{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-148.034","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 148.034","heading":"Kentucky Ohio River Regional Recreation Authority -- Purpose, powers,","body":"and duties -- Sunset -- Membership -- Meetings -- Executive director.\n(1) The Kentucky Ohio River Regional Recreation Authority is hereby created and\nestablished as an inde pendent, de jure municipal corporation and political\nsubdivision of the Commonwealth and shall exercise all of the powers that a\ncorporation may lawfully exercise under the laws of the Commonwealth. The\nauthority shall be a public body corporate and politi c and an instrumentality of the\nCommonwealth, established with all the general corporate powers incidental\nthereto. The authority shall be attached to the Kentucky Department for Local\nGovernment for administrative purposes only. The authority shall be aut horized for\nan initial period of five (5) years from July 15, 2024, and may be renewed by the\nGeneral Assembly. The authority may adopt bylaws and administrative regulations,\nsubject to KRS Chapter 13A, for the orderly conduct of its affairs.\n(2) The purpose of the authority is to establish, maintain, and promote a recreational\ntrail system throughout the RA to increase economic development, tourism, and\noutdoor recreation for residents and visitors. The recreational trail system shall be\nlocated with signi ficant portions of the system situated on private property made\navailable for use through lease, license, easement, or other appropriate legal form\nby willing landowners.\n(3) The authority shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of representatives\nfrom participating counties and the Commonwealth as provided in this section.\n(4) The authority and the board shall become operational when eleven (11) target\ncounties complete the requirements established by subsection (5)(a) of this section.\nWhen a t least eleven (11) target counties become participating counties, the\ncommissioner of the Department for Local Government shall notify the county\njudge/executive or consolidated local government mayor of each of the\nparticipating counties, as well as the board members described in subsection (6) of\nthis section, that the requirements have been met for the authority and board to\nbecome operational. The commissioner shall also establish a date, time, and place\nfor an initial organizational meeting of the boa rd, and shall serve as interim chair of\nthe initial organizational meeting until such time as a chair is elected. The chair\nshall be a resident of a participating county.\n(5) Any target county may become a participating county upon adoption of a resolution\nor ordinance by the governing body of the county specifically approving the\ncounty's participation in the KORRRA and submission of the adopted resolution or\nordinance to:\n(a) The commissioner of the Department for Local Government if the resolution\nor ordinance is adopted prior to the KORRRA becoming operational pursuant\nto subsection (4) of this section; or\n(b) The KORRRA if the resolution or ordinance is adopted after KORRRA\nbecomes operational.\n(6) The KORRRA board shall consist of the following members:\n(a) The secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet or his or her\ndesignee;\n(b) The commissioner of the Department for Local Government or his or her\ndesignee;\n(c) The commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources or his or\nher designee;\n(d) If an executive director of the authority has been employed under subsection\n(10) of this section, he or she shall serve as a nonvoting member, except in the\nevent of a tie vote of the board;\n(e) One (1) representative selected for each of the six (6) participating counties as\nprovided in subsection (8) of this section, who shall be either:\n1. The county judge/executive or consolidated local government mayor; or\n2. The county judge/executive's designee or consolidated local government\nmayor's designee, who shall be an individual involved with economic\ndevelopment, tourism, recreation, or a related area within the county;\n(f) One (1) state Representative who is from the KORRRA region shall serve as a\nnonvoting member, appointed to a two (2) year term by the Speaker of the\nKentucky House of Representatives, and shall not serve another term\nconsecutively with a prior term; and\n(g) One (1) state Senator who is from the K ORRRA region shall serve as a\nnonvoting member, appointed to two (2) year term by the President of the\nKentucky Senate.\n(7) A county judge/executive or consolidated local government mayor shall only serve\non the board while holding the office for which he or she was elected. If a county\njudge/executive or consolidated local government mayor ceases to serve as the\ncounty judge/executive or consolidated local government mayor prior to the end of\nhis or her term, he or she shall be removed from the board, and his or her\nreplacement as county judge/executive or consolidated local government mayor\nshall serve on the board for the remainder of the term.\n(8) (a) The nine (9) voting members of the board shall be:\n1. The six (6) county judges/executive, consolidated local government\nmayor, or their designees, from different KORRRA participating\ncounties as described in subsection (6)(e) of this section;\n2. The secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet or his or her\ndesignee;\n3. The commissioner of the Depart ment for Local Government or his or\nher designee; and\n4. The commissioner of the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources or\nhis or her designee.\n(b) The six (6) initial county representatives shall be the county judges/executive\nor consolidated local gov ernment mayor of Boone, Campbell, Daviess,\nJefferson, Kenton, and Mason Counties or their designees in that order. The\nfirst three (3) representatives listed shall serve a three (3) year term as voting\nmembers, the next three (3) representatives shall serv e a two (2) year term as\nvoting members, and the remaining three (3) representatives shall serve a one\n(1) year term as voting members.