SB 212 amends Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 350.028 to replace gendered terms like "his or her" with gender-neutral language throughout the section. This change affects the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s statutory references when describing its authority to adopt regulations, issue orders, or impose penalties under environmental laws. The bill does not alter any environmental regulations, enforcement procedures, or substantive requirements - it only updates the language to be inclusive. The change applies specifically to Section 5 of KRS 350.028, which governs the cabinet’s regulatory powers under federal surface mining law.
Amend KRS 64.185 to establish a salary schedule for coroners and increase the minimum compensation for deputy coroners; require the Department for Local Government to certify the population group within the salary schedule and the years of service for each coroner assuming office; provide for adjustments to compensation for part-time employment and the consumer price index; allow additional compensation for training courses completed; require an annual cost of living adjustment to be granted to each deputy coroner's salary; require the fiscal court to pay for operational expenses, post-mortem bags, mortuary equipment, and training courses; EFFECTIVE January 4, 2027.
SB 259 streamlines environmental permitting for coal energy facilities and surface coal mining operations in Kentucky. It requires the Energy and Environment Cabinet to create a "one-stop shopping" process for permits and sets specific time limits for permit decisions (capping at existing administrative regulations). If the Cabinet misses these deadlines, applicants can pursue legal action or administrative hearings. The bill directly affects coal plant operators and mining companies seeking permits, changing how their applications are processed and resolved. (Note: The official abstract claiming only "grammatical correction" is inconsistent with the substantive procedural changes in the bill text.)
SB 215 amends a Kentucky law (KRS 154.26-050) to replace gendered language ("his or her") with gender-neutral terms in a provision protecting directors or officers of certain authorities from personal liability for authorized actions. This change directly affects officials serving on economic development authorities by updating the legal language governing their liability. The bill’s title references economic development, but the actual provision is a technical language update with no substantive policy changes to economic development programs. The bill was introduced in the Senate on February 18, 2025, and referred to the Economic Development committee for review.
Establish KRS Chapter 202D and create new sections thereof relating to crisis aversion and rights retention orders; provide limitations on interpretation of the Act; define terms; allow law enforcement officers to petition a court to issue orders when a respondent presents an immediate and present danger of causing serious physical injury to themselves or others through purchasing, possessing, or receiving a firearm; establish procedures for the filing, review, hearing, service of process, termination, or renewal of the petition and orders; provide court processes and evidentiary standards; allow entry of the orders into law enforcement systems; prescribe issuance and service procedures for additional proceedings; establish procedures for the surrender, storage, transfer, and return of firearms; establish penalties for violations; allow for recognition and enforcement of foreign orders; amend KRS 431.076 to conform.
SB 203 amends Kentucky statutes KRS 186.230 (county clerk duties) and KRS 186.120 (vehicle destruction refunds) to replace gendered terms like "he," "his," and "him" with gender-neutral language. This bill directly affects county clerks and the Transportation Cabinet by updating administrative language in existing vehicle registration and refund procedures. The changes are purely technical - no new requirements or policy shifts are introduced - and align the statutes with modern inclusive language standards. The bill does not alter vehicle regulations, fees, or refund processes.
SB 209 amends Kentucky law (KRS 205.170) to replace gendered language like "his or her" with gender-neutral terms in administrative procedures for the medical assistance program. This change directly affects how state officials, such as the secretary or their representatives, handle official duties like taking depositions or issuing subpoenas. The bill updates existing language in the statute to use inclusive phrasing, ensuring administrative processes do not reference gender. It does not alter eligibility, benefits, or access to medical assistance for residents.
Amend KRS 39G.030 to require the executive director of the Office of Homeland Security to submit monthly reports to the Legislative Research Commission and the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue.
Amend KRS 167.017 to set timelines for appointment of a search committee for the superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Deaf and appointment of the superintendent; require prioritization of candidates that will be locally available and commit to full-time duties as superintendent; preclude Department of Education employees or Board of Education members from being appointed as superintendent within one year of employment or membership.
