Associated Industries of Kentucky v. Commonwealth

912 S.W.2d 947, 1995 Ky. LEXIS 147, 1995 WL 755665
CourtKentucky Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 21, 1995
Docket95-SC-53-TG
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 912 S.W.2d 947 (Associated Industries of Kentucky v. Commonwealth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Kentucky Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Associated Industries of Kentucky v. Commonwealth, 912 S.W.2d 947, 1995 Ky. LEXIS 147, 1995 WL 755665 (Ky. 1995).

Opinions

REYNOLDS, Justice.

The Kentucky Code of Legislative Ethics and the Executive Branch Code of Ethics are challenged as being unconstitutional under the Constitutions of both Kentucky and the United States.

This action was initiated in Franklin Circuit Court by the Associated Industries of Kentucky, which is a statewide association of employers who do business in this state with the purpose of providing a wide range of services relating to legislative and governmental affairs. It actively supports legislation that is intended to benefit Kentucky businesses. The Association (AIK) is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. The appellees (defendants below) are the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Attorney General, and the respective chairmen of both the Legislative [950]*950Ethics Commission and the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.

AIK’s claims arise from the 1993 legislative enactment of KRS 6.601, et seq. and KRS 11A.001, et seq. The pronounced state interest for this legislation was to eliminate the apparent/actual corruption from the political system. Thus, a comprehensive plan was created to regulate lobbying activities by persons undertaking these actions on a paid compensation basis.

For the agents (lobbyists) and their employers, there is created by the legislation a number of requirements relative to their registration, disclosure of interest, and reporting of activities. The registration, disclosure, and reporting requirements, as well as conduct prohibitions, are enforceable by civil and criminal penalties. Under this legislation, AIK is designated as an employer of persons who engage in lobbying activities with the legislative and executive branches of state government. These employees, while engaged, are referred to as “lobbyists,” whether engaged within the legislative branch or the executive branch.

Kentucky’s public scandal involving the indictment and conviction of legislators, former legislators, and lobbyists for criminal misconduct prompted/hastened the enactment of Senate Bill 7 during the first extraordinary session of 1993. Such legislation made changes to KRS Chapters 6 and 11A which are referred to as the “Kentucky Code of Legislative Ethics” and the “Executive Branch Code of Ethics.” Appellant’s declaratory judgment action, commenced in December of 1993, challenged 24 provisions of the legislation as being unconstitutional under the federal and Kentucky constitutions. The provisions which include equal protection, right of petition, right of association and due process were challenged for vagueness or overbreadth.

LACK OF A JUSTICIABLE CONTROVERSY

We agree that the trial court correctly declined to address appellant’s issue that asserted that the fines and criminal penalties which can be imposed under the legislative and executive codes for failure to properly register, report and/or disclose information violates its First Amendment rights of association and petition. This record does not disclose an actual and justiciable controversy upon this issue to be pending before the court. Appellant, as required, is duly registered with the respective commissions and no proceeding (adjudieatory/investigatory) is disclosed to be pending at this time. A determination of the validity of the challenged statutory penalties is speculative. We consider KRS 418.065 to also be applicable herein. HealthAmerica Corp, v. Humana Health Plan, Ky., 697 S.W.2d 946 (1985); Veith v. City of Louisville, Ky., 355 S.W.2d 295 (1962); Revis v. Daugherty, 215 Ky. 823, 287 S.W. 28 (1926), are controlling.

We further agree that the trial court correctly refused, on jurisdictional grounds, to consider appellant’s challenge to the expenditure reporting requirements relating to lobbyists’ reports and the no campaign contributions requirement. The legislative agents (the affected parties) are not before the court. KRS 6.811(6) enunciates that the legislative agent shall not make a campaign contribution to a legislator, a candidate or a candidate’s campaign committee. However, this statutory prohibition does not prohibit appellant from making a campaign contribution.

Appellant maintains that it had standing to challenge the expenditure reporting requirements and the prohibition against campaign expenditures applicable to its employees. Further, appellant maintains that it was the vagueness of the personal expenditure concept which was applicable to both the employer and to the agents which caused it to challenge the expenditure reporting requirements of KRS 6.821 as void for vagueness. The employer maintains that the provisions apply equally to itself and the lobbyists and that its challenge was not an attempt to litigate the rights of any other person. Also, the employer maintains that its relationship, in this litigation, to its employees confers standing to assert rights which may even belong individually to the employees and that the legal concept is more correctly addressed as one of standing rath[951]*951er than jurisdiction. A question of whether a litigant demonstrates the existence of an actual controversy affecting his rights which is sufficient to invoke, under the state declaratory judgment act, the court’s jurisdiction remains a separate issue from that of whether a party has standing. The trial court declined to exercise jurisdiction as there was no real or justiciable controversy between the parties. Within the context of federal law, it is understood that Article III of the United States Constitution permits only adjudication of actual cases and controversies. Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968). An actual controversy requires that a controversy be ripe for adjudication. Pacific Gas & Elec. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Dev. Comm’n, 461 U.S. 190, 103 S.Ct. 1713, 75 L.Ed.2d 752 (1983). Further, the ripeness doctrine requires the judiciary to refrain from giving advisory opinions on hypothetical issues. United States v. Fruehauf, 365 U.S. 146, 81 S.Ct. 547, 5 L.Ed.2d 476 (1961).

Franklin Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to decide the constitutionality of statutory provisions which affected only lobbyists since no real controversy existed as presented by the pleadings. Revis v. Daugherty, supra; Commonwealth v. Winchester Water Works Co., 303 Ky. 420, 197 S.W.2d 771 (1946). All expenditure reporting requirements of KRS 6.821, and such others challenged by appellant, which did not apply exclusively to the legislative lobbyists were adjudicated. In addition to a lack of standing on behalf of the lobbyists, the issue was not raised by any party and has not been preserved for review and is, therefore, moot.

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Bluebook (online)
912 S.W.2d 947, 1995 Ky. LEXIS 147, 1995 WL 755665, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/associated-industries-of-kentucky-v-commonwealth-ky-1995.