\n(c) After each term ends, the voting county representative shall be replaced by\none (1) of the county judges/executive, consolidated local government mayor,\nor his or her designee from one (1) of the target counties whose representative\nhas not yet served as a voting member.\n(d) After the third year of operation, each new voting member shall serve a term\nof three (3) years,  then step down and let a representative from a county\nwhose representative has not served as a voting member take his or her place.\n(e) Once representatives from all participating counties within RA have each\nserved one (1) term, the rotation shall begin again.\n(9) (a) The board shall meet at least once every quarter to elect officers, establish a\nregular meeting schedule, and perform other duties as may be prescribed in\nthe authority's bylaws. The board chair may call special meetings at any time.\n(b) Notice of each meeting shall be made in writing and delivered to board\nmembers at least seven (7) days before the scheduled meeting date. Electronic\nmail is an acceptable form of notice of special meetings, so long as it is sent to\ndirectors at least seven (7) days before the scheduled meeting date.\n(c) Accommodations shall be made for remote attendance for each board\nmeeting, whether regular or special, through means such as video\nconferencing, conference call, or similar services.\n(d) The presence of a major ity of the total voting members of the KORRRA\nboard shall constitute a quorum. Vacant board positions shall be counted\nagainst the quorum total necessary for board action.\n(e) Board meetings shall be held exclusively within the KORRRA participating\ncounties, and each meeting shall be held in a different participating county\nuntil every participating county has hosted a meeting, at which time the cycle\nshall begin again.\n(10) The KORRRA board:\n(a) Shall elect a chair, vice chair, secretary, treasurer, and an y other officers as\nestablished in the bylaws of the board;\n(b) May appoint temporary and standing committees to accomplish the purposes\nof KRS 148.033 to 148.039 and shall clearly describe the role,\nresponsibilities, and tenure of each committee so created;\n(c) Shall adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and all\nother matters necessary to effect proper management and accountability of the\nboard. The bylaws shall include, at a minimum, the following:\n1. The powers and duties of the board's members and the manner and\nnumber of officers to be elected from among the board members; and\n2. The terms, conditions, and manner in which a board member will be\nremoved.\n(d) Shall review and approve an annual budget;\n(e) Shall ensure that all administrat ive costs for operating the authority are paid\nfrom funds accruing to the authority. The authority, its board, and its staff\nshall incur no liability or obligation beyond the extent to which revenues have\nbeen provided under KRS 148.033 to 148.039;\n(f) May seek administrative and management assistance through written\nagreement with state agencies, local area development districts, or local\ngoverning bodies until such time as the board has secured sufficient funding\nthrough grants, loans, fee systems, or any  other funding source to hire staff;\nand\n(g) Shall employ an executive director to act as its chief executive officer to serve\nat its will and pleasure.\n(11) The authority shall comply with the provisions of KRS Chapter 65A.\n(12) The executive director:\n(a) Shall be a person who is domiciled in a KORRRA participating county;\n(b) May, with permission of the board and approval of the commissioner of the\nDepartment for Local Government or his or her designee, employ any other\nhourly personnel considered necess ary and retain temporary services. Pay\nraises for any personnel shall require approval of the board and the\ncommissioner of the Department for Local Government or his or her\ndesignee;\n(c) Shall carry out plans to implement KRS 148.033 to 148.039 and to exe rcise\nthose powers enumerated in the bylaws of the board;\n(d) Shall, along with any staff with responsibilities so delegated by the executive\ndirector, ensure that all minutes, records, and orders of the authority and its\nboard are complete and available for public inspection, if necessary;\n(e) Shall prepare narrative and financial reports of the authority's fiscal\nobligations and submit these reports to the board at regularly scheduled\nmeetings or as otherwise directed; and\n(f) May cast a tiebreaking vote in board decisions, but shall not be permitted to\ncast a vote under any other circumstances. Until such time as an executive\ndirector is hired, the chairperson of the board shall make the final\ndetermination in the event of a tie vote of the board.\n(13) The executive director, all full -time or part-time personnel, all seasonal employees,\nand all contractual employees, if any, shall be paid from funds accruing to the\nauthority and authorized in a budget approved by the board, unless the Department\nfor Local Government has temporarily taken on the responsibility of paying any of\nthose employees.\n(14) Board members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for actual\nand necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, subjec t to\nFinance and Administration Cabinet administrative regulations. Board members\nmay have their lodging reimbursed by KORRRA. Any reimbursement requests\nexceeding five hundred dollars ($500) per person shall be submitted to the\nDepartment for Local Government for approval.","path":["KRS Chapter 148"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55124","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:40Z","sha256":"11877b36f5904ad68133bdef197679145c3a4af628d7852f4bd579abc92e41ed","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-148.033","next":"us-ky/krs-148.036"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}