Amend KRS 164.769 to remove repayment obligations from the teacher scholarship program; amend scholorship terms; provide that the scholarship amount shall not exceed the highest in-state tuition rate for a teacher preparation program at a Kentucky public university; amend KRS 164.786 to add eligibility for high school freshmen and sophomores to the dual credit scholarship program; require an approved dual credit course to be in the statewide general education core; permit up to 20 dual credit courses in a teacher and learning career pathway; provide that scholarships shall be awarded in order of application date; revise scholarship to allow two career and technical dual credit courses in each academic year of high school and two general education dual credit courses in the grades 11 and 12; amend KRS 164.787 to conform; repeal KRS 164.771, relating to the Teacher Recruitment Student Loan Forgiveness Pilot Program, effective June 30, 2026; provide that funds appropriated to the Teacher Recruitment Student Loan Forgiveness Pilot Program shall be disbursed through the teacher scholarship program on and after June 30, 2026; EFFECTIVE, in part, June 30, 2026.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 411 to establish a cause of action for a person who was wrongfully convicted of a felony in the Commonwealth; specify amounts of damages that may be awarded to claimants; establish the wrongful conviction compensation fund.
Amend KRS 342.0011, relating to workers' compensation, to expand the definition of " injury" to include a diagnosis of class 2 or greater post-traumatic stress disorder from a death or threatened death by direct exposure or witnessing a death, threat of death, or its immediate aftermath; define "medical professional"; amend KRS 342.020 to allow an administrative law judge to rely upon objective medical opinions or data when determining medical benefits; require a carrier or a third-party administrator to provide the guidelines relied upon to deny medical treatment and provide the guidelines to the employee and medical provider; provide that the requirement for the medical provider to submit a statement for services within 45 days after treatment does not apply until after the injured worker and the medical provider have received notification from the employer, insurer, or medical payment obligor that the claim has been determined to be compensable, or there has been an initial determination of compensability by an administrative law judge; require the notice of compensability to advise the injured worker and the medical provider of necessary information regarding the process by which and the location where statements for services shall be sent; entitle a prevailing employee in a medical fee dispute to attorney's fees and permit the employee to submit a bill of costs to be considered by the administrative law judge; amend KRS 342.033 to expand "physician" to include all "medical professionals"; amend KRS 342.035 to prohibit a medical provider from seeking payment when a statement for services was submitted more than 45 days after the treatment date; amend KRS 342.125 to allow an administrative law judge to reopen and review any award or order for post-award request for vocational rehabilitation; add entitlement to rehabilitation to reasons a claim may be reopened more than four years after the original award date; amend KRS 342.276 to require the commissioner to promulgate regulations requiring parties to demonstrate attempts have been made to reach a settlement; amend KRS 342.281 to provide that after an order on reconsideration has been rendered, subsequent petitions for reconsideration shall not toll the time to appeal unless the petition for reconsideration is filed to correct a patent error in the order; amend KRS 342.310 to provide that if an administrative law judge determines a medical dispute was filed frivolously or for the purpose of harassment by an employer, its third-party administrator, or the responsible insurer, attorney's fees may be assessed and the administrative law judge may fine the employer no less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000 to be paid to the employee; amend KRS 342.315 to add the University of Pikeville to the medical schools that the commissioner shall contract with to evaluate workers; delete "physicians" and insert "medical professionals" who are qualified as "B" readers in cases involving coal workers' pneumoconiosis and occupational hearing loss; add audiologists to the medical professionals who may perform hearing loss evaluations; amend KRS 342.316 to delete "physician" and insert "medical professional" as being required provide at least one written medical report in filing occupational disease claims; delete "physician" and insert "medical professional" as to interpret X-rays; delete "physicians" and insert "medical professional" as qualified as "B" readers in cases involving coal workers' pneumoconiosis; amend KRS 342.320 to delete "physicians" and insert "medical professionals" fees which are subject to approval of an administrative law judge; require the commissioner to promulgate administrative regulations establishing a schedule of fees that may be charged by court reporters for services rendered; amend KRS 342.730 to prohibit temporary total and permanent total disability from being offset by unemployment insurance benefits; amend KRS 342.794 to delete "physicians who are licensed in the Commonwealth" and insert "medical professionals" in the definitions of "B" reader list; delete "physician" and insert "medical professionals" in the '"B' reader" and "Board-certified pulmonary specialist"; amend KRS 342.122 to require the special fund assessment rate to be sufficient to finance the administration, operation, and expenditures when the claim liabilities are fully funded or prefunded; amend KRS 342.610 to include when a legal or illegal intoxicating substance is knowingly introduced into the employee's body, liability for compensation shall not apply to the injury, occupational disease, or death to the employee, if the intoxicating substance is determined to be the proximate cause of the employee's injury, occupational disease, or death.
