{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-66.310","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 66.310","heading":"Approval of county bonds.","body":"(1) No county may issue bonds which, together with all other net indebtedness of the\ncounty plus the principal amount of any outstanding self -supporting obligations, is\nin excess of one -half of one percent (0.5%) of the value of the taxable property\ntherein, as determined by the next preceding certified assessment, without having\nfirst secured the written approval of the state local debt officer. Any other bonds to\nbe issued by any county may be submitted for approval as hereinafter provided.\nWhen the fiscal court of any county has petitioned the state local debt officer under\nKRS 66.320 for assistance in formulating a plan for reorganizing its debt structure,\nor has received the approval of any issue of county bonds voluntarily as provided in\nthis section, all bonds thereafter issued by the county must be approved as provided\nin this section.\n(2) Without the approval of the state local debt officer a county may not lease, as\nlessee, a building or public facility that has been or is to be financed at the county's\nrequest or on its behalf through the issuance of bonds by another public body or by\na nonprofit corporation serving as an agency and instrumentality of the county for\nthat purpose, unless the bonds, if issued by the county itself as its own general\nobligations, would be exempt under the provisions of subsection (1). If his or her\napproval is required, the state local debt officer shall hold a hearing for the purpose\nof considering the terms of the lease upon the same basis as is provided under\nsubsections (3) and (4) of this section, and interested parties shall have the same\nright of appeal as is therein provided. This subsection does not apply to leases\nentered into before July 1, 1964, nor to renewals thereafter of leases entered into\nbefore that date, nor to bonds referred to in this subsection if those bonds have been\nsold prior to that date, whether or not actually delivered to the purchaser or\npurchasers thereof before that date.\n(3) The state local debt officer shall hold a hearing in accordance with  KRS Chapter\n13B for the purpose of determining whether any issue of bonds submitted to him or\nher for approval should be approved or disapproved. The state local debt officer\nshall provide notice of the hearing to the county judge/executive of the county\nproposing to issue bonds, and the county judge/executive shall cause a copy of that\nnotice to be published in advance of the date set for the hearing as provided in KRS\n424.130. Any person having a material interest in the issuance of the bonds shall\nhave an opportunity to be heard and to present evidence at the hearing held by a\nhearing officer appointed by the state local debt officer. A record of the proceedings\nof the hearing shall be made, and the state local debt officer shall review the record\nand pr epare a written decision approving or disapproving the issuance of the\nproposed bonds. The decision shall set forth the findings of fact upon which the\nstate local debt officer bases his or her decision. On the day that the state local debt\nofficer issues a decision, he or she shall mail a copy to the county judge/executive\nof the county proposing to issue the bonds and to any person who attended the\nhearing and requested to receive a copy of the decision.\n(4) The state local debt officer shall disapprove the issuance of the proposed bonds if he\nor she finds that one (1) or more of the following conditions exist:\n(a) The financial condition and prospects of the county do not warrant a\nreasonable expectation that interest and principal maturities can be met w hen\ndue without seriously restricting other expenditures of the county, including\nthe debt service on the other outstanding obligations of the county;\n(b) The issue of bonds will not serve the best interests of both the county issuing\nthe bonds and a majority of its creditors; or\n(c) The bonds or the issuance thereof will be invalid.\n(5) If the state local debt officer is petitioned by any county to approve the issuance of\nbonds to refund outstanding county bonds, and if the state local debt officer is\nunable to find that the bonds sought to be refunded were in their entirety validly\nissued, he or she shall nevertheless find that bonds may be issued validly for the\npurpose of refunding the bonds, in equivalent or lesser par principal amount,\nprovided that the interest rate to be borne by the refunding bonds shall be sufficient\nto make possible their liquidation within their life at no greater average annual cost\nto the county than would be required to liquidate, within the same number of years,\nthe portion of  the outstanding indebtedness found to be valid at the interest rate\nborne by it before refunding.\n(6) Within thirty (30) days after the date of a decision by the state local debt officer\napproving a county's proposal to issue bonds, any interested party or taxpayer of the\ncounty that presented evidence at the hearing required by subsection (3) of this\nsection may appeal to the Circuit Court of the county proposing to issue the bonds.\nAppeal shall be taken by filing a complaint with the clerk of the court a nd serving a\ncopy of the complaint upon the state local debt officer by certified mail, return\nreceipt requested. The fiscal court and, in the case of funding or refunding bonds,\nthe creditors whose claims or bonds are proposed to be funded or refunded, sh all be\nmade parties to the appeal. The state local debt officer shall not be named as a party\nto an appeal under this subsection, but shall be allowed to intervene in the appeal\nupon his or her motion. Summons shall be served and class representatives\ndesignated as provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure. Within thirty (30) days of\nreceipt of the complaint, the state local debt officer shall certify and file a copy of\nthe record of the proceedings and his or her decision with the Circuit Court.\n(7) A count y proposing to issue bonds may appeal a decision of the state local debt\nofficer disapproving the issuance of the bonds by filing a complaint with the\nFranklin Circuit Court within thirty (30) days after the date of the decision. The\nstate local debt offic er shall be named as a defendant in an appeal under this\nsubsection. Summons shall be issued and served as provided in the Rules of Civil\nProcedure. With his or her answer, the state local debt officer shall certify and file a\ncopy of the record of the proceedings and his or her decision.\n(8) Appeals to the Circuit Court shall be advanced on the docket and shall be heard and\ndecided upon the record certified by the state local debt officer. The findings of fact\nof the state local debt officer shall be final  if supported by any substantial evidence;\nhowever, if only the question of the validity of the bonds proposed to be funded or\nrefunded is in issue, additional evidence relating to the validity of the bonds may be\npresented.\n(9) An appeal may be taken from  the Circuit Court to the Court of Appeals in the\nmanner provided in the Rules of Civil Procedure.\n(10) If no appeal is taken from the approval of a bond issue by the state local debt officer\nas provided in this section, the decision as to the legality of the bonds shall be res\njudicata in any subsequent case or cases raising the question of their legality.\n(11) Record of the approval of bonds as provided in this section shall be made in the\nminutes of the next meeting of the fiscal court of the county issu ing the bonds so\napproved, and copies of all decisions of the state local debt officer shall be filed\nwith the Secretary of State.\n(12) As used in this section, bonds means bonds and obligations.","path":["KRS Chapter 66"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48658","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:24Z","sha256":"0e3e8623f9d38b47263e8c7659d8c11d28ab21265bb3067704b6c6ad1e2316a8","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-66.300","next":"us-ky/krs-66.320"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}