Request By:
Mr. James E. Gray
Secretary
Department of Insurance
Capital Plaza Tower
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; William W. Pollard, Assistant Attorney General
Your February 7, 1977 letter requests the opinion of this office as to whether KRS 227.305 applies to an entire building even if the Commonwealth holds leases only on one or two of the offices within it.
KRS 227.305 is designed to bring all public buildings into a state accessible to all the handicapped. It requires that certain specifications be met in "all public buildings and public accommodations to be constructed or remodeled after June 21, 1974."
Pursuant to that statute, the State Fire Marshal has through duly promulgated regulation given a broad definition to the phrase "public buildings and public accomodations." 806 KAR 50:020 expressly includes within the meaning of public accommodations the entire physical plant within which any entity designed to serve the general public is located. The regulation applies even if the building would not otherwise be included in its coverage.
We are of the opinion that this regulation is in conformity with the spirit of KRS 227.305 and that it stands as authority for our view that even when the Commonwealth leases only a portion of a building, the entire building becomes "public" within the meaning of that statute and regulation. Therefore, any remodeling or reconstruction occurring within that building subsequent to the state's occupancy must conform with the statutory and regulatory requirements for accessibility to the handicapped.