Opinion ID: 1450018
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Volume Employment Requirement

Text: The Court of Appeals, the circuit court and the Cabinet erroneously determined that there is a volume employment requirement contained in the exemption statute. They relied on two cases decided in 1968: Commonwealth ex rel Luckett v. WLEX-TV, Inc., Ky., 438 S.W.2d 520 (1969), and Spalding Laundry, supra , for the proposition that the new and expanded industry exemption is limited to large industrial manufacturing businesses with high volumes of employment. The critical words used by the court in WLEX-TV, supra , are that: The ultimate purpose of the exemption is to enhance the competitive position of this state as against other states in encouraging the location and expansion of industries whose manufacturing processes require volume employment of people. The language referring to volume employment is dicta. It is impossible to determine what is meant by the phrase volume employment. We construe the language to be dicta, rather than holding, and we have no obligation to follow this vague phrase. There is no guidance or statutory support for a volume employment requirement, and any such requirement would be improper as an extension of the statutory language. Industry and commerce, as well as manufacturing, have undergone significant changes since 1968. To adopt the position of the Cabinet would be to impose an antiquated concept of manufacturing limited to a type of rust belt approach which fails to recognize the realities of current economic conditions as well as dramatically new methods of commerce, industry and particularly marketing, resulting from the development of the electronic age. We borrow the language of WLEX-TV with approval as to the phrase, The ultimate purpose of the exemption is to enhance the competitive position of this State as against other states. Such a worthwhile goal cannot be achieved without a proper interpretation of existing statutes, not to mention the necessity to develop flexible and comprehensive statutory and regulatory systems commensurate with the modern age.