Request By:
Mr. Eugene D. Attkisson
General Counsel
Department of Mines and Minerals
P.O. Box 680
Lexington, Kentucky 40586
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Alex W. Rose, Assistant Attorney General
This is in response to your request of March 24, 1983, for an opinion of the Attorney General as to whether KRS 351.175(3) and KRS 131.181 authorize the Department of Mines and Minerals to refuse a license to mine coal to any applicant whose license was previously revoked because of tax delinquencies as defined in KRS 131.181 when those delinquencies remain unpaid or otherwise unsatisfied. It is the opinion of this office that the Department of Mines and Minerals may refuse to issue a mine license under such circumstances.
The statutory language of KRS 351.175(3) grants the Department of Mines and Minerals the power to "revoke" a mine license when the licensee is certified a "delinquent taxpayer" as defined by KRS Chapter 131 by the Secretary of Revenue. That statute does not, however, specifically authorize the Department of Mines and Minerals to refuse to issue a mine license under the exact same circumstances. A literal interpretation of KRS 351.175(3) would require the Department of Mines and Minerals to first issue the mine license and then proceed to immediately revoke the same license. Such a result would create an absurdity which is contrary to the maxim of statutory construction followed by the courts of this state. In
George v. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Ky., 421 S.W.2d 569 (1967), at page 571, the Kentucky Supreme Court stated as follows:
"The appellant calls attention to
City of Frankfort v. Triplett, Ky., 365 S.W.2d 328, and
Hamilton v. International Union of Operating Engineers, Ky., 262 S.W.2d 695, in support of the proposition that a statute must not be interpreted so as to bring about an absurd or unreasonable result. We agree that the proposition is a sound one."
"Appellant cites
City of Louisville v. Helman, Ky., 253 S.W.2d 598, as holding that the court should look behind the strict wording of a statute to ascertain the purpose of the statute and the mischief it is designed to remedy. We acknowledge this principle as correct." (Emphasis added.)
It is apparent that the purpose of KRS 351.175(3) is to deny a mine license to an applicant who is a "delinquent taxpayer" as defined by KRS Chapter 131. Therefore, it is the opinion of the Attorney General that KRS 351.175(3) authorizes the Department of Mines and Minerals to refuse a mine license to any applicant whose license has been previously revoked because of tax delinquencies as defined in KRS 131.181 so long as those delinquencies remain unsatisfied.