Kentucky Bills

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 396: AN ACT relating to public holidays.

HB 396 removes January 29 (Robert E. Lee Day and Franklin D. Roosevelt Day) and June 3 (Confederate Memorial Day and Jefferson Davis Day) from Kentucky's official list of public holidays. This means public offices in Kentucky would no longer be permitted to close on those specific dates under state law. The bill amends Kentucky Revised Statute 2.110 to delete these two dates from the statutory holiday list. The change affects state government operations by eliminating two days when offices could legally close. No new holidays are added or existing holidays altered beyond these specific deletions.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 403: AN ACT relating to workers' compensation.

Amend KRS 342.610 to exclude certain levels of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the blood from the presumption that an injury was caused by the introduction of certain substances into the employee's body.

Topics ✗ Labor & Employment

in committee · Kentucky · Senate Jan 23, 2026

SJR 48: A JOINT RESOLUTION designating the Stumbo Family Memorial Highway in Floyd County.

This bill (SJR 48) designates a specific 9.362-mile segment of Kentucky Route 680 in Floyd County (from KY 122 to US 23) as the "Stumbo Family Memorial Highway." It requires the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to install appropriate signage within 30 days of the resolution taking effect. The bill commemorates the Stumbo family's multi-generational public service in Floyd County, including roles as sheriffs, judges, and county officials since the early 1900s. As a commemorative resolution, it does not create new laws or policies but formally names a highway segment.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 391: AN ACT relating to elementary literacy and making an appropriation therefor.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 171 to establish the Kids Love to Read Program; specify the program is for children in kindergarten through grade 5; require books to be sent to children's homes; require the Department for Libraries and Archives to promulgate administrative regulations necessary to administer the program; appropriate $500,000 in fiscal year 2027-2028 to support the program; APPROPRIATION.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 408: AN ACT relating to patient-directed care at the end of life.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 311 to define terms; establish a qualified terminally ill patient's right to voluntarily request medication to self-administer to cause death; establish conditions required to make request; permit patient to rescind request at any time; permit an attending provider to provide medication; establish requirements for attending providers to inform patients and document request; require disposal of unused medications; require report by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; establish provisions for contracts, insurance policies, and beneficiaries; prohibit applicability of provisions to ending a patient's life by lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia; establish that a health care provider is not required to provide medication to a qualified patient; permit health care providers to prohibit persons or entities from participating in a qualified patient's request during or on the premises of employment; prohibit reporting a health care provider to a licensing board for participating in a qualified patient's request; state that actions under this Act do not authorize lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia; establish that actions under this Act do not constitute suicide or homicide; create the offenses of forging or altering a request for end-of-life medications, concealing or destroying a rescession of a request for end-of-life medication, and coercing or exerting undue influence on a terminally ill patient to request or utilize end-of-life medications; create a form for a qualified patient to make a request; create a form for an interpreter for a qualified patient making a request; create a new section of Subtitle 12 of KRS Chapter 304 to establish provisions for insurance policies and beneficiaries of qualified patients; amend KRS 507.020 and 507.030 to create an affirmative defense to a charge of murder and manslaughter in the first degree; provide that the Act may be cited Rena's Law.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Kentucky · Senate Jan 23, 2026

SB 121: AN ACT relating to education.

Amend KRS 156.161 to provide that certain school district facility project waivers shall not expire unless the Kentucky Board of Education provides for expiration when granting the waiver; require the state board to consider waivers no later than 45 calendar days after submission; amend KRS 157.360 to provide for a temporary exemption from maximum class sizes; require the state board to review the exemption issued by the Kentucky Department of Education within 45 days; amend KRS 156.029 to rotate nonvoting member appointments by Supreme Court district instead of congressional district; provide that the nonvoting student member on the state board shall be classified as a sophomore at the time of appointment; amend KRS 161.028 to require the Education Professional Standards Board to use a portion of the proceeds of certification fees towards the Kentucky Educator Placement Service System; amend KRS 156.160, 156.670, 157.615, and 157.655 to remove references to the Council for Education Technology and place the council's responsibilities with the Kentucky Department of Education; amend KRS 156.802 to direct that the department have administrative responsibility for the Kentucky FFA Leadership Training Center; repeal KRS 156.660, relating to definitions, and 156.690, relating to teachers' computer purchase system; provide procedures for the initial appointment of the nonvoting teacher and student representatives representing Supreme Court districts.

passed · Kentucky · Senate Jan 23, 2026

SR 40: A RESOLUTION designating February 1 to 7, 2026, as Burn Awareness Week in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and recognizing University of Louisville Hospital's Burn Center.

Designate February 1 to 7, 2026, as Burn Awareness Week in the Commonwealth of Kentucky; recognize the University of Louisville Hospital's Burn Center.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 395: AN ACT relating to curriculum.

HB 395 requires all public middle and high schools in Kentucky to include specific instruction on the history of racism in their curriculum. This directly affects public school students and educators in grades 6-12, mandating coverage of topics like the transatlantic slave trade, Jim Crow laws, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and residential segregation. The bill specifies that this instruction must be integrated into existing courses and does not alter graduation requirements or assessment standards. It takes effect starting the 2025-2026 school year, with no mention of implementation costs or teacher training in the provided text.

Topics ✓ Education

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 411: AN ACT relating to the affordable housing trust fund.

Amend KRS 64.012 to increase and modify fees received by the county clerk; after January 1, 2027, allow recalculation using the CPI-U, with the fee increase going to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; apply to fees received by county clerks for services provided on or after August 1, 2026.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Housing

passed · Kentucky · Senate Jan 23, 2026

SR 25: A RESOLUTION honoring the service of Donna Sue Baker to her community and the Commonwealth.

This is a ceremonial resolution (SR 25), not a substantive bill. It formally honors Donna Sue Baker for her 20+ years as Senator Mitch McConnell's Eastern Kentucky Field Representative, representing 24 counties, and her extensive community volunteer work in Laurel County. The resolution recognizes her service through specific acknowledgments of her career, volunteer roles (like Chamber of Commerce leadership), and community awards. It has no policy impact or funding changes - it is a symbolic gesture of appreciation.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 390: AN ACT relating to education.

Amend KRS 161.030 to specify the Education Professional Standards Board has authority only over educators hired by public schools; amend KRS 199.894 to define "learning pod" and exclude learning pods from the definition of "child-care center" and "family child-care home"; amend KRS 194A.381 to exclude learning pods from certain youth camp requirements.

Topics ✓ Education

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 23, 2026

HB 402: AN ACT relating to workers' compensation.

Amend KRS 342.610 to remove the presumption that the use of an illegal substance prior to an accident caused the injury; provide that the use of an illegal substance shall be the proximate cause of the injury.

Topics ✗ Labor & Employment

Bill results