This bill amends Kentucky law to improve transparency for regional wastewater commissions by requiring them to publicly display financial records on a searchable website. The updated records must include details such as payee names, expenditure amounts, budget information, and audit results, with updates required at least monthly and retention for three years. Additionally, the bill mandates that these commissions register with the Department for Local Government and comply with existing state financial reporting requirements. This change directly affects regional wastewater commissions and their commissioners, who must now make their spending information more accessible to the public.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 138 to define terms; impose a 4% state retail regulatory license fee on all alcoholic beverage and cannabis-infused beverage sales to consumers by alcoholic beverage retailers; establish procedures and duties of retailers; impose state wholesale regulatory license fees on alcoholic beverages and cannabis-infused beverages and state retail regulatory license fees on kratom, hemp-derived, and cannabinoid products; set out regulatory license fee rates, deductions for timely filing and payment, and licensee duties; amend KRS 211.285 to fund the alcohol wellness and responsibility education fund with 0.5% of the collected state retail regulatory license fees; create a new section of KRS Chapter 217 to establish Department for Public Health laboratory and testing standards and procedures; amend KRS 241.010 to define "state or national conference" and redefine "alcoholic beverages"; amend KRS 241.069 to delete outdated language; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 243 to establish state license fees for new and existing license types; limit licensee discipline to only the specific license in question; establish a souvenir package license for distillers; authorize distillers, small farm wineries, and microbreweries to allow leashed dogs on their premises; allow caterers and special temporary auction licensees at state and national conferences; modify the privileges for various licensees, including a wholesaler, Class B distiller, and special agent or solicitor; add references to the new tax structure and statutes; modify requirements for public notice of a license application; sunset existing excise, wholesale, and other taxes on July 1, 2027, as they relate to alcoholic beverages and cannabis-infused beverages; repeal and reenact KRS 243.075, relating to local regulatory license fees, to allow any moist or wet city or county to impose the fee; authorize audits of each city's or county's regulatory license fee fund by the Auditor of Public Accounts for the most recent 10 years; describe audit penalties for cities and counties that fail to substantially comply; direct cities and counties to reduce the regulatory license fee to 3% within 4 years; limit future cities and counties to a 1% regulatory license fee; amend KRS 244.080 to permanently prohibit a retail license from using a premises if the licensee sold to minors at that premises 3 or more times in 24 months; amend KRS 244.585 to establish limitations for agreements between distributors and breweries or microbreweries; amend KRS 131.250, 139.010, 243.045, 243.430, 243.790, 243.850, and 243.990 to conform; EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to establish the calendar and procedures for a district superintendent and local board of education to adopt a school district budget; require that a budget must include a reserve of not less than 2%; amend KRS 156.200 to authorize the commissioner of education to examine the expenditures, business methods, accounts, financial accounts, and educational records of a local board of education to enforce state law, and to take certain actions upon reason to suspect waste, fraud, fiscal mismanagement, or inaccurate accounts; establish parameters for the commissioner of education when considering an examination; authorize the commissioner of education to require additional training or financial reports to correct issues; provide for oversight by the Kentucky Board of Education; amend KRS 157.440, 160.390, 160.460, 160.470, 160.473, 160.530, 160.550, and 424.250 to conform.
Urge the Legislative Research Commission to direct the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee to investigate the misuse of state resources in the executive branch and provide a report of its findings by December 1, 2026, to the Commission.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 6 to define "fiscal note"; require fiscal notes to be filed with the clerk in the chamber of the General Assembly for each bill or resolution that is filed; establish requirements related to fiscal notes for the director of the Legislative Research Commission; require fiscal notes to contain specific information; amend KRS 6.950, 6.955, 6.960, 6.965, and 6.970 to rename fiscal note to local government mandate statement; amend KRS 13A.190, 13A.230, 13A.250, 13A.280, and 13A.320 to rename fiscal note to fiscal note on state and local government.
