Request By:
Ms. Addie D. Stokley
Executive Director
Crime Victims Compensation Board
113 East Third Street
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Joe Johnson, Assistant Attorney General
In your recent letter to this office, you asked whether House Bill 149 applies to all misdemeanors and felonies and to traffic offenses.
The bill states that "there shall be imposed as an additional cost the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) for all offenses for which imprisonment may be imposed." KRS 431.060 distinguishes between felonies, misdemeanors and violations as follows:
Offenses are either felonies, misdemeanors, or violations:
(1) Offenses punishable by death or confinement in the penitentiary, whether or not a fine or other penalty may also be assessed, are felonies.
(2) Offenses punishable by confinement other than in the penitentiary, whether or not a fine or other penalty may also be assessed, are misdemeanors.
(3) Offenses punishable by fine only or by any other penalty not cited herein, whether in combination with a fine or not, are violations.
KRS 500.080(10) defines a misdemeanor as an offense, other than a traffic infraction, for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment of not more than twelve months can be imposed. KRS 500.080(5) defines a felony as an offense for which a sentence to a term of imprisonment of at least one year in the custody of the Bureau of Corrections may be imposed. KRS 500.080(17) defines a violation as an offense other than a traffic infraction for which a sentence to a fine only can be imposed.
Among the traffic offenses set forth in KRS Chapter 189, some of these offenses impose a term of imprisonment and some do not. KRS 189.990, 189.993. Therefore, the bill only applies to those enumerated traffic offenses which contain a term of imprisonment.
To summarize:
(1) House Bill 149 does apply to all felonies and misdemeanors.
(2) The bill only applies to traffic offenses a violation for which a term of imprisonment may be imposed.