Request By:
Hon. J. Bruce Miller
Jefferson County Attorney
Citizens Plaza
Louisville, KY 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Richard O. Wyatt, Assistant Attorney General
You requested an opinion from this office dated March 15, 1979, regarding the establishment of a Consumer Protection Division by the Fiscal Court of Jefferson County.
First you asked:
1. Has the State Legislature pre-empted the field of consumer protection by the language contained in Chapter 367, so as to prohibit the legislation on the topic at the Fiscal Court level in Kentucky government?
Chapter 367 of Kentucky Revised Statutes specifically recognizes that county governments may establish consumer protection divisions and directs the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division to promote the coordination of all such local activities (KRS 367.150). Also, the recently enacted "Home Rule Statute," specifically authorizes county governments to regulate commerce for the protection and convenience of the public [KRS 67.083(3)(m)]. Therefore, the field of consumer protection is a permissible area for regulation by the Fiscal Court, provided such regulation is consistent with state law or administrative regulation [KRS 67.083(6)].
Secondly you asked:
2. If the State Legislature has not pre-empted the field, does a Fiscal Court have the authority to establish a consumer protection division and authorize it to bring legal action in the name of the county in view of KRS 367.300?
KRS 367.300 is an expansive rather than a restrictive statute as regards litigation by the Commonwealth and the county attorneys. But for KRS 367.300, much of the Consumer Protection Act would be unavailable to the Commonwealth and the county attorneys since many of the provisions only authorize action by the attorney general. Through KRS 367.300, those Commonwealth and county attorneys without other statutory authorization, are provided the possibility to institute and prosecute actions in the same manner as the attorney general, KRS 367.300 does not attempt to limit the ability or authority of any Fiscal Court to establish a consumer protection ordinance and provide for its local enforcement. To the contrary, the whole tenor of the Consumer Protection Act is to encourage local participation in the consumer protection field.