KRS 148.270: Corporate powers of commission -- Appointment of president -- Duties --

Organization of commission -- Additional staff.

(1) (a) The commission shall be a body corporate with usual corporate powers.

(b) The General Assembly hereby recognizes a nd reaffirms that the operations of

the Kentucky Horse Park and the operations of its facilities are unique

activities for state government and that an independent corporate structure is

best to enable the Kentucky Horse Park to be managed in an entreprene urial

and businesslike manner. The Kentucky Horse Park Commission shall be an

independent, de jure municipal corporation and political subdivision of the

Commonwealth of Kentucky, which shall be a public body corporate and

politic.

(c) The Kentucky Horse P ark Commission is a public agency as defined in KRS

61.805 and is subject to the Open Meetings Act, KRS 61.805 to 61.850.

(d) The Kentucky Horse Park Commission shall be attached to the Tourism, Arts

and Heritage Cabinet solely for administrative purposes and shall not be

subject to reorganization under KRS Chapter 12.

(2) Full minutes and records shall be kept of all meetings of the board and all official

actions shall be recorded.

(3) (a) The commission shall appoint a president, who shall hold the positi on at the

pleasure of the commission and shall devote his or her entire time to the duties

of the office.

(b) The president shall be the chief executive officer and secretary of the

commission and shall provide the staff direction and coordination in

implementing the program and discharging the duties of the commission. The

president shall serve as the administrative head of the Kentucky Horse Park,

thereby overseeing daily operations of the park.

(c) The president shall keep a full and true record of all t he proceedings of the

commission, of all books and papers ordered filed by the commission, and of

all orders made by the commission or approved and confirmed by it and

ordered filed, and shall be responsible to it for the safe custody and

preservation of a ll such documents in its office. All documents shall be

subject to the open records provisions of KRS 61.870 to 61.884.

(d) The commission shall designate from time to time staff persons to perform the

duties of the president during his or her absence, and during the absence, the

persons so designated shall possess the same powers as the president.

(4) The president may only be removed by an affirmative vote of a majority of the

members of the commission, and upon thirty (30) days' written notice.

(5) The commission shall determine the term, conditions, and compensation of its

president, provided the term does not exceed four (4 ) years. There is no limit on the

number of terms an individual can serve as president.

(6) (a) The president shall have the authority to organize administrative divisions and

may designate chiefs of the divisions who, under the control and supervision

of the president, shall have the duties of direction of the divisions.

(b) The president shall organize a Division of Personnel Management and Staff

Development that shall manage all personnel matters, including staff

development and training programs for affirmative action. The director of this

division shall be appointed by the president, and the appointment shall be

subject to confirmation by the commission.

(c) The president shall employ other employees and agents necessary to carry out

the policies of the commission and to conduct the affairs of the Kentucky

Horse Park, and shall fix the duties and compensation of any employees or

agents with the approval of the commission.

(7) The president and any persons newly employed under this section after July 1,

2023, shall not be subject to KRS Chapter 18A.

(8) The commission acting through the president may employ such additional staff as

necessary to perform the duties and exercise the powers conferred upon it by the

provisions of KRS 148.258 to 148.320.