Responsible for criminal justice services which encompass law enforcement and training; adult and juvenile incarceration; autopsies, death certifications and toxicology analyses; special investigations; paroling of eligible convicted felons; and long range planning and recommendations on statewide criminal justice reform issues. The cabinet provides overall leadership, policy direction and training for its departments and agencies. Justice Administration contains the secretary, deputy secretary and general counsel, principal assistant and public affairs. This office is responsible for the administration of the cabinet through provision of legal services; development of legislation, regulation and policy, and coordination of media and public activities within the cabinet and among cabinet departments.
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) was established in 1976 as a result of the Judicial Article. The Judicial Article created Kentucky’s unified court system and made the chief justice head of the state court system, also known as the Kentucky Court of Justice. The AOC is the operational arm of the Judicial Branch. The AOC supports court facilities and programs in all 120 counties, with its main campus in Frankfort.
Agency description/history
During the First Extraordinary Session of the 1956 Kentucky General Assembly, the Division of Personnel of the Department of Finance was abolished and the Department of Personnel was created. It was headed by a Commissioner appointed by the Governor. Chief among its responsibilities then, as now, was the certification of applicants for state jobs.
Approximately four years later, a uniform Merit System for the Executive Department was created. On December 13, 1995, Executive Order 95-19 elevated the Department of Personnel to
cabinet status and all powers and responsibilities of the Department of Personnel were transferred to the Personnel Cabinet. Upon expiration of the order, Executive Order 96-909 was issued on July 11, 1996, to create the Personnel Cabinet and this was confirmed by 1998 SB 139.
Currently, the Personnel Cabinet is organized as follows: Office of the Secretary; Office of Administrative Services; Office of Legal Services; Office of Employee Relations; Office of Diversity and Equality; Office of Governmental Services; Center of Strategic
Innovation; Ky Public Employees Deferred Compensation; Department of Human Resources Administration; and the Department of Employee Insurance.
The Education and Workforce Development Cabinet was established in 1973 as the Education and the Arts Cabinet. In 1982, the cabinet was reorganized into the Education and Humanities Cabinet. The cabinet was again renamed the Education, Arts, and Humanities Cabinet in 1994, the Education Cabinet during the Fletcher Administration and once again in 2008, to the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. The Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet is made up of fifteen agencies. These agencies promote lifelong learning through school, work and other training opportunities.
The Cabinet for Economic Development was originally formed as the Department of Economic Development in 1956 as the successor to the Agricultural and Industrial Development Board created in 1948. In 1962, the Department was renamed the Department of Commerce. The Department was placed under the newly created Development Cabinet in 1972. In 1982, the Development Cabinet became the Commerce Cabinet, which was renamed in 1988 as the Cabinet for Economic Development. The Cabinet formerly included the Department of the Arts, the Tobacco Research Board, and the Kentucky Geological Survey. The Tobacco Research Board and the Kentucky Geological Survey were transferred to the University of Kentucky. The Department of the Arts was abolished in 1990. In 1992, the Kentucky Economic Development Partnership was created as a board to govern the Cabinet, and the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority replaced the Kentucky Development Finance Authority and the Kentucky Rural Economic Development Authority.
The Cabinet for Economic Development is the primary state agency in Kentucky responsible for creating new jobs and investment in the state. Currently, the Cabinet consists of the Office of the Secretary, the Department for Business Development, the Office of Financial Services and the Office of Legal Services. The Department for Business Development consists of the Office of Research and Public Affairs, and the Office of Entrepreneurship.
The Public Protection Cabinet oversees nine diverse regulatory and licensing agencies, including the Department of Insurance, the Kentucky Claims Commission, the Department of Professional Licensing, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the Kentucky Boxing and Wrestling Commission, the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction, the Department of Financial Institutions, the Department of Charitable Gaming, and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
The Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) was created in 2010 by KRS 12.250. The EEC addresses the energy needs of Kentucky’s citizens and develops regulations that make certain Kentucky’s natural beauty is not harmed. There are three departments within the Cabinet: Department of Environmental Protection, Department for Natural Resources and Department for Energy Development and Independence.
Agency description/history
The Finance and Administration Cabinet (FAC) originated in 1918 as the Budget Appropriation Commission. In 1926, it was replaced by the Budget Commission. That same year, the Office of State Budget Officer and the State Purchasing Commission were created. In 1934, two new departments were created: the Department of Finance and Budgetary Control, which assumed the duties of the Budget Commission and the Department of Public Property, which assumed the duties of the State Purchasing Commission. In 1936, the Department of Finance was created and absorbed the duties of the Department of Public Property and the Department of Finance and Budgetary Control. In 1973, the Department of Finance and the Program Development Office were consolidated into the Executive Department of Finance and Administration. In 1982, the Department became the Finance and Administration Cabinet. The FAC’s core mission is to provide services that will better enable agencies to deliver services and perform their duties on behalf of the general public. The Cabinet operates under KRS Chapter 42.
The Cabinet was established in 1878 as the State Board of Health and Superintendent of Vital Statistics by Acts of 1878, Chapter 499. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has reorganized many times since its creation and is governed by Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 194A. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is the primary state agency for operating the public health, Medicaid, certificate of need and licensure, and mental health/mental retardation programs in the Commonwealth.
Agency description/history
The Transportation Cabinet is responsible for maintaining and improving the delivery of transportation services in the state.
KRS 174.010 creates the Cabinet and KRS 174.020 – 174.100 outlines the various organizational components and administrative duties of the Cabinet.
The organizational structure of the Cabinet is as follows: the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Public Affairs, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Budget and Fiscal Management, the Office of Legal Services, the Office for Civil Rights and Small Business
Development, the Office of Information Technology, the Office of Support Services, the Office of Audits, the Office of Human Resource Management, the Office of Transportation Delivery, the Department of Aviation, the Department of Highways, the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid and the Department of Vehicle Regulation. Other
bodies attached to the Cabinet for administrative purposes are the Kentucky Airport Zoning Commission, the Kentucky Motorcycle Advisory Commission for Highway Safety, the Kentucky Motorcycle Safety Education Advisory Commission, the Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission and the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Commission.
Agency description/history
