Request By:
Hon. Keither Endicott, Jr.
State Representative
Ninety-Seventh District
Post Office Box 251
Inez, Kentucky 41224
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Joe Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
In your recent letter to this office, you state volunteer rescue squads have been told by the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles that they cannot be licensed with official tags even though they operate with approval of the county fiscal court and receive public funding.
Initially, we note that there is no statutory authorization for licensing volunteer rescue squads with official tags. KRS 186.060 authorizes the licensing with official tags of county, city, urban county or board of education motor vehicles but such vehicles must be owned and operated exclusively by such governmental units. KRS 186.061 authorizes licensing vehicles owned by nonprofit volunteer fire departments with official tags, but once again there is no mention of volunteer rescue squads.
This office is of the opinion that in the absence of any legislative authorization, motor vehicles owned and operated by volunteer rescue squads cannot be licensed with official tags.