Opinion ID: 2460645
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the registry.

Text: The Registry of Election Finance was created by the 1966 legislature. 1966 Ky.Acts ch. 216, § 3 [originally compiled as KRS Chapter 123]. Its primary function was to receive and inspect campaign expenditure reports. KRS 123.086 (repealed, 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 130, § 198). Any delinquency in filing statements and reports was to be reported to the Attorney General and the Commonwealth's attorneys. KRS 123.991 (repealed, 1974 Ky.Acts ch. 130, § 198). The present version of the campaign finance law was substantially enacted as the 1974 Corrupt Practices Act.1974 Ky.Acts ch. 253. This reform legislation gave the Registry supervisory control over all election financing. Lee v. Commonwealth, Ky.App., 565 S.W.2d 634, 636 (1978). For the first time, the Registry was authorized to investigate complaints of campaign finance violations and to initiate civil actions for injunctive, declaratory, or other relief to enforce compliance. 1974 Ky.Acts ch. 253, § 2 [now compiled as KRS 121.120(1)(e)]. Of course, the Registry had no power to initiate criminal proceedings, and was required to notify the Attorney General or the appropriate Commonwealth's attorney if it had reasonable cause to believe that a violation had occurred. 1974 Ky.Acts ch. 253, § 3 [now compiled as KRS 121.140(5)]. Petitioners believe that they are being investigated by the special grand jury for an alleged violation of KRS 121.150 (1). A knowing violation of that statute is a class D felony. KRS 121.990(1). Since a class D felony is an indictable offense, the investigation of these allegations would prima facie fall within the traditional function of the grand jury. However, the petitioners interpret the provisions of KRS 121.120(5) and KRS 121.140(5) as precluding any grand jury from returning an indictment for a violation of a campaign finance law until and unless the Registry first determines that there is probable cause to believe that a knowing violation has occurred. If this interpretation were correct, the petitioners would be entitled to two bites of the probable cause apple. Both the Registry and the grand jury would be required to make probable cause determinations before an indictment could be returned. If either failed to find probable cause, there could be no indictment. This theory is not one of first impression. In Naegele Outdoor Advertising Co. v. Moulton, 773 F.2d 692 (6th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1121, 106 S.Ct. 1639, 90 L.Ed.2d 184 (1986), it was claimed that KRS 121.140 vested the Registry with exclusive jurisdiction to initially investigate alleged unlawful campaign violations, and that local prosecutors and law enforcement agencies were precluded from initiating a criminal investigation until and unless the Registry determined that there was probable cause to believe that a willful violation had occurred. The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found no language in KRS 121.140 vesting the Registry with such exclusive authority and held that the Registry's statutory authority was only supplementary to that of traditional law enforcement agencies. Id. at 700. KRS 121.140(1) authorizes the Registry upon receipt of a sworn complaint to investigate an alleged violation of the campaign finance law. Subsections (2), (3) and (4) of that statute contain provisions for the imposition of civil sanctions by the Registry in the event of a finding that there is probable cause to believe that the law has been violated. When Naegele was decided in 1985, what is now KRS 121.140(5) was compiled as KRS 121.140(3) and read in pertinent part as follows: If the registry concludes that there is probable cause to believe that the law has been violated willfully, it may refer such violation to the Attorney General or to the appropriate local prosecutor for investigation and prosecution. The Attorney General or appropriate local prosecutor shall have responsibility for prosecutions under the law and may request from the registry all evidence collected in its investigation. The statute was amended in 1988 as follows: If the registry concludes that there is probable cause to believe that the campaign finance law has been violated willfully, it [may] shall refer such violation to the Attorney General [or to the appropriate local prosecutor] for [investigation and] prosecution. The Attorney General [or appropriate local prosecutor shall have responsibility for prosecutions under the law] may request the registry's attorney or the appropriate county or Commonwealth's attorney to prosecute the matter and may request from the registry all evidence collected in its investigation. In the event the Attorney General or the appropriate local prosecutor fails to prosecute in a timely fashion, the registry may petition the Circuit Court to appoint the registry's attorney to prosecute, and upon such motion for good cause shown, the court shall enter an order to that effect. 1988 Ky.Acts ch. 341, § 42. In 1992, the legislature substituted the culpable mental state of knowingly for willfully, presumably to comply with KRS 501.030(2), and inserted the words timely filed before for good cause shown. 