Amend KRS 141.383 and 154.61-020 to allow that any unallocated portion of the $75 million credit cap be carried forward for utilization in subsequent calendar years for high-impact motion pictures or entertainment productions; amend KRS 154.12-280 to require the Kentucky Film Office to review applications, notify applicants of additional information needed, and forward applications to the Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Film Leadership Council; amend KRS 154.12-282 to update functions and purposes of the Kentucky Film Leadership Council; amend KRS 154.61-010 to define terms and revise definitions; provide that a motion picture or entertainment production eligible for credit includes a video game, music video, or commercial; amend KRS 154.61-020 to increase the minimum amount of qualifying expenditures and qualifying payroll expenditures that must be expended by an approved company to qualify for tax incentives; require, in addition to current reports, the submission of a certified audit by an approved company within 180 days of completion of production.
Amend KRS 139.340 to redefine the sales and use tax nexus standard for remote retailers and marketplace providers to include a sales volume threshold only; amend KRS 131.383 and 141.044 to allow the Department of Revenue to refund an estimated tax payment in the event the payment was submitted to the department in error; amend KRS 96.895 to require reporting by the Department for Local Government to the Legislative Research Commission related to the Tennessee Valley Act in lieu of tax payments; amend KRS 154.30-030 to sunset the tax increment financing state-participation programs; allow TIF projects approved prior to this date to continue to be governed in accordance with the tax incentive agreement's terms and conditions; amend KRS 141.010, 141.019, and 141.039 to conform to the Internal Revenue Code in effect on December 31, 2025, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026; decouple from certain IRC provisions; delay the deferred tax deduction until January 1, 2028; create a new section of KRS Chapter 138 to define terms and impose an excise tax on fantasy contests; set requirements for administering the tax; amend KRS 139.010 to define "data brokering services"; amend KRS 139.200 to impose sales and use taxes on pay phones and data brokering services; amend KRS 139.202 to exempt from the tax pre-existing lease or rental agreements; amend KRS 224.50-868 to extend the fee currently imposed for each new motor vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer tire sold in Kentucky to July 1, 2028; amend KRS 224.50-872 to require reporting by the Energy and Environment Cabinet to the Legislative Research Commission on the waste tire trust fund; amend KRS 45.760 and 45.770 to limit the transfer of moneys for a capital project from 15% to 5%; amend KRS 45.345 and create new sections of KRS Chapters 65, 160, and 367 to define terms and require rounding of cash transactions to the nearest $.05 increment; amend KRS 139.210 to prohibit retailers from being relieved of their responsibility to collect the correct amount of sales tax regardless of the purchaser' s payment method; create new sections of KRS Chapter 65 in relation to regional industrial development districts to prioritize the purposes for organizing the district; exclude cities and school occupational license taxes from the single occupational license tax imposition restriction; require the fee to expire the earlier of date bonds issued are retired or 20 years; require notification to all local governments with territory in the boundaries of the multicounty region before interlocal agreement is executed; prohibit inclusion of any portion of a city that has not consented to participation; require reporting to the Department for Local Government and the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 143A.030 to tax fluorspar as a natural resource; amend KRS 143A.010 to add fluorspar to the definition of "natural resources"; amend KRS 140.160, relating to the inheritance and estate taxes, to extend the deadline for filing a tax return from 18 months to 36 months for deaths on or after July 1, 2026; amend KRS 140.210 to correspondingly extend the due date for payment of tax and discount; amend KRS 134.490 to modify notification requirements for third-party purchasers of delinquent taxes; amend KRS 138.130 to define "premium cigar," and amend "vending machine operator" to include cigarettes, tobacco products, vapor products, or a combination thereof; amend KRS 138.140 to tax premium cigars at the rate of 15% of the actual price up to 60 cents per cigar; require an annual CPI adjustment for the maximum rate and publication on the Department of Revenue's website; amend KRS 138.195 to require a vending machine operator to secure a license for dispensing tobacco products and vapor products in vending machines; amend KRS 141.0205 to order income tax credits; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on certain credits to the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 160.613 to impose the utility gross receipts license tax on the furnishing of pay phone service; amend KRS 139.538 to sunset sales