Request By:
Honorable Alfred J. Welsh
Attorney at Law
Suite 200, 235 S. Fifth Street
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Walter C. Herdman, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
This is in answer to your letter of December 19 in which you raise the following questions:
"I would like to have an Attorney General's opinion on the legality of an Assistant County Attorney registering as a paid lobbyist during a General Assembly session for a private interest group. I would appreciate additionally having any and all observations which your office may have on such activities on the part of an Assistant County Attorney keeping in mind both the county status of such an appointed employee and his new duties under the Judicial Reform Act, which will, in part, pay him through state funds."
In response to your question, we find no specific constitutional or statutory provision that would prohibit an assistant county attorney from serving as a lobbyist for a private interest group during the session of the General Assembly.
We have reviewed the lobbying act, KRS 6.250 to 6.990, as well as the current statutes governing the appointment and qualifications of assistant county attorneys, particularly KRS 15.770 enacted at the Special Session in 1978, and find no restrictions applicable to your question. As pointed out in KRS 15.770 (3), an assistant county attorney is not prohibited from engaging in the private practice of law. This being the case, there certainly would be no restriction upon his being engaged in other business practices as long as they do not interfere or conflict with the duties of his office. For example, we believe a conflict of interest would certainly develop where your lobbying activities involved matters before the legislature that would adversely affect either the county or state since you serve in a somewhat dual capacity for both governments under the new judicial system.
On the other hand, a legal ethics question could very well be involved, which we cannot attempt to answer, since such questions must be referred to the Kentucky Bar Association which has jurisdiction in such matters. As a consequence, we suggest that you contact Mr. Leslie Whitmer, Director of the KBA, located at 315 West Main Street, Frankfort, Kentucky. His phone number is 564-3795.