Request By:
Mr. James P. Dady
The Kentucky Post
Editorial Department
421 Madison Avenue
Covington, Kentucky 41011
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
You say that Boone County is proposing a $7-$10 addition to regular court costs to support the operation of the Boone County jail.
You seek our opinion as to whether such court cost would be legal under Kentucky law.
The county judge/executive's office has informed us that the proposed county ordinance provides in essence that the circuit clerk collecting adjudicated fines and costs must add in each such case a $10 fee which will be payable to the Boone County Treasury for the purpose of operating and maintaining the Boone County jail. Apparently, the fiscal court is considering the proposal as an authorized legislative action under the Home Rule statute, KRS 67.083.
KRS 67.083(3)(e) provides that a fiscal court may enact ordinances relating to correction facilities, which would include the county jail. However, that statute is no authority for the "cost" ordinance. The court, in Fiscal Court v. City of Louisville, Ky., 559 S.W.2d 478 (1977), held that an express delegation of governmental power to counties is constitutionally required. The general phrase "provision of corrections facilities" in KRS 67.083(3)(e) is not an express delegation of the power of establishing court costs.
The crucial point here is that court costs are purely statutory. 20 Am.Jur.2d, Costs, §§ 1-5, p.p. 5-8. Lykins v. Hamrick, 144 Ky. 80, 137 S.W. 852 (1911) 854; and Banks v. Marksberry, 15 Ky. 144, 5 Litt. 144 (1824). Cf. KRS 23A.205 [court costs in criminal cases, circuit court]. Cf. KRS 24A.175 [court costs in criminal cases, district court].
In summary, we can find no statute authorizing the fiscal court to legislate on court costs.