{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-6.686","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 6.686","heading":"Complaint procedure -- Preliminary inquiries -- Penalty for false complaint","body":"of misconduct.\n(1) (a) The commission shall have jurisdiction to investigate and proceed as to any\nviolation of this code upon the filing of a complaint. The compla int shall be a\nwritten statement alleging a violation against one (1) or more named persons\nand stating the essential facts constituting the violation charged. The\ncomplaint shall be made under oath and signed by the complaining party\nbefore a person who i s legally empowered to administer oaths. The\ncommission shall have no jurisdiction in the absence of a complaint. A\nmember of the commission may file a complaint.\n(b) Within ten (10) days of the filing of a complaint, the commission shall cause a\ncopy of t he complaint to be served by certified mail upon the person alleged\nto have committed the violation.\n(c) Within twenty (20) days of service of the complaint the person alleged to have\ncommitted the violation may file an answer with the commission. The fili ng\nof an answer is wholly permissive, and no inferences shall be drawn from the\nfailure to file an answer.\n(d) 1. After the commission receives the answer, or the time expires for the\nfiling of an answer, the commission may dismiss the matter for failure to\nstate a claim of an ethics violation, or otherwise shall determine upon\nthe affirmative vote of at least five (5) members, at either the next\nregularly scheduled meeting or a teleconference meeting called upon the\nchair's oral or written notice to all me mbers of the commission, whether\nthere is reason to believe the person named in the complaint has\ncommitted or is about to commit an ethics violation.\n2. If the commission determines that there is reason to believe the person\nnamed in the complaint has com mitted or is about to commit a violation\nof this code, upon an affirmative vote of at least five (5) members, the\ncommission shall initiate a preliminary inquiry into the alleged\nviolations pursuant to subsections (3) to (5) of this section. A\ndetermination by the commission under this subparagraph:\na. Means that the commission believes that the alleged violation\nmerits further inquiry, and the commission shall proceed with its\ninquiry and investigation; and\nb. Is not a finding that a person named in a complaint has violated\nthis code.\n3. If the commission fails to determine by an affirmative vote of at least\nfive (5) members that there is reason to believe the respondent has\ncommitted or is about to commit a vio lation of this code, the complaint\nshall be dismissed.\n(e) Within thirty (30) days of the commencement of the inquiry, the commission\nshall give notice of the status of the complaint and a general statement of the\napplicable law to the person alleged to have committed a violation.\n(f) A complaint may be filed against a former legislator, a former legislative\nagent, or a former employer of a legislative agent within one (1) year of the\ndate he or she left office or terminated lobbying registration. The one ( 1) year\nlimitation shall not apply if a complaint alleges a violation of KRS 6.757.\n(g) The applicable criminal statutes of limitation shall not apply to ethical\nmisconduct under KRS 6.601 to 6.849.\n(2) All commission proceedings, including the complaint a nd answer and other records\nrelating to a preliminary inquiry, shall be confidential until a final determination is\nmade by the commission, except:\n(a) The commission may turn over to the Attorney General, the United States\nAttorney, Commonwealth's attorne y, or county attorney of the jurisdiction in\nwhich the offense allegedly occurred, evidence which may be used in criminal\nproceedings; and\n(b) If the complainant or alleged violator publicly discloses the existence of a\npreliminary inquiry, the commission may publicly confirm the existence of\nthe inquiry and, in its discretion, make public any documents which were\nissued to either party.\n(3) The commission shall afford a person who is the subject of a preliminary inquiry an\nopportunity to appear in response  to the allegations in the complaint. The person\nshall have the right to be represented by counsel, to appear and be heard under oath,\nand to offer evidence in response to the allegations in the complaint.\n(4) If the commission determines by the answer or in the preliminary inquiry that the\ncomplaint does not allege facts sufficient to constitute a violation of this code, the\ncommission shall immediately terminate the matter and notify in writing the\ncomplainant and the person alleged to have committed a vi olation. The commission\nmay confidentially inform the alleged violator of potential violations and provide\ninformation to ensure future compliance with the law. If the alleged violator\npublicly discloses the existence of such action by the commission, the commission\nmay confirm the existence of the action and, in its discretion, make public any\ndocuments that were issued to the alleged violator.\n(5) If the commission, during the course of the preliminary inquiry, finds probable\ncause to believe that a viola tion of this code has occurred, the commission shall\nnotify the alleged violator of the finding, and the commission may, upon majority\nvote:\n(a) Due to mitigating circumstances such as lack of significant economic\nadvantage or gain by the alleged violator,  lack of significant economic loss to\nthe state, or lack of significant impact on public confidence in government,\nconfidentially reprimand, in writing, the alleged violator for potential\nviolations of the law and provide a copy of the reprimand to the pre siding\nofficer of the house in which the alleged violator serves, or the alleged\nviolator's employer, if the alleged violator is a legislative agent. The\nproceedings leading to a confidential reprimand and the reprimand itself shall\nremain confidential exc ept that, if the alleged violator publicly discloses the\nexistence of such an action, the commission may confirm the existence of the\naction and, in its discretion, make public any documents which were issued to\nthe alleged violator; or\n(b) Initiate an adj udicatory proceeding to determine whether there has been a\nviolation.\n(6) Any person who knowingly files with the commission a false complaint of\nmisconduct on the part of any legislator or other person shall be guilty of a Class A\nmisdemeanor.","path":["KRS Chapter 6"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55533","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:25Z","sha256":"757fbf75a6cfdb882425c44fb2e4a1d7c66e6efc2f1e2e76208513fa2c886639","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-6.685","next":"us-ky/krs-6.690"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}