Kentucky Bills

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 16: AN ACT relating to Medicaid.

Amend KRS 205.520 to establish that it is the policy of the Commonwealth to provide Medicaid eligibility for all residents of the Commonwealth who may be eligible under federal law; amend KRS 205.6312 to require the establishment of cost-sharing requirements in the Medicaid program to the extent required under federal law; require the Governor to commission an independent third-party analysis of the current Medicaid expansion; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to seek federal approval if it is determined that such approval is necessary; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1).

Topics ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 20: AN ACT relating to coverage for reproductive health care.

Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to require health benefit plans to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization, intrauterine insemination, and any other assisted reproductive technology; establish minimum requirements for the coverage; suspend the coverage requirement's application to qualified health plans if the state would be required to make cost defrayal payments; amend KRS 304.17A-099 to conform; amend KRS 164.2871 and 18A.225 to require self-insured employer plans provided by the governing board of a state postsecondary education institution and the state employee health plan to comply with the assisted reproductive technology coverage requirement; direct that certain provisions apply to health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE January 1, 2027.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 14: AN ACT relating to the rural hospital operations and facilities revolving loan fund, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.

HB 14 allocates $355 million from the General Fund for fiscal year 2026-27 to a revolving loan fund providing competitive grants to rural hospitals in Kentucky. These grants help rural hospitals stabilize operations and modernize facilities by covering costs like equipment upgrades and operational expenses. The bill declares an emergency to allow immediate funding after passage, bypassing standard implementation timelines. This directly affects rural hospitals facing financial strain, offering targeted support to maintain critical healthcare access in underserved communities.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Healthcare

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 17: AN ACT relating to one-time payments to school district employees, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergency.

Direct local school districts to provide a one-time payment of $2,000 to certified employees, excluding superintendents, in each year of the 2026-2028 biennium, and a one-time payment of $1,000 to classified employees in each year of the 2026-2028 biennium; appropriate $153 million from the Budget Reserve Trust Fund account in each year of the 2026-2028 biennium to the Learning and Results Services budget unit to provide the payments; authorize the Department of Education to pro rata reduce payments if the appropriation is insufficient; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Education

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 18: AN ACT relating to the safe ownership of firearms.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 237 to define "ammunition" and "firearm"; require an owner or other person lawfully in possession of a firearm or any person who sells ammunition to report the loss or theft of the firearm or ammunition to a law enforcement agency; create a new section of KRS Chapter 411 to establish civil liability against a person who fails to report the loss or theft of a firearm if knowingly another person is injured by the use of the lost or stolen firearm; establish civil liability against a person who furnishes a firearm to a minor if the minor causes the injury or death of another by the use of the firearm; amend KRS 411.155 to conform.

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 24: AN ACT relating to employment schedules.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 337 to require employers to give employees a good-faith estimate of the employee's work schedule, maintain a voluntary standby list of employees who wish to work additional hours, post weekly schedules at least 7 days in advance, and provide certain rest periods for employees from being scheduled; allow employees to identify time limitations for scheduling work hours; require compensation for employer changes to the schedule; set forth unlawful practices; amend KRS 337.990 to establish a penalty for violations.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 29: AN ACT relating to leave from employment.

Amend KRS 337.415 to define "crime," "immediate family," and "victim"; prohibit employers from discharging or retaliating against an employee who is a crime victim when the employee takes leave to attend proceedings associated with the prosecution of the crime; require an employee to give an employer reasonable notice to take leave when practicable; provide guidelines for use of paid leave; require the employer to maintain confidentiality of records and communication with employee crime victim; create a private right of action for improper discharge, discrimination, retaliation, or failure to maintain confidentiality; amend KRS 337.990 to establish penalties for violations by an employer.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice ✓ Labor & Employment

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 28: AN ACT relating to education opportunity accounts.

HB 28 repeals Kentucky's Education Opportunity Account Program by removing its associated tax credit (KRS 141.522) from the state's tax code. This bill eliminates the specific tax credit that allowed taxpayers to claim benefits under the Education Opportunity Account Program. The change directly affects individuals or entities that previously claimed this credit, discontinuing the program's tax incentive component. The bill focuses solely on removing this provision from existing tax credit ordering rules, with no new program or funding established.

Topics ✗ Budget & Taxes ✗ Education

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 31: AN ACT relating to the purchase of single-family homes.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 367 to define terms; prohibit persons who own 50 or more single-family rental homes in the Commonwealth of Kentucky from purchasing additional single-family homes in the Commonwealth of Kentucky except for use by the person as a residence; limit the purchase restriction to single-family homes that have been advertised for sale for less than 90 days or less than 30 days if the purchaser qualifies as a small business; exempt nonprofit corporations from prohibition on the purchase of single-family homes; provide that a violation is also a violation of KRS 367.170; provide for joinder of certain parties with joint and several liability in enforcement actions.

Topics ✓ Housing

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 33: AN ACT relating to data privacy.

Amend KRS 367.3611 to define "automated-decision system," "base price," "individualized data," and "surveillance pricing"; amend KRS 367.3617 to prohibit any controller under the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act from engaging in surveillance pricing, or offering, setting, or displaying a price for a good or service to a consumer using an automated-decision system that is based, in whole or in part, on individualized data; provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Price Fairness Act.

Topics ✓ Technology

in committee · Kentucky · House Jan 13, 2026

HB 21: AN ACT relating to mental health coverage in connection with pregnancy.

Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to define terms; require health benefit plans to provide coverage for counseling interventions for pregnant and postpartum persons at increased risk of perinatal depression, including persons who have suffered a miscarriage or stillbirth; suspend the coverage requirement's application to qualified health plans if the state would be required to make cost defrayal payments; amend KRS 304.17A-099 to conform; amend KRS 205.522, 205.6485, 164.2871, and 18A.225 to require Medicaid, the Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program, self-insured employer plans provided by the governing board of a state postsecondary education institution, and the state employee health plan to comply with the coverage requirement for counseling interventions; provide that certain provisions apply to health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or Department for Medicaid Services to obtain federal approval if it is determined that such approval is necessary and comply with notice requirements; 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 · Senate Jan 13, 2026

SB 82: AN ACT relating to administrative regulations for medications for substance use disorder and declaring an emergency.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 13A to find 201 KAR 9:270 and 201 KAR 20:065 deficient and void; create new sections of KRS Chapters 311, 313, 314, and 315 to establish that the State Board of Medical Licensure, Board of Dentistry, Kentucky Board of Nursing, and Kentucky Board of Pharmacy shall not promulgate administrative regulations that restrict or limit the prescribing, dispensing, or administering of buprenorphine-mono-product, buprenorphine-combined-with-naloxone, or any other Schedule III, IV, or V medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of a substance use disorder; EMERGENCY.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

Bill results