Create a new section of KRS Chapter 13A to nullify two administrative regulations relating to Medicaid services after those administrative regulations were found deficient during the 2024 legislative interim; EMERGENCY.
Allow local school districts to make up days missed by adding instructional time to student attendance days; notwithstand the requirement for the student instructional year to have 170 student attendance days; allow waiver of up to five student attendance days if a school district is unable to provide the required 1,062 hours of instruction by June 4, 2025; require local boards of education seeking to revise its calendar to submit a plan for approval to the Department of Education; allow instructional time made up and days waived to count as employee contracted days; EMERGENCY.
Direct the Historic Properties Advisory Commission to return to permanent display on the New State Capitol grounds the granite Ten Commandments monument given to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1971 by the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
Amend KRS 65.490 to remove the minimum square-mile requirement for a development area; amend KRS 65.494 to define "existing development area" and "new development area"; allow certain new development areas to be created within an existing development area.
SB 84 changes how Kentucky courts review decisions made by state agencies. It requires courts to review all legal questions "from scratch" (de novo) instead of deferring to agency interpretations of laws or regulations. Courts must also resolve any remaining ambiguities in favor of limiting agency authority. This directly affects state agencies (like health or education departments) and the courts that review their actions under Kentucky law. The bill modifies existing judicial review procedures without creating new agency policies.
SB 19 requires all Kentucky public elementary and secondary schools to observe a one- to two-minute silent reflection period at the start of each school day. This applies to every public school in the state, with participation strictly voluntary for students who may choose to meditate, pray, or engage in any silent activity. The policy mandates that teachers cannot instruct students on what to do during this time and requires schools to notify parents about the practice. It amends existing law to formalize this daily reflection period while maintaining neutrality about individual student choices.
Amend KRS 13A.010 to redefine "major economic impact"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 13A to establish limitations on the authority of an administrative body to promulgate administrative regulations; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 13A to conform; EMERGENCY; EFFECTIVE March 31, 2025.
Amend KRS 158.305 to require kindergarten students to be given a universal screener within the final 10 instructional days of the school year; beginning with the 2025-2026 school year require that a student remain in kindergarten for an additional year if he or she did not make adequate progress in kindergarten; prohibit a school from requiring a student who turns seven by August 1 to remain in kindergarten; require the school to reevaluate the reading improvement plan of any student remaining in kindergarten; allow a student provided an additional year in kindergarten to advance through the primary program when it is determined to be in the student's best interest.
SB 2 prohibits the use of public funds (state/local government money) in Kentucky correctional facilities for hormone treatments or surgeries related to gender reassignment. It defines "cosmetic service or elective procedure" to include cross-sex hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery, and bans funding for these except in rare cases where stopping treatment would cause immediate physical harm to an inmate. The law directly affects incarcerated individuals in Kentucky state and local correctional facilities by restricting access to these medical treatments using taxpayer money. It became law without the Governor's signature on March 27, 2025, after passing the legislature. The bill does not affect medical care unrelated to gender transition or private funding.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 176 to define terms relating to Local Assistance Road Program funding; require the Transportation Cabinet to establish procedures whereby cities and counties can submit projects for consideration in the Local Assistance Road Program; limit projects to those that are rehabilitative in nature and do not expand capacity or the design of the original road; limit state funding for any individual project to $500,000; require the cabinet to assign a score to each project evaluating the project's impact on safety, congestion, asset management, and cost; set deadlines for local government submission of projects and cabinet submission of projects with evaluative scores; establish a graduated local funding match requirement based on the county population ranking developed by the Cabinet for Economic Development under KRS 154.21-015; require the cabinet to report quarterly to the Legislative Research Commission on the activity relating to projects awarded grants; specify required elements of the report.
Amend KRS 164.360, 164.230, and 164.830 to require the boards of each state university and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to approve a performance and productivity evaluation process for presidents and all faculty members by January 1, 2026; require faculty evaluations to be completed at least once every four years; permit removal of certain employees for failure to meet performance and productivity requirements regardless of status; permit a board to delegate appointment and removal of faculty to the college or university president; require that each board of regents of the six state comprehensive universities appoint a university president; specify employment contract duration limits for employees of comprehensive universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
Amend KRS 342.213 to require the commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims to certify to the Workers' Compensation Nominating Committee that filing an administrative law judge position is necessary 150 days prior to the expiration of the term, add that the nominating committee may recommend the retention of a Workers' Compensation Board member and that each newly appointed member of the board shall not assume office until 30 days after confirmation; amend KRS 342.215 to provide that any board member appointed to fill an unexpired term shall assume office immediately for the remainder of the term; amend KRS 342.230 to provide that newly appointed administrative law judge shall not assume his or her office until June 1 following Senate confirmation and that any newly appointed administrative law judge appointed to fill any unexpired term shall immediately assume the office for the remainder of the term.
