Request By:
Mr. Vic Hellard, Director
Legislative Research Commission
Capitol Building
Frankfort, KY 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Thomas C. Jacobs, Deputy Attorney General
In your letter of November 29, 1978, you have asked this office the following two questions:
"(1) If the General Assembly recesses to a date certain, can salary payments be withheld for those days on which the General Assembly does not meet? and
(2) Can expense payments be withheld for those periods?"
The answer to both of the above questions is no.
A thorough analysis of the questions raised by "recesses" , "adjournments" , "adjournments sine die", and all of the obligations of payment of salaries, fees and expenses associated therewith was presented in OAG 76-730, a copy of which is attached for your review. Subject to the following, that opinion continues to express the views of the Attorney General with regard to the subject matter presented.
Although OAG 76-730 was not as decisive in its opinion with regard to KRS 6.190 and KRS 6.230 as it was with KRS 6.211, and while any final determination of the issues raised by those two sections would ultimately have to be determined by the courts as was earlier stated, we are of the opinion that a like result would be reached for all three sections. The courts have held that, where compensation is due a public officer, an agreement to accept less than the compensation due is void as against public policy, City of Louisville v. Thomas, 257 Ky. 540, 78 S.W.2d 767 (1935) 769. In addition the compensation of a public officer shall not be changed during his [her] term. See Section 235, Kentucky Consitution and Neutzel v. Fiscal Court of Jefferson County, 183 Ky. 1, 208 S.W. 11 (1919).
I trust that this answers the questions you have presented. If additional information is needed, please let me know.