Request By:
Mr. Dewey Roberts
Justice of the Peace
District No. 4
Harold, Kentucky 41635
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of March 1 in which you raise the question as to whether or not a candidate for the office of magistrate is required to file an expense statement.
Candidates for the office of magistrate or justice of the peace are exempt from complying with the reporting requirements of the Corrupt Practices Act pursuant to KRS 121.100, which reads as follows:
"The provisions of KRS 121.015, 121.100 to 121.200, and 121.990 shall apply to all candidates running for public office, including urban-county governments, in any primary or general election, or in any special election to fill a vacancy, except those candidates running for federal office, boards of education, county and local district offices filled by less than a countywide constituency and offices in cities of the third, fourth, fifth and sixth classes. However, the provisions of KRS 121.190 shall apply to all candidates for public office. (Emphasis added).
Though magistrates are elected from districts less than countywide and therefore exempt from filing reports, you will note that all candidates, including of course candidates for magistrate, must comply with KRS 121.190 requiring all political advertisements, with certain exceptions, to be identified by the words "paid for by" followed by the name and address of the payer or the committee on whose behalf the advertisement appears.