Kentucky Bills

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 25, 2026

HJR 72: A JOINT RESOLUTION establishing the Circular Economy and Advanced Recovery Advisory Working Group.

Establish the Circular Economy and Advanced Recovery Advisory Working Group attached to the Energy and Environment Cabinet until December 30, 2026, to study circular energy economy applications for the Commonwealth; direct the Governor to make appointments no later than 30 days after the effective date of the Resolution; authorize a minimum of 4 meetings of the working group; require the working group to submit a report, including findings and recommendations, to the Legislative Research Commission by December 30, 2026.

Topics ✓ Environment

in committee · Kentucky · Senate Feb 25, 2026

SB 207: AN ACT relating to duty-related disability benefits.

Amend KRS 61.621 to allow a member of a state-administered retirement system who works in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position and who receives a duty-related injury to be eligible for the same minimum retirement benefit provided to members who receive a hazardous disability retirement; amend KRS 61.702 to allow Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) members working in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position who receive a duty-related injury to receive the same health benefit provided to members who receive a hazardous disability retirement; amend KRS 78.5536 to allow County Employees Retirement System (CERS) members working in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position who receive a duty-related injury to receive the same health benefit provided to members who receive a hazardous disability retirement; allow certain persons whose last day of paid employment was on or after January 1, 2022, but prior to the effective date of the Act to apply for benefits; RETROACTIVE.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 25, 2026

HB 665: AN ACT relating to captive cervids.

Create a new section of KRS 150.725 to 150.735 to grant the Department of Agriculture the sole authority to administer and enforce permitting, holding, and fencing requirements of captive cervids in the event of a natural disaster or declared emergency.

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 25, 2026

HB 671: AN ACT relating to the protection of elected officials.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 16 to define "statewide-elected official"; require the Department of Kentucky State Police to investigate a credible threat to kill or seriously injure a statewide-elected official; require the department to make an assessment of the threat after conducting an investigation; require the department, after making a determination that a threat is a viable threat, to identify ways to mitigate or eliminate the threat.

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 25, 2026

HB 670: AN ACT relating to the display of the Ten Commandments in schools.

Repeal and reenact KRS 158.178 to require that a public school or public charter school conspicuously display a copy of the Ten Commandments accompanied by text providing historical context in each elementary and secondary classroom; set requirements for the display; require private donations to be used to acquire copies; require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations for enforcement; create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to require that public postsecondary education institutions conspicuously display a copy of the Ten Commandments in each classroom; set requirements for the display; require private donations to be used to acquire copies; require the Council on Postsecondary Education to promulgate administrative regulations for enforcement; amend KRS 158.195 to allow teachers and administrators to read or post the Ten Commandments in a public school building, classroom, or event.

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 24, 2026

HJR 71: A JOINT RESOLUTION designating the Private Andrew Kuracka Memorial Highway in Letcher County.

This resolution directs Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet to name a specific segment of Route 160 in Letcher County (from mile 19 to 20, near Premium) as the "Private Andrew Kuracka Memorial Highway" and install signage within 30 days. It honors Andrew Kuracka, a Letcher County native who served in the U.S. Army, worked as a truck driver for CF Trucking, and lived in the area before his death in 2022. The bill has no policy impact beyond the ceremonial naming and signage.

Topics ✓ Veterans

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 24, 2026

HB 653: AN ACT relating to civil rights.

Repeal and reenact KRS 344.010 to define terms; amend KRS 344.020, relating to the purpose of the Kentucky's civil rights chapter, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.025, 344.040, 344.050, 344.060, 344.070, and 344.080, relating to prohibited discrimination in various labor and employment practices, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 210.033, 344.030, 344.100 and 344.110 to conform; amend KRS 344.120 and 342.140, relating to prohibited discrimination in places of public accommodation and advertisements, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.170, 344.180, 344.190, 344.300, and 344.310, relating to the state and local human rights commissions, to include the prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the scope of their powers and duties; amend KRS 344.360, 344.370, 344.380, and 344.680, relating to prohibited discrimination in certain housing, real estate, and other financial transactions, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.367, relating to prohibited discrimination in certain insurance sales, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.400, relating to prohibited discrimination in certain credit transactions, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 18A.095 to conform; make technical corrections.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 24, 2026

HB 650: AN ACT relating to designating the official state musical composition.

