Ky. Sup. Ct. Order 2025-06 SCR 2.000

SCR 2.000 shall read:

There is hereby created an Office of Bar Admissions which shall be

comprised of the Kentucky Board of Bar Examiners (“Board”), as defined

in SCR 2.020, and the Character and Fitness Committee (“Committee”), as

defined in SCR 2.040.

Subject to the approval of the Supreme Court of Kentucky, the Board

and Committee shall have the power to adopt and amend rules and regulations

governing the manner in which each carries out its duties.

SCR 2.002 Fiscal provisions

SCR 2.002 shall read:

(1) The fees collected by the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions shall be

deposited in a restricted fund account held by the Administrative Office of the

Courts to provide for the ordinary and necessary expenses of the

administration of the bar examination and the operation of both the Board of

Bar Examiners and the Character and Fitness Committee.

(2) An annual budget including all income and expenditures shall be

prepared by the Board and the Committee in consultation with the Budget

Director for the Judicial Branch and submitted to the Supreme Court not less

than one month prior to the commencement of the next fiscal year. The budget

shall distinctly set forth expected revenues according to source, together with

carryover funds from the previous year, and shall list budgeted amounts for

each category of expenditure in sufficient detail to clearly identify the nature of

the respective expenditures.

(3) Upon approval by the Court, the budget shall govern the fiscal

operation of the Board and the Committee. Expenditures may exceed the

authorized budget by not more than ten percent subject to availability of funds.

Expenditures exceeding the authorized budget by more than ten percent may

be made only upon approval of the Court.

(4) The restricted fund account held by the Administrative Office of the

Courts to provide for the expenses of the administration of the bar examination

and the operation of the Board and the Committee shall be included in the

annual financial statements for the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of

Kentucky, prepared by the Administrative Office of the Courts and subject to

annual external audit pursuant to the Rules of Administrative Procedure Part

XIX.

(5) The Board and the Committee may employ such personnel as the

Court authorizes. Their compensation shall be fixed by the Board and the

Committee subject to approval by the Court. The compensation of members of

the Board and Committee shall be fixed by the Court.

(6) Printing and purchasing shall be regulated by procedures established

through the Administrative Office of the Courts except that the duplicating of

bar examinations shall be accomplished in such manner as the Board

designates in order to preserve the security thereof.

SCR 2.007 Qualification, compensation, and expenses of Board of Bar

Examiners and Character and Fitness Committee

SCR 2.007 shall read:

Each member of the Board of Bar Examiners and each attorney member of

the Character and Fitness Committee shall have the qualifications of a circuit

judge and shall be an active member of the Kentucky Bar in good standing.

Except for compensated expenses and allowances for services rendered as

members of the Board and of the Committee as authorized by the Supreme

Court to be paid out of special funds for such purposes, no member of the

Board of Bar Examiners and no member of the Character and Fitness

Committee shall knowingly receive, or agree to receive, directly or indirectly,

compensation for any services rendered or to be rendered, either by

himself/herself or another, in any matter which is before the Kentucky

Supreme Court relating to the admission of a person to practice law in this

state. As appointees of the Supreme Court, neither the members of the Board

of Bar Examiners nor the members of the Character and Fitness Committee

constitute officers or employees of any agency within the meaning of KRS

45A.335 and 45A.340.