Effect of 1996 amendments of KRS 186.060

OAG 12-001 January 25, 2012 Subject: Effect of 1996 amendments of KRS 186.060 Requested by: Representative Hubert Collins 97th District Written by: James M. Herrick Assistant Attorney General Syllabus: KRS 186.060(4), as amended in 1996, allows federal, state, and local governmental units to use official license plates on vehicles leased or owned by them; prior opinions to the contrary are abrogated insofar as they rely on prior statutory language. Statute construed: KRS 186.060 OAG’s cited: OAG 95-001, OAG 74-456, OAG 73-6 Opinion of the Attorney General KRS 186.060 governs the registration and licensing of official vehicles by federal, state, and local governmental units. Representative Hubert Collins, as Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has inquired as to whether certain prior Opinions of the Attorney General are still applicable after the 1996 amendments to KRS 186.060. In OAG 95-001, OAG 74-456, and OAG 73-6, it was the opinion of this office that a city, county, state agency, or other unit of government could not use an official license plate on a vehicle which was not owned by that governmental unit. This was due to specific language in KRS 186.060(4) that prohibited the use of such plates when the vehicle was “not exclusively owned by [the] governmental unit.” This statute was amended in 1996 so that the term “owned” or “exclusively owned” is now replaced by “leased or owned.” The unambiguous intent of this amendment is to allow units of government to use official plates on vehicles leased by them, where such use was formerly prohibited. It is therefore our conclusion that OAG 95-001, 74-456, and 73-6 should no longer be relied upon insofar as they rely upon the “exclusively owned” language formerly appearing in KRS 186.060. Those opinions are abrogated, to that extent, by the 1996 amendments to the statute. Jack Conway Attorney General James M. Herrick Assistant Attorney General OAG 12-001 Page 2