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SB 71 Kentucky Senate · 2025 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to public library district boards of trustees.

Summary
Amend KRS 173.490 and 173.730 to allow a county judge/executive to appoint members to a public library board of trustees and fill vacancies with the approval of the fiscal court and without consultation with the previous board members or the Department for Libraries and Archives.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2025
Senate Passage
Feb 2025
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Jan 9, 2025 Last action Mar 6, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Current/Final · 5 edits
MODERATE
This bill modifies how public library district board members are appointed in Kentucky, shifting authority from the state librarian to the local board and changing term lengths and appointment procedures. The changes streamline the appointment process by allowing boards to recommend candidates directly to county judges/executives rather than routing through state officials, and they adjust term lengths and vacancy filling rules.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on public library district board appointments, but the applicability of appointment procedures changed from state-led to locally-led processes.
REQUIREMENT

Changed initial term lengths for new board members from staggered 2, 3, and 4 years to a clearer structure with specific term assignments for first appointments.

Replaced state librarian's role in recommending candidates with the board's direct recommendation of one person per vacancy to county judges/executives.

Changed vacancy filling timeline from 30 days to a range of 30-60 days when judges/executives must appoint individuals if board recommendations are unacceptable.

Altered reappointment rules to allow board members to serve two consecutive terms before being barred from succession.

Modified the process for filling vacancies to give county judges/executives more discretion in selecting candidates when board recommendations are rejected.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 28, 2025

How they voted

23–13
Passed · 7 other
Total votes 43
Feb 28, 2025
D Democratic6
4 Nay 2
66% Nay
R Republican37
23 Yea 9 Nay 5
62% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
11
Key actions
2
Committee
5
Amendments
1
Mar 6, 2025
Committee
to Local Government (H)
lower
Mar 4, 2025
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Feb 28, 2025
Upper · Passed
3rd reading, passed 21-11-1 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1)
upper
Feb 27, 2025
Introduced
floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
upper
Feb 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
upper
Feb 4, 2025
Committee
to State & Local Government (S)
upper
Jan 9, 2025
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Jan 9, 2025
Introduced
introduced in Senate
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.