Appropriate General Fund moneys from the budget reserve trust fund account in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 fiscal biennium to various state agencies for miscellaneous projects and programs; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.
This bill establishes Kentucky's official 2026-2028 Biennial Highway Construction Plan, authorizing specific road projects across the state. It grants the Transportation Cabinet authority to spend funds on these projects with flexibility for bid variations or unexpected circumstances. The bill also requires the Transportation Secretary to create a single document detailing both the 2026-2028 construction program and the 2028-2032 preconstruction program. An emergency declaration ensures the bill takes effect immediately upon becoming law, allowing the state to proceed with planned road improvements without delay.
This bill establishes the official list of county road projects included in Kentucky's Six-Year Road Plan. It works alongside two other bills to define which local road improvements will receive state funding assistance over the next six years. The resolution specifically outlines the County Priority Projects portion of the plan, determining which roads qualify for financial support from the Local Assistance Road Program. Once signed into law, it guides state transportation funding decisions for county road maintenance and construction projects.
This bill authorizes the Kentucky state government to pay specific outstanding claims that were previously approved but not paid due to expired or insufficient funding or missing procurement documents. It directly affects various businesses, healthcare providers, and state employees by providing funds from the general, transportation, and federal funds to settle these debts. The legislation includes a detailed list of individual vendors and employees along with exact payment amounts, ranging from small fees to larger contracts totaling tens of thousands of dollars. By declaring an emergency, the bill allows for immediate payment of these claims without waiting for the regular legislative budget cycle.
This bill designates a specific section of United States Route 60A in Jefferson County as the Officer Peter Grignon Memorial Highway to honor a police officer who died in the line of duty. The legislation directs the Transportation Cabinet to officially name the road segment between Kentucky Routes 61 and 864 and requires the installation of appropriate signage within 30 days of the bill's effective date. The resolution commemorates Officer Peter Grignon, who was shot while responding to a potential hit-and-run accident in 2005 and whose sacrifice helped establish the Louisville Metro Police Foundation. This is a commemorative measure that formally recognizes the officer's service through a permanent road naming designation rather than implementing new policy or funding requirements.
Amend KRS 68.010, relating to the office of county treasurer, to time the appointment of county treasurer to the election of county officer's; require the county treasurer's bond be corporate surety; stipulate that an acting county treasurer may be appointed for reason of the treasurer's absence; provide if the county treasurer is unable to perform the duties of the office for 5 days the fiscal court may appoint an acting county treasurer; set a time period of 60 days or upon the conclusion of the county treasurer's term, whichever occurs first, to fill the position of county treasurer, and allow the appointment of a deputy county treasurer and outline the authority, oath, and bond requirements of the position.
Amend KRS 382.850 to require a condemnor in an eminent domain action involving property subject to a conservation easement to provide a written report to the court justifying the condemnation due to lack of feasible alternative locations; allow the court to dismiss the condemnation action if the lack of alternative locations is not demonstrated; amend KRS 262.850 to require a condemnor in an eminent domain action involving property located in an agricultural district to provide a written report to the court justifying the condemnation due to lack of feasible alternative locations; allow the court to dismiss the condemnation action if the lack of alternative locations is not demonstrated; amend KRS 416.550 prohibit a condemnor from engaging in false, intimidating, or misleading negotiation tactics; allow a property owner of potentially condemned property to obtain an independent appraisal within 60 days of an initial offer for purchase; reduce the independent appraisal period to 30 days if the property owner refuses the initial offer for purchase; prohibit the filing of a condemnation action within the independent appraisal period; establish a penalty of dismissal of the condemnation action, payment of attorney's fees, and a bar on future condemnation actions for violations; amend KRS 416.560 to specify requirements for contents of notice of entry to owners of property; establish penalty for failure to give notice; require condemnor to give notice of a material change to the project; require condemnor to use only current data for surveys; provide a copy of a survey to the property owner within 15 days of completion; allow the property owner to petition a local legislative body for a public meeting regarding the proposed taking; amend KRS 416.610 to require the condemnor to take measures to ensure access to property during on-site work on a project where only a portion of the property has been condemned; amend KRS 416.660 to include preexisting improvements on property and the value of agricultural improvements in the determination of fair market value of condemned property; amend KRS 416.570, 416.600, 416.630, 416.640, and 416.650 to conform; EMERGENCY.
