63.080 Officers appointed by Governor may be removed without cause --
1,162 words·~5 min read·
/ky/63-080A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Exceptions -- Removal of university or KCTCS board members for cause or to
comply with proportional representation requirements.
(1)Except as provided in subsection
(2)of this section and otherwise provided by law,
any person appointed by the Governor, either with or without the advice and
consent of the Senate, may be removed from office by the Governor for any cause
the Governor deems sufficient, by an order of the Governor entered in the executive
journal removing the officer.
(a)Except as provided in subsections
(3)and
(4)of this section, members of the
Kentucky Board of Education; the board of trustees of the University of
Kentucky; the board of trustees of the University of Louisville; and the board
of regents respectively of Eastern Kentucky University, Western Kentucky
University, Morehead State University, Kentucky State University, Northern
Kentucky University, Murray State University, and the Kentucky Community
and Technical College System shall not be removed except for cause.
(b)Members of the Council on Postsecondary Education shall not be removed
except for cause.
(c)A member of a board of trustees or board of regents specified in paragraph
of this subsection may be removed for cause as follows:
1. The Governor or the board of trustees or board of regents, as applicable,
shall notify, in writing, the member and the Council on Postsecondary
Education that the member should be removed for cause and shall
specify the conduct warranting removal;
2. The member shall have seven
(7)days to voluntarily resign or to provide
evidence to the Council on Postsecondary Education that the member's
conduct does not warrant removal;
3. Within thirty
(30)days after receipt of notice from the Governor or the
board, the Council on Postsecondary Education shall review the written
notice, investigate the member and the conduct alleged to support
removal, and make a nonbinding recommendation, in writing, to the
Governor as to whether the member should be removed, a copy of which
shall also be provided to the Legislative Research Commission;
4. The Governor shall then make a determination, in writing, whether the
member should be removed and shall notify the member, the applicable
board, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Legislative
Research Commission of the determination; and
5. If the Governor's determination is to remove the member, the Governor
shall remove the member by executive order, and shall replace the
member with a new appointment according to the applicable statutes for
the board of trustees or board of regents.
(d)For the purposes of this subsection, a member may be removed for cause for
conduct including but not limited to malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence,
or gross neglect of duty.
(3)For a board specified in subsection (2)(a) of this section that is required by law to
have proportional representation in its membership based on residence, political
affiliation, gender, minority racial composition, or professional qualifications, the
Governor or other appointing authority may remove any member of the board and
replace him or her with another individual in order to bring the membership into
compliance with the statutory proportional representation requirement for the board,
provided that the Governor or other appointing authority shall:
(a)Only exercise the removal authority granted in this subsection if appointment
at the end of the next expiring term of a member, or at the end of the next
expiring term of members if two
(2)or more members' terms expire at the
same time, cannot cure the deficiency in the proportional representation
requirement;
(b)Remove the fewest number of members necessary to bring the membership
into compliance with the proportional representation requirement for the
board;
(c)Identify the order in which the members were appointed to their current terms
on the board and, beginning with the most recently appointed member who
may be removed and replaced to bring the membership into compliance with
the proportional representation requirement, remove the member or members
according to the length of their tenure on the board, without taking into
account any prior term of service on the board by the member;
(d)Provide any member proposed to be removed with the following:
1. Written notice, at least seven
(7)days prior to the member's removal
from the board, stating the statutory proportional representation
requirement that the member does not satisfy; and
2. An opportunity during the seven
(7)day notice period for the member to
voluntarily resign or to provide evidence to the Governor or other
appointing authority that the member does satisfy the proportional
representation requirement or that another member on the board who
also does not satisfy the requirement has a shorter tenure than the
member proposed to be removed;
(e)Replace any removed member with only those individuals who will bring the
board into compliance with the proportional representation requirement; and
(f)Appoint any new member in the same manner as provided by law for the
member being removed and to fill the remainder of the removed member's
unexpired term.
(4)For a board of trustees or board of regents specified in subsection (2)(a) of this
section, the Governor may remove for cause all appointed members of the board
and replace the entire appointed membership as follows:
(a)The Governor shall notify, in writing, the board and the Council on
Postsecondary Education that the entire appointed membership of the board
should be removed for cause and shall specify the conduct warranting
removal;
(b)The board or its members shall have seven
(7)days to voluntarily resign or to
provide evidence to the Council on Postsecondary Education that the conduct
of the board or of individual members does not warrant removal;
(c)Within thirty
(30)days after receipt of notice from the Governor, the Council
on Postsecondary Education shall review the written notice, investigate the
board and the conduct alleged to support removal, and make a nonbinding
recommendation, in writing, to the Governor as to whether the appointed
board membership should be removed, a copy of which shall also be provided
to the Legislative Research Commission;
(d)The Governor shall then make a determination, in writing, whether the entire
appointed board membership should be removed and shall notify the
members, the Council on Postsecondary Education, and the Legislative
Research Commission of the determination; and
(e)If the Governor's determination is to remove the entire appointed membership
of the board, the Governor shall remove the members by executive order, and
shall replace the members with new appointments according to the applicable
statutes for the board of trustees or board or regents. For the purposes of this subsection, the entire appointed membership of a board of trustees or board of regents may be removed for cause if the board is no longer functioning according to its statutory mandate as specified in the enabling statutes applicable to the board, or if the board membership's conduct as a whole constitutes malfeasance, misfeasance, incompetence, or gross neglect of duty, such that the conduct cannot be attributed to any single member or members.