{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-31.015","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 31.015","heading":"Public Advocacy  Commission  -- Appointment  -- Members  -- Terms --","body":"Compensation  -- Duties.\n(1) (a) The Public Advocacy Commission shall consist of the following members,\nnone  of whom  shall be a prosecutor, law enforcement official, or judge,\nwho  shall serve terms of four (4) years, except the initial terms shall be\nestablished as hereafter provided:\n1. Two  (2) members  appointed by the Governor;\n2. One  (1) member  appointed by the Governor. This member  shall be\na  child advocate or a person with substantial experience in the\nrepresentation of children;\n3. Two  (2) members  appointed by the Kentucky Supreme Court;\n4. Three (3) members, who are licensed to practice law in Kentucky\nand  have substantial experience in the representation of persons\naccused of crime, appointed by the Governor from a list of three (3)\npersons submitted to him or her for each individual vacancy by the\nboard of governors of the Kentucky Bar Association;\n5. The dean, ex officio, of each of the law schools in Kentucky or his or\nher designee; and\n6. One  (1) member  appointed by the Governor from a list of three (3)\npersons submitted to him or her by the joint advisory boards of the\nProtection and Advocacy  Division of the Department of Public\nAdvocacy.\n(b) Any member  of the commission serving prior to July 15, 2002, shall serve\nuntil the expiration of his or her current term of office. Subsequent\nappointments shall be for a term of four (4) years from the date of\nexpiration of the term for which his or her predecessor was appointed.\n(2) At the first meeting of the commission, a drawing by lot shall be conducted to\ndetermine the length of each original member's term. Initially there shall be four\n(4) two (2) year terms, four (4) three (3) year terms, and four (4) four (4) year\nterms. Vacancies in the membership of the commission shall be filled in the\nsame  manner  as  original appointments. Appointments to fill vacancies\noccurring before the expiration of a term shall be for the remainder of the\nunexpired term.\n(3) The  commission shall first meet at the call of the Governor and thereafter as\nthe commission shall determine on a regular basis, but at least quarterly, and\nshall be presided over by a chairperson elected by its members  for a one (1)\nyear term. A majority of commission members  shall constitute a quorum, and\ndecisions shall require the majority vote of those present; except that a\nrecommendation to the Governor pertaining to the appointment, renewal of the\nappointment, or removal of the public advocate shall require a majority vote of\nthe commission. Each member  of the commission shall have one (1) vote, and\nvoting by proxy shall be prohibited.\n(4) The  public advocate shall, upon appointment or renewal, be an ex officio\nmember  of the commission without the power to vote, shall serve as secretary\nof the commission, and shall be entitled to attend and participate in all\nmeetings of the commission except discussions relating to renewal of his or her\nterm or his or her removal.\n(5) Commission  members  shall be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary\nexpenses incurred while engaged in carrying out the duties of the commission\nand  shall receive one hundred dollars ($100) per day for each meeting\nattended unless prohibited by law from receiving such compensation.\n(6) The commission shall:\n(a) Receive applications, interview, and recommend  to the Governor three\n(3) attorneys as nominees for appointment as the public advocate;\n(b) Assist the public advocate in drawing up procedures for the selection of\nhis or her staff;\n(c) Review  the performance of the public advocacy system and provide\ngeneral supervision of the public advocate;\n(d) Assist the Department of Public Advocacy in ensuring its independence\nthrough public education regarding the purposes of the public advocacy\nsystem; and\n(e) Review and adopt an annual budget prepared by the public advocate for\nthe system and provide support for budgetary requests to the General\nAssembly.\n(7) In no event shall the commission or its members  interfere with the discretion,\njudgment, or advocacy of employees of the Department of Public Advocacy in\ntheir handling of individual cases.","path":["KRS Chapter 31"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=46880","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:50Z","sha256":"b1d3280f4a9e6c637a43fa29e361a94a9906472676f01bb49e9a8afab24a5400","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-31.010","next":"us-ky/krs-31.020"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}