Request By:
Honorable Maurice P. Carpenter
Commissioner of Revenue
Department of Revenue
New Capitol Annex
Frankfort, Kentucky
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: H. N. McTyeire, Assistant Attorney General
You point out that KRS 342.122(6) contains the following:
"Except for a two per cent (2%) collection fee allowance, all monies charged the insured for assessments and taxes under this chapter and KRS Chapter 136 shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the appropriate fund for which said assessment or tax is charged. In no case shall the monies turned over be less than ninety-eight per cent (98%) of the monies charged."
You state that the title to the Act is as follows:
"An Act Relating to Workmen's Compensation."
You then request our opinion as to whether Section 51 of the Kentucky Constitution has been violated. This Section provides that "No law enacted by the General Assembly shall relate to more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title . . ."
In our opinion the law does not relate to more than one subject. It is true the expression "assessments and taxes" is used, but the "collection fee allowance" is the subject with which the legislation deals. The fee collected from the insured covers a number of items, including assessments, taxes, expenses of the company, etc. Subsection (6) restricts the amount which may be retained by the insurance company to an amount which will not exceed 2%. This fee is the only item with which subsection (6) deals.