Request By:
Honorable Claudia Riner
State Representative
36th District
1143 East Broadway
Louisville, Kentucky 40204
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of August 25 in which you request an opinion concerning the following:
"I would like an opinion concerning the use of my legislative expense allowance. State law specifies that it can be used for 'any other expense incidental to performance of the legislator's duties.'
"There are several projects which I would like to implement in my district which are programs which I would consider to meet that definition. However, before using any money from this expense allowance I would like to have your opinion as to whether or not these district programs would be covered:
"1. Funding a program to give American flags to homes in the district to be displayed on special occasions.
"2. A program to provide emergency, crisis assistance to families without ability to pay pressing medical, funeral, food, rent, and utility bills.
"3. The purchase of park equipment for district parks."
Our response to your question would be in the negative. KRS 6.213 (1) and (3) read as follows:
"(1) In addition to the per diem and all allowances provided by law to members of the general assembly of the commonwealth of Kentucky each member of the legislature is hereby granted an expense allowance of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) per month for secretarial assistance, books and periodicals, other reports or publications, conduct of small scale studies related to governmental activity, postage, telephone service, or any other expense incident to performance of the legislator's duties.
"(3) Such expense allowances shall be paid by the state treasury out of the general fund of the commonwealth upon warrant of the executive department for finance and administration, issued on the certification of the director of the legislative research commission."
The use of the interim expense allowance authorized pursuant to KRS 6.213 would be confined in our opinion to those expenses incurred in connection with the operation of the legislator's office such as those specifically enumerated together with those not enumerated but that generally fit in the same category or class with those specific enumerations, under the doctrine ejusdem generis. This doctrine has been expressed by our court in numerous decisions, among them being
Vansant v. Commonwealth, 189 Ky. 1, 224 S.W. 367 (1920), wherein the court declared that:
"Where in a statute general words follow an enumeration or designation of particular or specific subjects, such general words are not to be construed, ordinarily, in their broadest sense, but will be presumed to be restricted by the particular designations, and to apply to and include only persons or things of the same general kind or class as those specifically mentioned unless a contrary purpose is clearly manifested.
"They are deemed to have been used, not to the wide extent which they might bear if standing alone, but as related to words of more definite and particular meaning, with which they are associated. Lewis' Sutherland Stat. Cons., sec. 422; Black on Interp. of Laws, p. 141; 25 R.C.L., pp996,997; 36 Cyc. 1118."
We also might call your attention to Ch. 45 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes relating to the financial administration of state government, particularly the definition of the term "expense" under subsection (12) of KRS 45.010, which reads in part as follows:
"'Expense' means values consumed in maintaining, managing and operating government services, in contributing to the cost of maintaining and operating public services supported in whole or in part by the state, . . ."
The programs to which you refer are no doubt worthy, however, they do not in any sense of the word relate to the expenses that are incidental to the performance of a legislator's duties intended to be covered by KRS 6.213. Neither do they embrace public services supported in whole or in part by the state as mentioned in KRS 45.010(12).
Under the circumstances, therefore, we are of the opinion that you cannot use any of your legislative expense allowance authorized by KRS 6.213 to fund any of the referred to programs.