Amend KRS 164.507 to remove degree-seeking requirement for nonremarried spouse and children of a deceased veteran when utilizing educational benefits; require students to use federal grant funds toward tuition prior to the use of the waiver; amend KRS 164.515 to expand educational benefit to include service members with a disability rating of 50% or higher; remove degree-seeking requirement; require students to use federal grant funds toward tuition prior to the use of the waiver.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 205 to require the Department for Medicaid Services and any managed care organization with whom the department contracts for the delivery of Medicaid services to provide coverage for doula services; create a new section of KRS Chapter 194A to establish the Doula Advisory Council, council membership, and council duties; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to seek federal approval if they determine that such approval is necessary and comply with KRS 205.525.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 337 to require the Kentucky Department of Veterans' Affairs to create and distribute a veterans' benefits and services document to employers and require employers to keep copies of a veterans' benefits and services document in a conspicuous and accessible place.
HB 573 allows Kentucky government entities to fly the "Freedom Flag" (a flag designated by Virginia in 2018) alongside the U.S. and Kentucky state flags on September 11 each year, designated as Patriot Day. The bill directly affects state buildings, schools, and government offices that display flags on this date. It specifies that the Freedom Flag may be flown as a "Flag of Remembrance" for the September 11 attacks, without altering existing flag display practices or creating new obligations.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237 to define "safe storage depository" and require an owner or custodian of a firearm to store the firearm in a safe storage depository or render the firearm incapable of being fired using a gun-locking device; require an owner or other person lawfully in possession of a firearm or any person who sells ammunition to report the loss or theft of the firearm or ammunition to a law enforcement agency; amend KRS 237.990 to establish penalties for violations.
HB 561 designates June 12 of each year as "Women Veterans Appreciation Day" in Kentucky, honoring the service of women veterans. The bill requires the Governor to issue an annual proclamation encouraging Kentuckians to recognize their contributions and sacrifices. It directly affects Kentucky's approximately 27,000 women veterans by establishing a formal day of recognition within state law, though it does not create new benefits or funding. The bill is classified as an emergency to take effect immediately upon enactment.
HB 509 amends Kentucky law (KRS 156.690) to replace gendered language like "his or her" with gender-neutral terms in a statute governing a program for teachers to purchase computers. The bill directly affects the existing education statute, which currently describes a program where the Kentucky Board of Education helps certified teachers buy computers for personal use. The key provision changes the language to ensure inclusivity without altering the program's purpose or requirements. This is a procedural update to the statute's wording, not a substantive change to the computer program itself.
HB 512 amends Kentucky's criminal statute KRS 501.080 to update language from "his or her" to gender-neutral terms. This is a technical correction to modernize the statute's wording without changing the legal meaning or requirements for intoxication as a defense. The bill affects how the law is written but does not alter who can use intoxication as a defense or the conditions under which it applies. It directly affects the statute's text in criminal cases involving intoxication defenses. The bill is currently in committee review after its February 13, 2025, introduction.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 610 to define terms; prohibit a child from being interrogated using deceptive methods; create a new rule of evidence to limit the admissibility of statements made in the interrogation of a child in violation of statute.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 383 to provide automatic expungement of records upon dismissal of actions for forcible entry and detainer; amend KRS 383.250 to provide for sealing of records.
Amend KRS 216B.020 to exempt chemical dependency treatment facilities, chemical dependency services, and bed capacity of a chemical dependency treatment facility from obtaining a certificate of need; require applicable licensure.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 278 to establish the membership of the Public Service Commission; provide for the appointment, confirmation, and replacement of commissioners; establish the qualifications of the commissioners; set the terms and term limits for commissioners; amend KRS 278.040 to provide that the commission is an independent department of state government that is administratively attached to the Energy and Environment Cabinet only for the limited functions and purposes that the commission requests; allow the commission, in its sole discretion, to identify and determine the compensation for categories of its professional employees; prohibit the commission from being reorganized under KRS Chapter 12; amend KRS 278.060 to prohibit the immediate family members of commissioners from having any official relationship to any utility; allow for a commissioner or an immediate family member to have a pension or a retirement savings account with utility as long as no contributions have been made to it for at least one year prior to the commissioner's appointment; amend KRS 278.070 to allow the officer who appointed a commissioner to remove the commissioner for cause; amend KRS 278.120 to allow the commission to have sole discretion in fixing the compensation of the executive director; amend KRS 278.702, 64.640, and 160.617 to conform; repeal KRS 278.050, relating to membership of the Public Service Commission; require the Auditor of Public Accounts to make initial appointments to the commission on or before July 1, 2025, and provide for the staggering of the appointments; allow current members of the commission to serve out the remainders of their terms provided that they meet the qualification requirements of the Act; terminate the terms of current commissioners who do not meet the qualification requirements of the Act and provide for their replacement; direct the transfer of all records, files, or documents associated with functions previously performed by the Energy and Environment Cabinet to the Public Service Commission.