and use tax exemptions for filming and producing motion pictures in this state July 1, 2028; amend KRS 132.096, 139.480, 139.4802, 139.481, 141.0401, 141.206 to delete tax exemptions for property certified as a fluidized bed energy production facility; amend KRS 139.481 to extend the agricultural exemption license number for sales and use taxes to 6 months; amend KRS 154.20-236 to end further applications for the Kentucky Angel Investment ; amend KRS 141.065 to sunset the credit for hiring the unemployed as of January 1, 2028; amend KRS 141.412 to sunset the qualified farming operation credit as of January 1, 2028; amend KRS 151B.402 to sunset the employer High School Equivalency Diploma program incentive credit as of January 1, 2028; amend KRS 171.396 to allocate 15% of the certified rehabilitation credit cap to owner-occupied residential property and 85% to all other property; define "commercial residential property" and "median family income"; amend KRS 171.397 to sunset the current application process; create a new section of KRS Chapter 171 to establish 2 application rounds by which the certified rehabilitation credit may be applied for; allow credit based on 30% of the qualified rehabilitation expenses if the commercial residential property is affordable to households earning 80% of the median family income; amend KRS 441.135 to require compensation received from disposal of property that was purchased from a jail canteen account to be returned to the canteen account; require reporting of proceeds by the jailer; create a new section of KRS Chapter 224A to require an administrative fee of 0.5% to be paid for each project funded by the Infrastructure for Economic Development Fund for Coal-Producing Counties and the Infrastructure for Economic Development Fund for Tobacco Counties; amend KRS 45.050 require audit expenses of audits with federal funds to be paid by the agency being audited; amend KRS 18A.080 Executive branch agencies assessed for the operation of the Personnel Board; require the amount to be determined and collected by Finance and Administration Cabinet based on the number of full-time employees of each agency on July 1; amend KRS 151.723 to prohibit state and local taxes on water withdrawal fees; amend KRS 304.17B-021 to require insurance premium and retaliatory taxes for accident and health and insurance premiums to be deposited into the general fund; amend KRS 11.068 to require the Office of State Budget Director to publish on its website by September 1 of each year an estimate of general fund and road fund revenue loss from tax expenditures; create a new section of KRS Chapter 16 to require billing of Kentucky State Police security services provided to nonstate-operated events; create a new section of KRS Chapter 138 to impose a new excise tax on predictive markets; define terms; amend KRS 160.470 to increase the publication requirements when a local board of education proposes to levy a general tax rate; amend KRS 132.017 to require the petition committee challenge information be published on the home page of the county clerk's website; amend KRS 160.473 to prohibit a personal property tax rate levied by a local board of education to be higher than the rate levied on January 1, 2026; amend KRS 160.607 to prohibit an occupational license tax from being imposed in a school district that does not currently have one imposed as of January 1, 2026; prohibit an occupational license tax rate levied for a school district to increase on or after January 1, 2026; amend KRS 160.613 to prohibit a utility gross receipts license tax from being imposed in a school district that does not currently have one imposed; prohibit a utility gross receipts license tax rate from increasing on or after January 1, 2026; amend KRS 11A.211 to increase the registration fee for each employer of one or more executive agency lobbyist and each real party in interest from $500 to $750; amend KRS 278.010 to define âmunicipal interlocal gas utilityâ; exempt âmunicipal interlocal gas utilityâ from the definition of âutilityâ; amend KRS 65.230 to define âmunicipal interlocal gas utilityâ; create a new section of KRS 65.210 to 65.300 to provide that municipal interlocal gas utilities shall be considered special purpose governmental entities and pay an annual fee to the Department for Local Government; amend KRS 65.240 to allow public agencies to enter into agreements to acquire natural gas facilities outside of its municipal jurisdictional boundaries; amend KRS 96.5375 to allow municipal interlocal gas utilities to extend or construct natural gas systems outside the constituents cityâs boundaries; define municipal interlocal gas utility; allow for the selling or disposal of real property purchased with capital construction funds or equipment or state funds; require reporting of property sold or disposed; require school districts receiving urgent needs school allotments to reimburse the Commonwealth; amend various other sections to conform; make technical changes; repeal KRS 160.621, 160.625, 160.627, 160.633, 160.472, 211.390, and 211.392; EFFECTIVE, in part, August 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027; RETROACTIVE, in part to January 1, 2020; EMERGENCY.
