Request By:
Hon. Arthur L. Schmidt
House of Representatives
Room 314
State Capitol
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Walter C. Herdman, Asst. Deputy Attorney General
This is in response to your letter of February 28 in which you raise the following question:
"Can a citizen of another state or another country serve on a state board or commission if a requirement for serving on the board is to take an oath of allegiance to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and to support and abide by the state's constitution?"
Our response to your question would be in the negative. In this respect we refer you to Section 228 of the Constitution. This section requires all public officers to execute the oath therein stated before they enter the duties of their respective offices. The oath required by this section is as follows:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best of my ability, the office of according to law; and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus offending, so help me God." (Emphasis added.)
In interpreting language in the Constitution, each is to receive its plain and ordinarily understood meaning. Crick v. Rash, 190 Ky. 820, 229 S.W. 63 (1929), and Rouse v. Johnson, 234 Ky. 473, 28 S.W.2d 745 (1930).
We also call your attention to the case of Rooks v. University of Louisville, Ky. App., 574 S.W.2d 923 (1978) in which the court held that the term "citizen" is synonymous with the term "domicile" in construing a school statute requiring a board member to be a citizen of Kentucky three (3) years preceding their election.
The emphasized language of Section 228 clearly requires all public officers, which would include most, if not all, members of the various state boards and commissions, to be citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky in order for them to qualify to execute the oath required of all public officers before they can enter the duties of their respective offices.