Request By:
Mr. Frederick G. Neikirk
Pulaski County Attorney
104 W. Columbia Street
Somerset, Kentucky 42501
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
At the regular fiscal court meeting on April 18, 1979, there was a discussion concerning the alteration of a road. One of the magistrates made a motion, concerning the county road alteration, which was seconded by another magistrate. However, the county judge/executive refused to entertain the motion and ruled it out of order, proceeding on with other business. KRS 67.040 and 67.078.
The question: Does the county judge/executive, as the chairman of fiscal court, have the authority to reject a motion or rule it out of order, where the motion is made and seconded?
In the absence of a constitutional or statutory rule of procedure, as is the case here, the proceedings of fiscal court are governed by general parliamentary law. Sands, Sutherland Statutory Construction (4th Ed.), Vol. 1, § 7.03, p. 263.
We assume that the motion relating to county road alteration was addressed to KRS 178.080 or 178.115.
Assuming from the facts given that this main motion embraced a proposed action by fiscal court which is within the jurisdiction or powers of fiscal court, and assuming there was no other pending motion, the county judge/executive cannot arbitrarily rule the motion out of order. See Robert's Rules of Order, Revised, § 10, p. 82.
Here the chairman, upon the making of the motion, and the motion being seconded by another member, did not state the motion or put the question.
"In principle, the chair must state the question on a motion immediately after it has been made and seconded, unless he is obliged to rule that the motion is out of order or unless, in his opinion, the wording is not clear." Ibid., § 4, p. 31. There is nothing in the facts indicating the wording of the motion was not clear.
There are several situations in which a main motion [bringing business before the body] may be ruled out of order. They may include: (1) when another motion is pending; (2) when the main motion conflicts with national, state, or local law; (3) when the main motion presents substantially the same question rejected during the same session; (4) when the main motion would conflict with or presents substantially the same question which has been temporarily disposed of; (5) when the main motion proposes action outside the scope of the fiscal court's statutory or constitutional authority. See Roberts Rules of Order, Revised, § 10, p.p. 91-93.
If the county judge/executive had a reason for ruling the motion out of order under the principles of parliamentary procedure, as outlined above, his action was legal. Otherwise, it was illegal.
Over and above the parliamentary law considerations, the chairman can never act arbitrarily. He must proceed under the embracing arms of goddess Reason. See § 2, Kentucky Constitution; and