HB 650 designates Shawn E. Okpebholo's orchestral suite "A Mighty Long Way" as Kentucky's official state musical composition. This procedural bill directly affects Kentucky by adding a new symbolic designation to the state's cultural heritage, following existing designations like the state song and state bluegrass song. The composition, commissioned for Lexington's 250th anniversary, uses four movements to reflect Kentucky's history, equestrian legacy, bourbon culture, racial legacy, and future aspirations. The bill requires no funding or implementation changes, solely establishing this official status through legislative action.

passed · Kentucky · House Feb 24, 2026

HB 168: AN ACT relating to boating under the influence.

Amend KRS 235.240 to require that when a motorboat or vessel is involved in an accident that results in a fatality or serious physical injury, the investigating law enforcement officer shall seek a search warrant for blood testing of the operator of the motorboat or vessel unless the test has already been done by consent; apply the penalties for driving under the influence to boating under the influence; require that in addition to all other penalties, a person found guilty of boating under the influence shall complete a safe-boating course and pay $100 to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to cover the costs of materials and instruction for the course; amend KRS 235.990 to conform; create a new section of KRS Chapter 15 to require a public safety telecommunicator who receives a report of an accident involving a motorboat or vessel on any waters of the Commonwealth to report the accident to the Kentucky State Police post covering where the accident occurred; provide that the Act may be cited as Keegan's Law.

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 23, 2026

HB 645: AN ACT relating to the Kentucky Tax Tribunal.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 142 to establish the Kentucky Tax Tribunal within the executive branch to be the single form for all tax litigation; establish judges, forums, processes, and methods of appeal; amend various statutes to conform; repeal sections of KRS Chapter 49 which constituted the Board of Tax Appeals; amend various sections of KRS to conform; EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2027, and in part, January 1, 2028.

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 23, 2026

HB 641: AN ACT relating to mental health chatbots.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 367 to protect consumers using mental health chatbots; define terms; establish prohibitions and exceptions for how suppliers are to handle individually identifiable health information; prohibit supplier from advertising a specific product or service unless that product or service is clearly and conspicuously disclosed; require supplier to clearly and conspicuously disclose that the mental health chatbot is artificial intelligence and provide when this disclosure should appear; provide an affirmative defense to liability and list requirements to achieve that defense; grant enforcement authority to the Attorney General; include severability provision; provide that the Act may be cited as the Artificial Intelligence in Mental Health Act.

Topics ✓ Healthcare ✓ Technology

in committee · Kentucky · House Feb 23, 2026

HB 646: AN ACT relating to the use of pharmaceuticals to intentionally terminate life.

Amend KRS 218A.100 to place an abortion-inducing drug in Schedule IV; amend KRS 218A.1413 to include an abortion-inducing drug in the offense of trafficking in a controlled substance in the second degree; amend KRS 218A.1415 to include an abortion-inducing drug in the offense of possession of a controlled substance in the first degree, except when in the possession of a pregnant woman for her own personal use; create a new section of KRS Chapter 218A to establish the offense of importing an abortion-inducing drug amend KRS 216.302 to include providing any drug, medication, or other substance as a means of assisting another person to commit or attempt to commit suicide; increase the penalty from a Class D felony to a Class B felony when the act is done knowingly by force or duress and from a Class C to a Class B felony when a person knowingly or intentionally provides the physical means or participates in a physical act by which another person commits or attempts suicide; create a new section of KRS 216.300 to 216.308 to establish the offense of medically assisted aid in dying as a Class B felony; amend KRS 216.308 to provide for the revocation of a license upon a criminal conviction or plea of guilty of assisted suicide or medically assisted aid in dying; create a new section of KRS Chapter 411 to provide a civil cause of action for any person who sustains damages resulting from receiving an abortion-inducing drug; create a new section of KRS Chapter 216B to require the distribution of specified information to any patient who a physician or other healthcare provider believes is experiencing a complication as a result of taking an abortion-inducing drug; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to make specified information available on its website.

Topics ✗ Criminal Justice ✗ Healthcare

Bill results