Request By:
Mr. O. Leonard Press
Executive Director
Kentucky Educational Television
600 Cooper Drive
Lexington, Kentucky 40502
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General as to the proper state agency to hold the license issued by the Federal Communications Commission for Television transmitters maintained by the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television. You state that the first thirteen television transmitters established by the state by the original bond money are licensed to the State Board of Education and the two transmitters which were established later are licensed to the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television. You ask our opinion as to whether there are any legal impediments to the transfer of the licenses of the KET stations from the State Board of Education to the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television.
We find no statutory obstruction to having the licenses for the KET transmitters transferred from the State Board of Education to the Authority. In fact, we believe that the statutory intent is that the Authority should be the licensee.
The State Board of Education is given permission to acquire television facilities by lease from the State Property and Buildings Commission by KRS 156.070. That statute was in effect before KRS Chapter 168, creating the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, was enacted in 1970. As KRS Chapter 168 now reads it is clear that the legislative intent is that the Authority is the state agency charged with operating the television network. The powers of the Authority are set forth in KRS 168.100 and we call particular attention to subsection (3) and (5) which read, in part, as follows:
"(3) To produce, prepare, transmit and relay either from life or by recording on tape or film, educational television programs and related services not inconsistent with the curricula prescribed or approved for the public schools of the Commonwealth by the Department or the Board;
"(5) To purchase, lease or otherwise acquire and to operate, television and related facilities deemed by the Authority to be necessary in the furtherance of its lawful objectives; . . ."
Certainly the agency having the powers set forth in the above quoted subsections of the statute should be the licensee of the Federal Communications Commission.
You also ask our advice as to the procedure to follow for effecting a transfer of the licenses now held by the State Board of Education to the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television. You state that Washington counsel has advised that there will be no problem in making the transfer as far as the FCC is concerned.
We believe that separate resolutions of the two boards or a joint resolution adopted by both boards can establish that the Authority is to be the licensee under Kentucky law. An alternative method of establishing the authorized licensee is an executive order of the Governor under KRS 12.025. We suggest that the most expeditious method would be the joint resolution of the boards if they are in agreement on the matter.