SB 185 requires all branches of Kentucky government (executive, legislative, judicial) to include supporting budget documents when preparing their budget recommendations for the General Assembly. The bill amends Kentucky Revised Statute 48.030 to mandate that branches provide these supporting materials alongside their budget statements and estimates. This change applies to the budget preparation process before submissions to the legislature, ensuring more detailed documentation accompanies each branch's financial requests. The bill is currently in the Senate Committee on Committees following its introduction on February 11, 2026.
Amend KRS 426.522 to change the auctioneer's fee structure for judicial sales; allow advertising to be at the discretion of the master commissioner and auctioneer; allow real property to be sold at another location in the county in which the property is located if the auctioneer determines that is the best method to conduct the sale; require nonforeclosure sales to be conducted in a manner agreed to by the master commissioner or plaintiff and the auctioneer.
Amend KRS 154.14-020, relating to the GRANT Program, to include the United States Department of Justice and the United States Department of Defense as eligible agencies; amend KRS 154.14-030 to push the sunset date of the program from December 31, 2026, to December 31, 2028; amend KRS 154.14-040 to increase the possible extension of a project from 6 months to 12 months; amend KRS 154.14-070 to make technical changes; EMERGENCY.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 179 to define "chip seal"; require the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid to establish a pilot project to evaluate the efficacy of chip seal pavement on gravel county roads; start the pilot program on July 1, 2026, and end it on June 30, 2030; limit the amount of county road aid funds a county may use to chip seal county roads in any year; require the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid to report annually to the Legislative Research Commission on the use of chip seal pavement on gravel county roads; set forth required elements of the report: EFFECTIVE July 1, 2026; EMERGENCY.
Amend KRS 160.145, relating to unauthorized electronic communicating in schools, to expand existing definitions and define "private electronic communication," "qualified school volunteer," and "commercial, nonprofit, or local government affiliation"; limit the scope of unauthorized electronic communication to private electronic communication, and exclude designated types of communication from the scope of the requirement to obtain written parental consent prior to communicating outside of the traceable communication system; include designated Kentucky Department of Education and educational cooperative employees assigned to a school district to the scope of the requirement to obtain written consent; limit the scope of school volunteers subject to this section to qualified school volunteers; specify that the requirement to obtain written parental consent only applies to students enrolled within the same school district as the school district employee or qualified school volunteer; allow a local school district more flexibility in disciplinary actions arising from a violation of this section; allow a written parental consent form to designate more than 1 school district employee or qualified school volunteer; provide that the written consent may be revoked by the parent who filed the consent; require notice of the revocation to be sent to the identified school district employee or qualified school volunteer; prohibit a school or school district from refusing to accept parental consent forms; prohibit requiring parental consent forms under this section as a requirement for a student to participate in an academic, athletic, or extracurricular opportunity; provide an emergency exception to allow a school district employee or qualified school volunteer to communicate electronically without prior written parental consent if the individual discloses the communication after the fact; provide exceptions to allow a school district employee or qualified school volunteer to communicate electronically without prior written parental consent during and in direct relation to a fieldtrip or work-based learning opportunity; provide exceptions to permit a school district employee or qualified school volunteer to communicate electronically without prior written parental consent if the communication is directly related to a commercial, nonprofit, or local government affiliation that has been previously disclosed; permit school district employees to notify a school district of a commercial, nonprofit, or local government affiliation; require reasonable belief to trigger a duty to report unauthorized electronic communication; require parental notification for all material phases of an investigation of or disciplinary actions arising from unauthorized electronic communication with students; permit a school district to reconsider allowing previously prohibited volunteers; EMERGENCY.
