Kentucky Bills

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 376: AN ACT relating to public postsecondary education institutions.

Amend KRS 164.020 to prohibit the Council on Postsecondary Education from raising tuition for a postsecondary education institution more than 5% a year for Kentucky resident students and 7% a year for non-Kentucky resident students; provide a 4-year tuition freeze for an enrolled Kentucky resident student; require an institution to notify a student before expiration of a tuition freeze; require any increase in tuition or fees to be approved before March 1; provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Student Tuition Protection and Accountability Act; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2029.

Topics ✓ Education

in committee · Kentucky · Senate Jan 22, 2026

SJR 51: A JOINT RESOLUTION applying for an Article V convention to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for federal government officials and members of Congress.

Apply to Congress under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the calling of a convention of the states limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraint on the federal government, limit the powers and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and members of Congress; direct the Secretary of State to send copies of the joint resolution to certain federal and state officials; state that the application should be continuing until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the states have made applications on the subject.

in committee · Kentucky · Senate Jan 22, 2026

SB 113: AN ACT relating to confiscated firearms.

Amend KRS 16.220, relating to firearms confiscated by law enforcement, to provide that firearms which were used in a homicide be destroyed; provide that firearms in the possession of the Department of Kentucky State Police may be destroyed if they have been defaced, are contaminated by hazardous material, unsafe to discharge, or upon request of an innocent owner; amend KRS 500.090, relating to forfeiture of property in criminal cases, to require local law enforcement agencies to destroy firearms that have been used in a homicide; require that all firearms that are transferred to the Department of Kentucky State Police not be intentionally damaged, modified, or disabled by the agency having custody, except as may be necessary for forensic testing; amend KRS 15.440 to require law enforcement agencies to have a written policy and procedures manual relating to the destruction of firearms used in homicides by January 1, 2027; amend KRS 15.512 to conform.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 377: AN ACT relating to utility disconnection protections.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 278 to create winter and summer temperature standards for disconnection of service by retail electric and gas utilities; allow resumption of disconnection only after a 72-hour period during which the temperature standard is exceeded; establish a certificate of need for persons who are at risk if utility service is disconnected that can be provided by a physician, physician assistant, community-based service organization, or faith-based service organization; prohibit disconnection of service on holidays and weekends, including Fridays, and before 8 a.m. and after 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday; allow for reconnection of service for partial payment with a payment plan; require waiver of termination fees, reconnection fees, and late fees for customers having obtained a certificate of need; require utility to make reasonable effort towards reestablishing service for a customer terminated after having obtained a certificate of need but no more than 24 hours after repayment is commenced; require separate, written notice 14 days prior to a disconnection to residential household; require that notice be distinguishable from the regular billing notices; establish font size and typeset for material to be printed on the notice; require a hardship reconnection order for persons at risk who have had service terminated by the utility after meeting specific repayment requirements; require the Public Service Commission to promulgate administrative regulations and issue an order setting forth any applicable rules and procedures.

Topics ✓ Healthcare ✓ Housing

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HR 38: A RESOLUTION recognizing September 17, 2026, as United States Constitution Day and June 1, 2026, as Kentucky Constitution Day in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

HR 38 is a resolution recognizing September 17, 2026, as United States Constitution Day and June 1, 2026, as Kentucky Constitution Day in Kentucky. It designates these specific dates for Kentuckians to reflect on their state and national constitutional heritage, without creating new laws or policies. The resolution honors the historical significance of the U.S. Constitution and Kentucky's constitutional history, including its 1792 founding. As a procedural resolution, it has no binding legal effect beyond the symbolic recognition.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 384: AN ACT relating to road fund receipts and declaring an emergency.

Amend KRS 177.320 and 177.365, relating to the allocation of a portion of motor fuel tax revenue to county road aid funds and municipal road aid funds, to change the revenue-sharing formula on the portion of revenue available for revenue sharing that exceeds $775 million in any fiscal year from 18.3% for counties and 7.7% for cities to 13% for each fund; make technical corrections; amend KRS 176.241, 178.010, 179.010, and 189.503 to conform; EMERGENCY.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Transportation

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 373: AN ACT relating to victims of human trafficking.

Amend KRS 529.160 to allow a person charged with or convicted of certain offenses to petition the court in which the charges were filed to vacate the judgment of conviction, expunge all records of the offense, or both, when the person's participation in the offense is determined to be the result of being a victim of human trafficking; restore voting rights to a person whose felony conviction is vacated; RETROACTIVE.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 378: AN ACT relating to the metering of electric service.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 278 to allow a customer of an electric retail electric supplier to opt out of having a smart meter installed if the customer owns the premises where the meter will be installed; require the retail electric supplier to give the customer 30 days' notice and give the customer 30 days to respond; prohibit the retail electric supplier for charging the customer for the installation of the meter or imposing a surcharge or fee for opting out of having the smart meter installed.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 382: AN ACT relating to swimming pools.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 198B to define terms; require the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction to permit a private swimming pool to be constructed without a barrier or enclosure if the swimming pool will be equipped with an approved safety pool cover; require the department to incorporate this provision into the Kentucky Building Code by administrative regulation; permit the legislative body of a local government to adopt more stringent local ordinances relating to approved safety pool covers, barriers, and enclosures.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 367: AN ACT relating to investor-owned electric utilities.

Amend KRS 278.160 to prohibit the collection of charges and fees for other governmental units by an investor-owned electric utility; prohibit the collection of certain surcharges and amounts that are not directly and exclusively related to the provision of electric service; require investor owned utilities to file new tariffs 90 days after December 30, 2026; EFFECTIVE December 30, 2026.

Topics ✓ Energy

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 386: AN ACT relating to coverage for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders screenings.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 205 to allow perinatal mood and anxiety disorders screenings of an accompanying parent or legal guardian to be claimed as a service for the child as part of the early and periodic diagnostic, screening, and treatment benefit; amend KRS 205.6497 to require the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program to cover perinatal mood and anxiety disorders screenings; create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to require a health plan to cover perinatal mood and anxiety disorders screenings as part of a well-child or well-baby visit; suspend the coverage requirement for qualified health plans if the requirement results, or would result, in the state being required to defray the cost under federal law; amend KRS 164.2871 and 18A.225 to require self-insured employer group health plans offered by a state postsecondary education institution and the state employee health plan to comply with the perinatal mood and anxiety disorders screenings coverage requirement; provide that various sections apply to health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to obtain federal approval if it is determined that such approval is necessary; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes in the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1); EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 22, 2026

HB 368: AN ACT relating to exempting the Commonwealth of Kentucky from the observance of daylight saving time.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 2 to exempt the Commonwealth of Kentucky from the advancement of time known as daylight saving time; require the Commonwealth of Kentucky and its political subdivisions to at all times observe the standard time of the United States; EFFECTIVE October 31, 2026.

Bill results