(1) (a) The commission shall be a body corporate with usual corporate powers.
(b) The General Assembly hereby recognizes and reaffirms that the operations of the Kentucky Horse Park and the operations of its facilities are unique activities for state government and that an independent corporate structure is best to enable the Kentucky Horse Park to be managed in an entrepreneurial and businesslike manner. The Kentucky Horse Park Commission shall be an independent, de jure municipal corporation and political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which shall be a public body corporate and politic.

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 148.270


(c) The Kentucky Horse Park Commission is a public agency as defined in KRS
61.805 and is subject to the Open Meetings Act, KRS § 61.805 to KRS § 61.850.
(d) The Kentucky Horse Park Commission shall be attached to the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet solely for administrative purposes and shall not be subject to reorganization under KRS Chapter 12.
(2) Full minutes and records shall be kept of all meetings of the board and all official actions shall be recorded.
(3) (a) The commission shall appoint a president, who shall hold the position at the pleasure of the commission and shall devote his or her entire time to the duties of the office.
(b) The president shall be the chief executive officer and secretary of the commission and shall provide the staff direction and coordination in implementing the program and discharging the duties of the commission. The president shall serve as the administrative head of the Kentucky Horse Park, thereby overseeing daily operations of the park.
(c) The president shall keep a full and true record of all the proceedings of the commission, of all books and papers ordered filed by the commission, and of all orders made by the commission or approved and confirmed by it and ordered filed, and shall be responsible to it for the safe custody and preservation of all such documents in its office. All documents shall be subject to the open records provisions of KRS § 61.870 to KRS § 61.884.
(d) The commission shall designate from time to time staff persons to perform the duties of the president during his or her absence, and during the absence, the persons so designated shall possess the same powers as the president.
(4) The president may only be removed by an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the commission, and upon thirty (30) days’ written notice.
(5) The commission shall determine the term, conditions, and compensation of its president, provided the term does not exceed four (4) years. There is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve as president.
(6) (a) The president shall have the authority to organize administrative divisions and may designate chiefs of the divisions who, under the control and supervision of the president, shall have the duties of direction of the divisions.
(b) The president shall organize a Division of Personnel Management and Staff Development that shall manage all personnel matters, including staff development and training programs for affirmative action. The director of this division shall be appointed by the president, and the appointment shall be subject to confirmation by the commission.
(c) The president shall employ other employees and agents necessary to carry out the policies of the commission and to conduct the affairs of the Kentucky Horse Park, and shall fix the duties and compensation of any employees or agents with the approval of the commission.
(7) The president and any persons newly employed under this section after July 1,
2023, shall not be subject to KRS Chapter 18A.
(8) The commission acting through the president may employ such additional staff as necessary to perform the duties and exercise the powers conferred upon it by the provisions of KRS § 148.258 to KRS § 148.320.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 125, sec. 3, effective June 29, 2023. — Amended
1986 Ky. Acts ch. 96, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1986. — Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch.
396, sec. 16, effective July 15, 1982. — Created 1979 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch.
6, sec. 2, effective July 1, 1979.