Request By:
Louis F. Mathias Jr., Attorney
Kentucky State Police
919 Versailles Road
Frankfort, Kentucky 40601
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; Martin Glazer, Assistant Attorney General
You seek advice of this office as to whether the sworn officers of the Kentucky State Police (KRS Chapter 16) can avail themselves of KRS 18A.202 and 101 KAR 1:150 and receive incentive payments for suggestions which lead to financial savings to the state.
KRS 18A.202 provides:
Subject to the approval of the personnel board, the commissioner is authorized to install and implement by regulation workrelated incentive programs for state employes. Such programs may include, but need not be limited to, an employe suggestion system whereby employes in the classified service may be recognized and rewarded for submitting suggestions that result in the improvement of state service or in the realization of financial savings by the state. Such programs may provide that when an employe suggestion has been adopted and resulted in a financial savings to the state, the employe who submitted the suggestion may be compensated for his service through a cash bonus in an amount to the lesser of ten percent (10%) of the amount saved or two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500). (Emphasis supplied. )
KRS 18A.110 now reads, in part:
(1) The commissioner [of Personnel] shall promulgate comprehensive administrative regulations for the classified service governing:
. . .
(d) Incentive programs. . . . (Emphasis supplied. )
Such administrative rules are required to be submitted to the Personnel Board for review.
KRS 18A.115 provides, in part:
(1) The classified service to which KRS 18A.005 to 18A.200 shall apply shall comprise all positions in the state service now existing or hereafter established, except for the following:
. . .
(s) State police troopers and sworn officers in the department of state police, justice cabinet;
. . .
Further, KRS 18A.155 provides for promulgation of administrative regulations by the Commissioner of Personnel for certain nonmerit employees cited in paragraphs (g)(, (h), (i), (j), (k), (p), (u), and (v) of KRS 18A.115(1) and for using other rules for additional nonmerit (b), (d), (e), and (q) of subsection (1) of KRS 18A.115.
Apparently, the General Assembly deliberately eliminated subsection (s) [state troopers] from those categories.
Thus, the only rule so promulgated under KRS 18A.202 was 101 KAR 1:150, "Incentive Programs."
State troopers are governed by KRS Chapter 16, have their own merit system and methods of pay, their own retirement program, and are excluded from the general merit system and rules promulgated thereunder.
We also note that KRS 16.110 forbids the payment of fees and rewards in certain types of instances to state troopers.
Therefore, in the light of all the above, we do not believe that KRS 18A.202 and its derivative regulation, 101 KAR 1:150, covers such officers. If it were so interpreted, the Commissioner of Personnel would be promulgating rules for persons who are exempted from the merit system and who are not covered under KRS 18A.155 [authorization for the Commissioner of Personnel to make rules for certain nonmerit employees].
That would be inconsistent with KRS 16.080(1) which allows the Commissioner of State Police to make rules for officers of his department.
Possibly, the Commissioner of State Police, pursuant to KRS 16.080 could prescribe his own regulation similar to 101 KAR 1:150 for incentive programs. The better way would be either an amendment to KRS 18A.202 or the drafting of a similar law for KRS Chapter 16 covering state troopers.