Request By:
Honorable Robert M. Kirtley
Daviess County Attorney
Daviess County Court House
Owensboro, Kentucky 42301
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Alex W. Rose, Assistant Attorney General
RE: Proposed Referendum on Daviess County Health Tax Rate
You requested an opinion on whether the Daviess County Fiscal Court has the authority to have a referendum on a health tax rate which was established pursuant to KRS 212.755 on July 6, 1982. The statute which authorizes the tax levy, KRS 212.755, provides that a public health taxing district, with the approval of the Human Resources Cabinet, may request the county fiscal court to impose by resolution a special ad valorem public health tax not in excess of four cents per one hundred dollars of full assessed valuation. This statute does not provide for a referendum.
The fiscal court may only take actions which are not inconsistent with the federal and state constitutions, statutes and regulations. The authority of the fiscal court is specifically defined in KRS 67.080; 67.083. KRS 67.080(3) provides that "the fiscal court shall not exercise executive authority except as specifically assigned by statute." Because the fiscal court does not have the authority to call for a referendum on the public health tax rate, under either these broad general powers or under KRS 212.755, it is our opinion that this tax rate is not subject to a referendum.