{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-63.080","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 63.080","heading":"Officers appointed by Governor may be removed without cause --","body":"Exceptions -- Removal of university or KCTCS board members for cause or to\ncomply with proportional representation requirements.\n(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this se ction and otherwise provided by law,\nany person appointed by the Governor, either with or without the advice and\nconsent of the Senate, may be removed from office by the Governor for any cause\nthe Governor deems sufficient, by an order of the Governor entered in the executive\njournal removing the officer.\n(2) (a) Except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section, members of the\nKentucky Board of Education; the board of trustees of the University of\nKentucky; the board of trustees of the Universi ty of Louisville; and the board\nof regents respectively of Eastern Kentucky University, Western Kentucky\nUniversity, Morehead State University, Kentucky State University, Northern\nKentucky University, Murray State University, and the Kentucky Community\nand Technical College System shall not be removed except for cause.\n(b) Members of the Council on Postsecondary Education shall not be removed\nexcept for cause.\n(c) A member of a board of trustees or board of regents specified in paragraph (a)\nof this subsection may be removed for cause as follows:\n1. The Governor or the board of trustees or board of regents, as applicable,\nshall notify, in writing, the member and the Council on Postsecondary\nEducation that the member should be removed for cause and shall\nspecify the conduct warranting removal;\n2. The member shall have seven (7) days to voluntarily resign or to provide\nevidence to the Council on Postsecondary Education that the member's\nconduct does not warrant removal;\n3. Within thirty (30) days after receipt of notice from the Governor or the\nboard, the Council on Postsecondary Education shall review the written\nnotice, investigate the member and the conduct alleged to support\nremoval, and make a nonbinding recommendation, in writing, to the\nGovernor as to whether the member should be removed, a copy of which\nshall also be provided to the Legislative Research Commission;\n4. The Governor shall then make a determination, in writing, whether the\nmember should be removed and shall notify the member, the applicable\nboard, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Legislative\nResearch Commission of the determination; and\n5. If the Governor's determination is to remove the member, the Governor\nshall remove the member by executive order, and shall replace the\nmember with a new appointment according to the applicable statutes for\nthe board of trustees or board of regents.\n(d) For the purposes of this subsection, a member may be removed for cause for\nconduct including but not limited to malfeasance, misfeasance, inco mpetence,\nor gross neglect of duty.\n(3) For a board specified in subsection (2)(a) of this section that is required by law to\nhave proportional representation in its membership based on residence, political\naffiliation, gender, minority racial composition,  or professional qualifications, the\nGovernor or other appointing authority may remove any member of the board and\nreplace him or her with another individual in order to bring the membership into\ncompliance with the statutory proportional representation requirement for the board,\nprovided that the Governor or other appointing authority shall:\n(a) Only exercise the removal authority granted in this subsection if appointment\nat the end of the next expiring term of a member, or at the end of the next\nexpiring term of members if two (2) or more members' terms expire at the\nsame time, cannot cure the de ficiency in the proportional representation\nrequirement;\n(b) Remove the fewest number of members necessary to bring the membership\ninto compliance with the proportional representation requirement for the\nboard;\n(c) Identify the order in which the members w ere appointed to their current terms\non the board and, beginning with the most recently appointed member who\nmay be removed and replaced to bring the membership into compliance with\nthe proportional representation requirement, remove the member or members\naccording to the length of their tenure on the board, without taking into\naccount any prior term of service on the board by the member;\n(d) Provide any member proposed to be removed with the following:\n1. Written notice, at least seven (7) days prior to th e member's removal\nfrom the board, stating the statutory proportional representation\nrequirement that the member does not satisfy; and\n2. An opportunity during the seven (7) day notice period for the member to\nvoluntarily resign or to provide evidence to t he Governor or other\nappointing authority that the member does satisfy the proportional\nrepresentation requirement or that another member on the board who\nalso does not satisfy the requirement has a shorter tenure than the\nmember proposed to be removed;\n(e) Replace any removed member with only those individuals who will bring the\nboard into compliance with the proportional representation requirement; and\n(f) Appoint any new member in the same manner as provided by law for the\nmember being removed and to fil l the remainder of the removed member's\nunexpired term.\n(4) For a board of trustees or board of regents specified in subsection (2)(a) of this\nsection, the Governor may remove for cause all appointed members of the board\nand replace the entire appointed membership as follows:\n(a) The Governor shall notify, in writing, the board and the Council on\nPostsecondary Education that the entire appointed membership of the board\nshould be removed for cause and shall specify the conduct warranting\nremoval;\n(b) The board or its members shall have seven (7) days to voluntarily resign or to\nprovide evidence to the Council on Postsecondary Education that the conduct\nof the board or of individual members does not warrant removal;\n(c) Within thirty (30) days after receipt of  notice from the Governor, the Council\non Postsecondary Education shall review the written notice, investigate the\nboard and the conduct alleged to support removal, and make a nonbinding\nrecommendation, in writing, to the Governor as to whether the appoint ed\nboard membership should be removed, a copy of which shall also be provided\nto the Legislative Research Commission;\n(d) The Governor shall then make a determination, in writing, whether the entire\nappointed board membership should be removed and shall no tify the\nmembers, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Legislative\nResearch Commission of the determination; and\n(e) If the Governor's determination is to remove the entire appointed membership\nof the board, the Governor shall remove the members  by executive order, and\nshall replace the members with new appointments according to the applicable\nstatutes for the board of trustees or board or regents.\nFor the purposes of this subsection, the entire appointed membership of a board of\ntrustees or boa rd of regents may be removed for cause if the board is no longer\nfunctioning according to its statutory mandate as specified in the enabling statutes\napplicable to the board, or if the board membership's conduct as a whole constitutes\nmalfeasance, misfeasa nce, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty, such that the\nconduct cannot be attributed to any single member or members.","path":["KRS Chapter 63"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51429","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:17Z","sha256":"8bd2b8ab2f34e28afbf17f15a2c9c5bd62044f1b049f6f08bce0cc28836ffcee","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-63.075","next":"us-ky/krs-63.090"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}