1992 Ky.Acts ch. 288, §§ 30, 46. Petitioners assert that the 1988 amendment effectively repealed the power of the Attorney General and traditional law enforcement agencies to investigate alleged violations of the campaign finance laws. However, we view those amendments as (1) clarifying that the Registry's probable cause determination relates only to alleged violations of the campaign finance law; (2) removing from the Registry any discretion as to whether to refer a knowing violation to the Attorney General; (3) recognizing that the Attorney General's authority to investigate suspected criminal activity is set forth more specifically in other statutes (more on this, infra ) and that repetition of that fact in this statute was surplusage; and (4) authorizing the Registry to intervene if it believes that the Attorney General and/or appropriate local prosecutors are either dragging their feet or unwilling to prosecute an alleged criminal violation of a campaign finance law. In Naegele , the Sixth Circuit found no intent in the pre-1988 statutory scheme to vest exclusive control in the Registry to the exclusion of traditional law enforcement authorities to investigate campaign finance violations. Naegele, 773 F.2d at 700. We find no legislative intent in the subsequent amendments to depart from this interpretation. Specifically, we do not find the deletion of the words investigation and from KRS 121.140(5) to evidence an intent to divest the Attorney General of his duty to investigate violations of penal statutes. In the same chapter of the legislation which deleted the words investigate and from KRS 121.140(5), the legislature enacted KRS 15.242 (1988 Ky.Acts ch. 341, § 1), which provides as follows: The Attorney General shall possess jurisdiction, concurrent with that of county and Commonwealth's attorneys, to investigate and prosecute violations of the election laws. The Attorney General, county attorneys, and Commonwealth's attorneys shall notify the Registry of Election Finance of any investigation or prosecution of alleged election law violations. KRS Chapter 121 is but one of nine chapters included in Title X of the Kentucky Revised Statutes, wherein all election laws are compiled. While the Registry's authority is limited to civil enforcement of violations of KRS Chapter 121, KRS 15.242 clearly vests the Attorney General, county attorneys and Commonwealth's attorneys with authority to investigate and prosecute alleged criminal violations of all election laws, including campaign finance laws, restricted only by the requirement that notice of any such investigation or prosecution be given to the Registry. In substantially reenacting a statute, the legislature is well aware of the interpretation of the existing statute and has adopted that interpretation unless the new law contains language to the contrary. Brown v. Harrodsburg, Ky., 252 S.W.2d 44 (1952). If the legislators intended to depart from the existing statutory interpretation, it is incumbent that they use plain and unmistakable language which leaves no doubt that a departure from the prior interpretation is intended. Long v. Smith, 281 Ky. 512, 136 S.W.2d 789 (1940). Butler v. Groce, Ky., 880 S.W.2d 547, 549 (1994). In view of its enactment of KRS 15.242 within the same chapter of the legislation which amended KRS 121.140(5), we cannot conclude that the legislature plainly and unmistakably intended by that legislation to depart from the Naegele interpretation of KRS 121.140. Finally, the petitioners rely on the 1992 enactment of KRS 121.120(5) (1992 Ky.Acts ch. 288, § 44), which reads as follows: All policy and enforcement decisions concerning the regulation of campaign finance shall be the ultimate responsibility of the registry. No appointed or elected state officeholder or any other person shall, directly or indirectly, attempt to secure or create privileges, exemptions, or advantages for himself or others in derogation of the public interest at large in a manner that seeks to leave any registry member or employee charged with the enforcement of the campaign finance laws no alternative but to comply with the wishes of the officeholder or person. Registry members and employees shall be free of obligation or the appearance of obligation to any interest other than the fair and efficient enforcement of the campaign finance laws and administrative regulations. It shall not be considered a violation of this subsection for an officeholder or other person to seek remedies in a court of law to any policy or enforcement decision he considers to be an abridgement of his legal rights. (Emphasis added.) Petitioners would have us read the first sentence of this statute out of context and interpret it to preclude law enforcement officials from prosecuting a criminal violation of a campaign finance law except upon referral from the Registry. However, it is well-settled that `in expounding a statute, we must not be guided by a single sentence or member of a sentence, but look to the provisions of the whole and to its object and policy.' Wathen v. General Electric Co., 115 F.3d 400, 405 (6th Cir.1997) quoting Pilot Life Ins. Co. v. Dedeaux, 481 U.S. 41, 51, 107 S.Ct. 1549, 1555, 95 L.Ed.2d 39 (1987); accord Department of Motor Transp. v. City Bus Co., Inc., Ky., 252 S.W.2d 46 (1952); Henry v. Commonwealth, 312 Ky. 491, 228 S.W.2d 32 (1950). KRS 121.120(5) is itself a penal statute, the violation of which is also a class D felony. KRS 121.990(18). Its obvious purpose is to criminalize any attempt by a public official or anyone else to influence the Registry with respect to the performance of its statutory duties. Those duties do not include the prosecution of criminal violations, which are specifically assigned to the Attorney General, county attorneys, and Commonwealth's attorneys by KRS 15.242. Viewing the statute as a whole, we discern no legislative intent to divest traditional law enforcement agencies of their authority to investigate and prosecute alleged criminal violations of the campaign finance laws.