AGO 1989-041.

• Case Date: April 10, 1989
• Court: Kansas

Kansas Attorney General Opinions 1989. AGO 1989-041. April 10, 1989ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 89-41The Honorable Ross O. Doyen State Senator Twenty-Third District State Capitol, Room 422-S Topeka, Kansas 66612 Re: Cities and Municipalities--Plumbing and Electrical Wiring; Plumbers and Plumbing in Cities and Counties--Competency and Examination; Standards Synopsis: The adoption of standards for determiningthe competency of plumbers and electricians in K.S.A.1988 Supp. 12-1508 and 12-1525, respectively, does not involve the unlawful delegation of legislative authority to a private entity or nongovernmental agency in contravention of Article 2, Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution. Cited herein: K.S.A.1988 Supp. 12-1508, 12-1525; Kan. Const., Art. II, sec. 1. * * * Dear Senator Doyen: As Senator for the Twenty-Third District you inquire about the examination standards for determining the competency of plumbers and electricians found in K.S.A.1988 Supp. 12-1508 and 12-1525, respectively. Specifically your inquiries concern the language in the statutes that designate the codes published by Block and Associates as the standard for examinations to determine competency for licensure. K.S.A.1988 Supp. 12-1508 states:

"Standard examinations for the determination of competency of plumbing contractors and master and journeyman plumbers, based upon codes and standards effective on July 1, 1986, prepared and published and available upon such date from Block and Associates, Florida Farm Bureau Building, 5700 S.W. 34th St., # 1303, Gainesville, Florida 32608, are hereby designated as the standard examinations for determining the qualification of persons seeking licensure as plumbing contractors and master and journeyman plumbers for the purposes of this act." (Emphasis added.) (The provisions of K.S.A.1988 Supp. 12-1525 are identical for the competency determination of electrical contractors, master and journeyman electricians and residential electricians.)

Your first inquiry is whether the underscored language allows unlawful delegation of legislative authority to Block and Associates. Unlawful delegation of legislative authority involves the delegation of the power to make laws in contravention of Article 2, Section 1 of the Kansas Constitution that vests the power to make laws in the House of Representatives and the Senate. The...