Request By:
Mr. David R. Reeves
Carter County Attorney
Carter County Courthouse
Grayson, Kentucky 41143
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Carl Miller, Assistant Attorney General
The 1978 General Assembly passed Senate Bill 118 which enables Kentucky to join the Nonresident Violator Compact. You have written this office requesting information as to what other states belong to the Compact.
Thirteen states are members of the Compact as follows: New YorkNorth CarolinaPennsylvaniaDelawareVirginiaWest VirginiaMarylandLouisianaMinnesotaNew JerseyFloridaKentuckyDistrict of Columbia
By belonging to the Compact the member states agree to honor the suspensions of operators' licenses of other member states. One cause for mandatory suspension is "that person has failed to appear pursuant to a citation or summons issued by a law enforcement officer of this Commonwealth or any other jurisdiction." KRS 186.570(1)(h).
The legislative purpose in having Kentucky join the Nonresident Violator Compact was to allow peace officers who cite a nonresident motorist for a traffic violation to issue a citation to the violator who is a resident of a member state with the assurance that the violator's home state will enforce Kentucky's citation. Nonresident violators from nonmember states may have to post collateral or bond or be taken into custody until collateral or bond is posted or be taken directly to court for trial. (Preamble to SB 118.) The Nonresident Violators Compact is for the convenience of the peace officers and the nonresident violators.