Request By:
William R. Weinberg, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Perkins Building
Hindman, Kentucky 41822
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear
In the 1982 session, the General Assembly enacted Senate Joint Resolution 41.
The resolution states that the citizens of Hazard were assured that upon completion of the Hazard By-Pass, surplus waste disposal lands purchased for that purpose and owned by the state would be conveyed to that city for industrial and commercial site development. It also recites that the Secretary of Finance, under KRS 45.360(7), has the authority, when it is in the best interests of the state, to transfer the property to the City of Hazard.
The formal action part of the resolution provides that two named waste areas on the Hazard By-Pass, no longer needed by the Department of Transportation, would be more suitably consistent with the public interest for public use by the City of Hazard for commercial and industrial development in the area. Further, the Secretary of the Department of Transportation and the Secretary of Finance were directed to immediately execute the necessary deeds to convey the waste areas, at no cost, to the City of Hazard.
You say Mr. Frank Metts, Secretary of the Department of Transportation, has indicated he believes there may be a problem with Section 230, Kentucky Constitution. You in effect are asking for our view as to whether the transfer presents any constitutional problem.
Section 230 of the Kentucky Constitution reads:
"No money shall be drawn from the State Treasury, except in pursuance of appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published annually. No money derived from excise or license taxation relating to gasoline and other motor fuels, and no moneys derived from fees, excise or license taxation relating to registration, operation, or use of vehicles on public highways shall be expended for other than the cost of administration, statutory refunds and adjustments, payment of highway obligations, costs for construction, reconstruction, rights of way, maintenance and repair of public highways and bridges, and expense of enforcing state traffic and motor vehicle laws."
A brief review of the history of the state's commitments in regard to these properties seems necessary. A review of the documents involved in this situation indicates that the Commonwealth of Kentucky has repeatedly committed itself to the transfer of these properties to the City of Hazard at no cost, said transfers to be carried out at the appropriate time. These commitments include one from the Honorable James E. Gray, then Commissioner of Highways in 1973, with the added approval at that time of the Appalachian Regional Commission. This commitment by the Commonwealth was reaffirmed in 1974 by the Honorable Billy Paxton, then Secretary of the Department of Transportation. In short, the Commonwealth has a long-standing commitment to transfer these properties to the City of Hazard at no cost.
In addition, there is precedent for such a transfer. In 1975, the Douglas Waste Area, which was acquired as a waste area during the construction of U.S. 23, was transferred at no cost to Pike County Fiscal Court for purposes of industrial development. The allowed uses of that property have been expanded to also include commercial and residential development. The last such change was approved by the Secretary of Finance in 1980.
In our opinion there is nothing in Section 230 of the Kentucky Constitution which would prohibit the transfer of these properties to the City of Hazard at no cost. The Commonwealth has long-standing commitments to the City of Hazard to that effect, and we see no legal reason standing in the way of the Commonwealth carrying out those commitments.