Request By:
Honorable C. Lewis Mathis, Jr.
City Attorney
City of Shelbyville
Federal Land Bank Building
Shelbyville, Kentucky 40065
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of June 19 in which you relate that the city of Shelbyville is considering the establishment of a city airport board pursuant to Ch. 183 KRS, and the question is raised as to whether or not said board can be abolished by the city once it has been established.
KRS 183.132 authorizes the establishment of a city airport board, however, the act does not mention the possible dissolutionment of the board once it is established. Also, so far as we can determine, the 1980 General Assembly has not amended this act to cover this question. The legislature did, however, enact home rule legislation pursuant to Senate Bill 41, particularly KRS 82A.082, effective July 15, which reads as follows:
"(1) A city may exercise any power and perform any function within its boundaries, including the power of eminent domain in accordance with the provisions of the Eminent Domain Act of Kentucky, that is in furtherance of a public purpose of the city and not in conflict with a constitutional provision or statute.
"(2) A power or function is in conflict with a statute if it is expressly prohibited by a statute or there is a comprehensive scheme of legislation on the same general subject embodied in the Kentucky Revised Statutes including, but not limited to, the provisions of Chapers 95 and 96."
Since the statute governing local air boards does not expressly prohibit the dissolutionment of the board by the city establishing it, we believe that it probably can do so under the above home rule charter by the enactment of appropriate local legislation even though Ch. 183 KRS does contain a so-called comprehensive scheme of legislation on the general subject. Obviously, this would be a question of statutory interpretation for the courts to determine. There also would be a question concerning the duly appointed members filling out their terms established pursuant to the statutory act.