{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-48.005","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 48.005","heading":"Public accountability for funds or assets recovered by duly elected statewide","body":"constitutional officers through judgment or settlement -- Applicability of Open\nRecords and Open Meetings Laws -- Administration and disbursement of trust\nfunds or assets by Office of the Controller -- Exceptions -- Costs of litigation --\nLimitation regarding constitutional challenge.\n(1) The General Assembly hereby finds and declares that:\n(a) Public accountability for funds or other assets recovered in a legal action by\nor on behalf of the general public, the Commonwealth, or its duly elected\nstatewide constitutional officers is appropriate and required, whether the\ncharacter of the assets or funds recovered is public or private;\n(b) Accountability for assets or funds recovered by duly elected statewide\nconstitutional officers is essential to the public trust, and is even more critical\nwhen that officer was a party to the action that resulted in the recovery by\nvirtue of the public office he or she holds;\n(c) Public acc ountability demands the applicability of the Kentucky Model\nProcurement Code, KRS Chapter 45A, Kentucky Open Records Law, KRS\n61.870 to 61.884, and the Kentucky Open Meetings Law, KRS 61.805 to\n61.850, so that the actions of individuals or agencies who are charged with the\nadministration of funds or other assets are conducted in full view, and are\nopen to public scrutiny; and\n(d) The power to appropriate funds for public purposes is solely within the\npurview of the legislative branch of government, and the General Assembly,\nas a steward of the budgetary process, shall take steps to assure that future\nsettlements are handled in a manner that assures maximum accountability to\nthe citizens of the Commonwealth and their duly elected legislative\nrepresentatives.\n(2) Therefore, any other provision of the common law or statutory law to the contrary\nnotwithstanding:\n(a) The provisions of subsection (3) of this section shall apply whenever the\nAttorney General or other duly elected statewide constitutional officer is a\nparty or has entered his appearance in a legal action on behalf of the\nCommonwealth of Kentucky, including ex rel. or other type actions, and a\ndisposition of that action has resulted in the recovery of funds or assets to be\nheld in trust by the Attorney  General or other duly elected statewide\nconstitutional officer or a person, organization, or entity created by the\nAttorney General or the Commonwealth, through court action or otherwise, to\nadminister the trust funds or assets, for charitable, eleemosyna ry, benevolent,\neducational, or similar public purposes;\n(b) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the\nprovisions of subsection (4) of this section shall apply when any funds or\nassets of any kind or nature whatsoever, including  but not limited to public\nfunds as defined in KRS 446.010 and private funds or assets are recovered by\njudgment or settlement of a legal action by or on behalf of the Commonwealth\nof Kentucky, including ex rel. or other type actions filed by a duly electe d\nstatewide constitutional officer under that officer's statutory or common law\nauthority.\n(3) Whenever the Attorney General or other duly elected statewide constitutional\nofficer is a party to or has entered his appearance in, a legal action on behalf of the\nCommonwealth of Kentucky, including ex rel. or other type actions, and a\ndisposition of that action has resulted in the recovery of funds or assets to be held in\ntrust by the Attorney General or other duly elected statewide constitutional officer\nor by  a person, organization, or entity created by the Attorney General, or the\nCommonwealth, through court action or otherwise, to administer the trust funds or\nassets, for charitable, eleemosynary, benevolent, educational, or similar public\npurposes, those fu nds shall be deposited in the State Treasury and the funds or\nassets administered and disbursed by the Office of the Controller.\n(4) The Office of Attorney General may first recover its reasonable costs of litigation,\nas determined by the court and approve d by the secretary of the Finance and\nAdministration Cabinet. After recovering the reasonable costs of litigation, any\nrequired consumer restitution or payments shall be made. All remaining funds shall\nbe deposited in the general fund surplus account. Any costs recovered under this\nsubsection shall be reported to the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and\nRevenue.\n(5) The common law, including the common law authority of any duly elected\nstatewide constitutional officer, is specifically abrogated to the extent it is\ninconsistent with the provisions of this section.\n(6) Notwithstanding any statute or common law to the co ntrary, and except as provided\nin this subsection, an elected statewide constitutional officer or any other state\nofficial or agency shall not file or participate as a plaintiff, petitioner, party,\nintervening party, attorney, or amicus curiae in any litig ation challenging the\nconstitutionality of this section. State funds and employee time shall not be\nexpended by any person or agency in support of such a challenge. If the\nconstitutionality of this section is challenged, the Finance and Administration\nCabinet shall be the sole named respondent in that litigation, and shall consult with\nthe Legislative Research Commission regarding defense of that litigation.","path":["KRS Chapter 48"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47741","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:09Z","sha256":"841267c26d2fcd0bf3cc16403ed443c17644107f897eee921e35c03ad4912f50","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-47.130","next":"us-ky/krs-48.010"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}