HB 674 makes technical corrections to Kentucky's budget submission rules for government branches. It requires all budget recommendations to include specific dollar amounts for every item, banning vague terms like "necessary government expense" without them. The bill also mandates that when a fund's entire proceeds are assigned to specific budget units, agencies must provide annual revenue estimates for the current and prior two fiscal bienniums. This affects all state government branches submitting budget recommendations to the General Assembly. The changes clarify procedural requirements without altering funding levels or policy substance.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 138 to define terms; impose a 4% state retail regulatory license fee on all alcoholic beverage sales to consumers by alcoholic beverage retailers; establish procedures and duties of retailers; establish KRS Chapter 243A and create new sections thereof to impose state wholesale regulatory license fees on alcoholic beverages, state retail regulatory license fees on kratom, hemp-derived, and cannabinoid products, and penalties for violations; set out regulatory license fee rates, deductions for timely filing and payment, and licensee duties; amend KRS 211.285 to fund the alcohol wellness and responsibility education fund with 0.5% of the collected state retail regulatory license fees; amend KRS 241.010 to define "state or national conference" and redefine "alcoholic beverages"; amend KRS 241.069 to delete outdated language; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 243 to establish state license fees for new and existing license types; limit licensee discipline to only the specific license in question; establish a souvenir package license for distillers; authorize distillers, small farm wineries, and microbreweries to allow leashed dogs on their premises; allow caterers and special temporary auction licensees at state and national conferences; modify the privileges for various licensees, including a limited golf course, wholesaler, Class B distiller, and special agent or solicitor; allow a qualified historic site to sell alcoholic beverages by the package under a limited nonquota package license; add references to the new tax structure and statutes; modify requirements for public notice of a license application; sunset existing excise, wholesale, and other taxes on July 1, 2027, as they relate to alcoholic beverages; repeal and reenact KRS 243.075, relating to local regulatory license fees, to allow any moist or wet city or county to impose the fee; authorize audits of each city's or county's regulatory license fee fund by the Auditor of Public Accounts for the most recent 10 years; describe audit penalties for cities and counties that fail to substantially comply; establish the regulatory license fee audit fund; direct cities and counties to reduce the regulatory license fee to 3% within 4 years; limit future cities and counties to a 1% regulatory license fee; amend KRS 244.080 to permanently prohibit a retail license from using a premises if the licensee sold to minors at that premises 3 or more times in 24 months; amend KRS 244.585 to establish limitations for agreements between distributors and breweries or microbreweries; amend KRS 131.250, 139.010, 243.045, 243.430, 243.790, 243.850, and 243.990 to conform; EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.
Amend KRS 205.5371 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to condition eligibility for enrollment or continued enrollment in the Medicaid program on demonstrated community engagement as required under federal law; require the cabinet to continue to condition eligibility on demonstrated community engagement if federal requirements are abolished, repealed, or otherwise diminished; amend KRS 205.6312 to require the cabinet and any contracted Medicaid managed care organization to impose cost-sharing requirements for Medicaid enrollees as required under federal law no later than January 1, 2027; establish minimum cost-sharing amounts; amend KRS 205.556 and 205.618 to conform; create new sections of KRS Chapter 205 to require the cabinet to, no later than July 1, 2026, begin conducting Medicaid eligibility redeterminations once every 6 months as required under federal law; require the cabinet to access and review certain data when conducting eligibility redeterminations; establish a process for identifying and, when appropriate, disenrolling individuals who are concurrently enrolled in the Kentucky Medicaid program and a Medicaid program administered by another state or states; amend KRS 205.178 to require the cabinet to receive and review information from the Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Department of Corrections, and the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation on at least a monthly basis, the Kentucky Department of Revenue on at least an annual basis, and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet on a quarterly basis; require the Department for Medicaid Services to enter into a data sharing agreement with the Social Security Administration to receive the full file of death information on at least a quarterly basis; prohibit the cabinet from seeking or requesting an exemption or waiver from federal community engagement requirements related to county unemployment rates unless specifically authorized by the General Assembly to do so; amend KRS 205.5375 to require hospitals to assist presumptively eligible individuals in submitting a full Medicaid application; amend KRS 205.200 to prohibit the cabinet from accepting self-attestation of income, residency, or age for the purpose of determining eligibility for Medicaid or compliance with community engagement requirements; create new sections of KRS Chapter 205 to establish Medicaid managed care organization contracting requirements and penalties; establish the Medicaid managed care organization compliance fund within the State Treasury; establish that amounts in the fund not appropriated at the close of a fiscal year shall not lapse and shall be carried forward; prohibit the expenditure of funds in the account unless expressly appropriated by the General Assembly; require the Department for Medicaid Services to submit recommendations for use of monies in the fund to the Legislative