Request By:
Mr. Vic Hellard, Jr.
Director
Legislative Research Commission
Capitol
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General;Kevin M. Noland, General Counsel
In your letter you state: "One of our committees has asked whether, in view of the four year limit contained in Section 93 of the Kentucky Constitution, it is legal to enact a statute calling for a governing body of a university to be appointed for terms in excess of four years."
Section 93 of the Kentucky Constitution provides in part as follows:
"Inferior State officers, not specifically provided for in this Constitution, may be appointed or elected, in such manner as may be prescribed by law, for a term not exceeding four years, and until their successors are appointed or elected and qualified." (Emphasis added).
Presently, members of the boards of trustees or board of regents of the state universities are appointed for a six year term each by the governor. See KRS 164.130(1), 164.320 (2), and 164.820(3).
One relevant case is
Sinking Fund Commissioner v. George, 104 Ky. 260, 20 KLR (1898), in which the court had 938 (1898), in which the court had before it an act creating the Board of Penitentiary Commissioners for the purpose of regulating the penal institutions of the Commonwealth. This act fixed six-year staggering terms for members of the Board, which the court struck down as being unconstitutional and in violation of Section 93 of this Constitution limiting inferior state offices not named in the Constitution to four-year terms.
Likewise, the position of member of a state university board of trustees or board or regents meets the criteria of a state office, the term of which is limited to four years pursuant to Section 93 of the Kentucky Constitution. See also