG concluded that a combined board's majority vote could not replace separate action by the city and county legislative bodies. Under the statutes examined in 1997, each body had to approve…
Did a Kentucky school district have to post a certified job vacancy that arose before July 16?
Yes. The AG withdrew an earlier July 15 cutoff: a certified-position vacancy could arise at any time of year. Under the statute the opinion examined, the superintendent generally had to notify the…
Could a Kentucky superintendent's relative keep a classified school job under the 36-month employment exception?
No. The AG concluded that the 36-month prior-employment exception applied only to a relative certified for the position held. A classified employee could not use that exception.
Could a Kentucky sheriff require a criminal-process fee before serving a summons or making an arrest?
No. The AG concluded that a sheriff could not demand a fee before serving criminal process. Under the statutes examined in 1997, the sheriff received the fee only after conviction, entry of costs,…
Could a retired teacher serve as the lay member of a Kentucky teacher discipline tribunal?
No. The AG concluded that the lay member of the three-person teacher discipline tribunal could not be a retired, former, or non-practicing teacher or administrator.
What fees did Kentucky county clerks charge to record a bail bond and its release in 1997?
The AG calculated an $18 total for accepting, filing and processing the bail bond addressed in the opinion, including a $3 lien tax and $1 reasonable postage charge. It calculated $12 for accepting,…
Could a Kentucky public board close a meeting just to speak privately with its lawyer?
The AG said no in this 1997 opinion. A public body could not close a meeting merely because its lawyer was present or legal advice was confidential; the discussed matter had to involve proposed or…
Could Kentucky's executive branch bar licensed concealed weapons from state buildings by regulation?
The Kentucky AG concluded that the Finance and Administration Cabinet could adopt a reasonable regulation barring licensed concealed carry in portions of buildings actually owned, leased, or…
Were Kentucky prosecutors required to deposit asset forfeiture money in a state depository?
The Kentucky AG concluded that forfeiture money paid to Commonwealth's or county attorneys remained state money. Prosecutors had to deposit it in a state depository and spend it under state rules,…
Could Louisville pay a law firm under a contract capped at $35,000 plus unspecified agency receipts?
The Kentucky AG concluded that Louisville's contract with an outside law firm was void under its ordinance because it did not state a knowable maximum payment. The $35,000 figure capped only one…
Could a Kentucky fiscal court set personnel policies for jail employees without the jailer's agreement?
The Kentucky AG said a fiscal court could adopt personnel policies for jail employees, including the jailer's deputies, without the jailer's agreement. The policies could not interfere with the…
Could a Kentucky sheriff collect both the sheriff's and jailer's salaries after the offices merged?
The Kentucky AG concluded that a sheriff who assumed the jailer's duties after the offices merged was not eligible for compensation for both offices. The opinion relied on the constitutional…
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Attorney general opinions in Kentucky are written by the Kentucky Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.