Research Commission by November 1, 2027, and November 1, of each following odd-numbered year; amend KRS 205.533 to require Medicaid managed care organizations to include certain information for providers on their websites; amend KRS 205.534 to require managed care organizations to allow providers 120 days to file an appeal or grievance related to a reduction of denial of a claim; establish penalties for a managed care organization's failure to ensure the timely disposition of any appeal or grievance; require payment of any amount owed to a provider following an appeal to be paid within 30 days; require payments made following an appeal to include interest and reasonable attorney's fees; establish standards and requirements for provider audits; require the inclusion of additional information in the monthly report filed by managed care organizations; require the Department for Medicaid Services to submit an annual report to the Legislative Research Commission related to Medicaid claims, appeals, and grievances; authorize the Department for Medicaid Services to promulgate administrative regulations; create new sections of KRS Chapter 205 to establish requirements for administration of the Medicaid-covered nonemergency medical transportation services; establish requirements for the administration of 1915(c) Medicaid waiver programs; require the Department for Medicaid Services to develop and implement a tiered priority system for assigning 1915(c) Medicaid waiver program slots by January 1, 2027; require administration of Medicaid-covered dental services by an administrative service organization; establish that the administrative service organization shall not assume any financial or insurance risk; limit compensation paid to the administrative service organization to no more than 2% of the actual Medicaid-covered dental service claims paid on an annual basis; require the Department for Medicaid Services to establish a Dental Program Advisory Panel; require the Department for Medicaid Services to employ a dental director; require the Department for Medicaid Services to submit an annual report on the Medicaid dental program to the Legislative Research Commission; create new sections of KRS 7A.270 to 7A.290 to establish legislative findings; require the cabinet to provide the Legislative Research Commission with access to all databases, datasets, electronic records, and files pertaining to any aspect of the Medicaid program determined by the director of the Legislative Research Commission to be necessary for the meaningful and effective discharge of the General Assembly's legislative duties; require the Legislative Research Commission, the University of Kentucky, and the University of Louisville to enter into a partnership to design and develop a web-based healthcare transparency dashboard; require the dashboard be overseen by a subcommittee of the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board; require the dashboard be maintained and operated by the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 7A.283 to allow the appointment of individuals who are not members of the board to advisory committees or subcommittees upon approval of the Legislative Research Commission; create a new section of KRS Chapter 43 to require the Auditor of Public Accounts to conduct an examination of the state's Medicaid program and Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program; establish audit reporting requirements; require the Auditor to conduct a review of the Medicaid program and Kentucky Children's Health Insurance Program to assess progress in addressing issues identified in previous examinations; establish that the Office of Program Performance in the Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman shall conduct all quality control reviews of the Department for Community Based Services for the Medicaid program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to comply with federal law and regulations; establish that no other state agency shall conduct these quality control reviews unless otherwise authorized by the General Assembly; amend KRS 7A.286 to establish that examinations conducted by the Auditor may constitute fulfillment of certain duties assigned to the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board at the discretion of the Legislative Review Commission; repeal KRS 205.515 related to administration of the Medicaid program; repeal KRS 311A.172 related to nonemergency medical transportation services; appropriate $500,000 in General Fund moneys in fiscal year 2025-2026 for staffing and technology needs in the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts; create a new section of KRS Chapter 6 to establish a Medicaid impact statement; require any legislation that makes or directs a change to the Medicaid program to be accompanied by a Medicaid impact statement; require certain factors to be analyzed and included in a Medicaid impact statement; require Medicaid impact statements to be completed by an economic consulting firm retained by the Legislative Research Commission; create a new section of KRS Chapter 13A to require the cabinet to provide a draft copy of certain administrative regulations related to the Medicaid program to the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board for comment at least 30 days before filing the administrative regulation with the regulations compiler; direct the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board to establish a Dental Services Transition Subcommittee; establish membership and duties of the Dental Services Subcommittee; require any contract between the Department for Medicaid Services and a Medicaid managed care organization entered into, renewed, or extended after the effective date of this Act to include notice to the managed care organization of the department's intent to transition to an administrative service organization delivery model for Medicaid-covered dental services; require the cabinet 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 in the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1); direct the Medicaid Oversight and Advisory Board to evaluate the nonemergency medical transportation program and submit findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 31, 2026; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.
