Request By:
Honorable Sandra M. Varellas
Fayette County Judge Executive
Suite 300, Court Plaza
266 West Main Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You refer, in your letter, to OAG 82-144, in which we dealt with the appointment of members (commissioners) of the water district board, pursuant to KRS 74.020(1)(b). In that opinion we concluded that three commissioners must serve on the board for Fayette, though there are only two water customers left in the Fayette portion of the district. Two commissioners must serve for the Jessamine territory. The question was: Who appoints the Fayette commissioners?
We concluded in that opinion (82-144) that under the explicit wording of KRS 74.020, you, as county judge executive, would make the appointments under KRS 67.710(8). We concluded that neither KRS 67.710(8) nor 74.020(1)(b) contain an exception for urban county government.
You now ask us whether there is any change in our conclusion, considering that in the Act of the 1976 Extraordinary Session, Chapter 20, Section 10, it was stated that Sections 2 through 7 of the Act shall not apply in counties having an urban county government. Section 3 created KRS 67.710(8). You also point out that § 140 of the Constitution, which created the county judge, is still intact, except that § 124 of the Kentucky Constitution makes it clear that § 140 is not considered repealed as to nonjudicial powers and duties of the county judges. Section 124 states that "nothing in such amended sections (110 through 125) shall be construed to limit the powers otherwise granted by this constitution to the county judge as the chief executive, administrative and fiscal officer of the county." In addition, KRS 67.712(1) provides that whenever powers are granted to the county judge executive "in general statutes", the same shall be considered a grant in urban county governments to the officer in whom such functions are vested under the applicable provision of the comprehensive plan of urban county government, if any, and otherwise to the chief executive officer of urban county government. (Emphasis added).
Under Section 11.01 of the Charter of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, the county judge retained certain statutory powers, but the water district board appointments are not mentioned. Under Section 5.01 of the Charter, the mayor is the holder of all executive and administrative power. He is the chief executive of the merged government.
Thus far, when considering the general statute, KRS 67.710(8) and KRS 67.712(1) in connection with general statute powers of the county judge executive, it would appear that the mayor takes the place of the county judge executive as to such general statute powers. In addition, in the compiler's notes to KRS 67.705, Bobbs-Merrill, attention is called to Section 10 of S.B. 18 (1976 Ex. Ses, Ch. 20), making KRS 67.710(8) inapplicable to urban county government. A properly enrolled bill is the law. See § 56,
Kentucky Constitution, and Shannon v. Dean, 279 Ky. 279, 130 S.W.2d 812 (1939). Also see KRS 7.136.
However, KRS 74.020, and the appointment of water district board commissioners thereunder, does not involve a general statute. It, indeed, involves a specific statute, relating only to appointments to water district boards. Thus as between legislation of a broad and general nature on the one hand, and legislation dealing minutely with a specific matter on the other hand, the specific shall prevail over the general.
City of Bowling Green v. Board of Education, Ky., 443 S.W.2d 243 (1969) 247; and
Land v. Newsome, Ky., 614 S.W.2d 948 (1981) 949.
KRS 74.020 was last amended in 1980 (1980 Acts, Ch. 18, § 4).
We conclude that the later and specific statute, KRS 74.020, governs as relates to water district commissioner appointments.