Every Kentucky attorney deserves the right to decide which organizations they want to join and those they don’t. House Bill 526 isn’t attacking democracy, it’s upholding it.
- Kentucky attorneys are currently required to join and pay dues to the Kentucky Bar Association to practice law.
- A portion of these mandatory dues funds activities beyond legal regulation, such as legislative advocacy and member benefits.
- House Bill 526 proposes to make membership in the Kentucky Bar Association optional for attorneys.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to freedom of association. This right means the government cannot force someone to associate with another against that individual’s wishes or beliefs. In Janus v. AFSCME, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the freedom of association applies in the employment context. Specifically, the Supreme Court ruled that government entities could not force government employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment.
In Kentucky, the General Assembly has taken that principle a step further. Since legislators passed House Bill 1 in 2017, private employers may not require employees to pay union fees as a condition of employment. These types of laws are commonly known as “right-to-work.” By enacting right-to-work in Kentucky, the General Assembly affirmed its stance that employees should be free to associate with a union or not.
Between the Janus decision and right-to-work, the freedom of association for most professions is secure in the commonwealth. This is a huge win for occupational freedom. However, there is still at least one major profession that does not currently completely benefit from the freedom of association — the legal profession.
Currently, those who wish to practice law in Kentucky state courts must join the Kentucky Bar Association. Attorneys who have been practicing for less than five years must pay $220/year, while those who have been practicing for more than five years must pay $310/year. A portion of those dues cover the bar association’s duties to oversee discipline of attorneys and to administer admission of new attorneys — expenses associated with the regulation of the practice of law.
However, the KY Bar Association also spends money on things outside of the regulation of the practice of law — member benefits, magazines and even legislative advocacy. None of these expenses are inherently wrong, but should attorneys be forced to fund these extras? I think not, and members of the General Assembly agree.
To restore the freedom of association to attorneys in Kentucky, Rep. Steve Doan introduced House Bill 526, an act relating to members of the bar. HB 526 removes the requirement that Kentucky attorneys join the Kentucky Bar Association and prohibits any mandatory fees beyond those needed to cover the costs of admission to practice law and attorney discipline.
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