Request By:
Mr. Charles Baesler, Jr.
Fayette County Clerk
Courthouse
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By William P. Sturm, Assistant Attorney General
In your recent letter to the Attorney General you ask several questions concerning Senate Bill No. 44 which relates to the filing of delinquent tax liens on motor vehicles. Section 2 of Senate Bill No. 44 (codified as KRS 134.148) provides in relevant part:
(1) The sheriff shall, at the time he settles his accounts with the fiscal court, pursuant to KRS 134.310 provide the county clerk with a list of taxpayers whose tax bills on motor vehicles or trailers are delinquent.
(2) The county clerk shall file a lien on such vehicle or trailer on behalf of the state, county, city, special district and school district and record such lien on the face of the certificate of title and registration and in the manner in which lis pendens are recorded. Delinquent tax bills shall be subject to interest at the rate of 1% per month or a fraction thereof from the date the lien is filed until paid.
You first ask if KRS 134.148 is constitutional. In our opinion it is, for we can find nothing unconstitutional about requiring liens to be filed for delinquent motor vehicle ad valorem taxes. KRS 134.148 was effective July 15, 1980, and is mandatory in nature. That is, every sheriff and county court clerk are required to perform the tasks set forth in the statute.
We can certainly appreciate your concern about the implementation of this procedure, especially because of the lack of computerization in your county. The General Assembly has seemingly placed this requirement on you without providing any additional funding to implement it. However, in view of the language of the statute, we see no alternative to the implementation of the procedure.