Opinion ID: 1676570
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: lack of a justiciable controversy

Text: We agree that the trial court correctly declined to address appellant's issue that asserted that the fines and criminal penalties which can be imposed under the legislative and executive codes for failure to properly register, report and/or disclose information violates its First Amendment rights of association and petition. This record does not disclose an actual and justiciable controversy upon this issue to be pending before the court. Appellant, as required, is duly registered with the respective commissions and no proceeding (adjudicatory/investigatory) is disclosed to be pending at this time. A determination of the validity of the challenged statutory penalties is speculative. We consider KRS 418.065 to also be applicable herein. HealthAmerica Corp. v. Humana Health Plan, Ky., 697 S.W.2d 946 (1985); Veith v. City of Louisville, Ky., 355 S.W.2d 295 (1962); Revis v. Daugherty, 215 Ky. 823, 287 S.W. 28 (1926), are controlling. We further agree that the trial court correctly refused, on jurisdictional grounds, to consider appellant's challenge to the expenditure reporting requirements relating to lobbyists' reports and the no campaign contributions requirement. The legislative agents (the affected parties) are not before the court. KRS 6.811(6) enunciates that the legislative agent shall not make a campaign contribution to a legislator, a candidate or a candidate's campaign committee. However, this statutory prohibition does not prohibit appellant from making a campaign contribution. Appellant maintains that it had standing to challenge the expenditure reporting requirements and the prohibition against campaign expenditures applicable to its employees. Further, appellant maintains that it was the vagueness of the personal expenditure concept which was applicable to both the employer and to the agents which caused it to challenge the expenditure reporting requirements of KRS 6.821 as void for vagueness. The employer maintains that the provisions apply equally to itself and the lobbyists and that its challenge was not an attempt to litigate the rights of any other person. Also, the employer maintains that its relationship, in this litigation, to its employees confers standing to assert rights which may even belong individually to the employees and that the legal concept is more correctly addressed as one of standing rather than jurisdiction. A question of whether a litigant demonstrates the existence of an actual controversy affecting his rights which is sufficient to invoke, under the state declaratory judgment act, the court's jurisdiction remains a separate issue from that of whether a party has standing. The trial court declined to exercise jurisdiction as there was no real or justiciable controversy between the parties. Within the context of federal law, it is understood that Article III of the United States Constitution permits only adjudication of actual cases and controversies. Flast v. Cohen, 392 U.S. 83, 88 S.Ct. 1942, 20 L.Ed.2d 947 (1968). An actual controversy requires that a controversy be ripe for adjudication. Pacific Gas & Elec. v. State Energy Resources Conservation & Dev. Comm'n, 461 U.S. 190, 103 S.Ct. 1713, 75 L.Ed.2d 752 (1983). Further, the ripeness doctrine requires the judiciary to refrain from giving advisory opinions on hypothetical issues. United States v. Fruehauf, 365 U.S. 146, 81 S.Ct. 547, 5 L.Ed.2d 476 (1961). Franklin Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to decide the constitutionality of statutory provisions which affected only lobbyists since no real controversy existed as presented by the pleadings. Revis v. Daugherty, supra ; Commonwealth v. Winchester Water Works Co., 303 Ky. 420, 197 S.W.2d 771 (1946). All expenditure reporting requirements of KRS 6.821, and such others challenged by appellant, which did not apply exclusively to the legislative lobbyists were adjudicated. In addition to a lack of standing on behalf of the lobbyists, the issue was not raised by any party and has not been preserved for review and is, therefore, moot. Ordinarily, a litigant may only assert his own constitutional rights or immunities. United States v. Raines, 362 U.S. 17, 80 S.Ct. 519, 4 L.Ed.2d 524 (1960). The appellant was required to first allege a personal stake in the outcome of the controversy to warrant his right of federal court jurisdiction. Additionally, there must have been shown a causal relationship between appellant's alleged injury and the activity about which it complains. The assertion of one's own legal rights and interests must be demonstrated and the claim to relief will not rest upon the legal rights of third persons. Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). Standing was lacking to challenge KRS 6.821(3)(b) and KRS 6.811(6) on behalf of the employee lobbyists.