This bill creates a new criminal offense in Kentucky for the malicious distribution of images without consent, making it a Class B misdemeanor. It applies to individuals who intentionally share images online with the intent to sexually arouse others, degrade or exploit the person depicted, or invite comments involving sexual or abusive fantasies. The law specifically excludes internet service providers and telecommunications companies from liability when they host content provided by others. Importantly, a conviction under this new law would not require the offender to register as a sex offender. Consent to create an image does not automatically mean consent to distribute it, and the distribution must cause harm to a reasonable person to be considered a crime.
This bill amends Kentucky law to update technical requirements and deadlines for the Finance and Administration Cabinet's public website displaying executive branch spending records. It requires the website to show detailed financial information including payee names, expenditure categories, descriptions, amounts, and links to supporting documents, with data updated weekly from state accounting systems. The legislation also mandates that all state branches share website development software and data to reduce costs and improve public access to government records. Additionally, it clarifies that the Finance and Administration Cabinet maintains exclusive control over executive branch records regardless of where the information is physically stored.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms, restrict digital instruction time for students in kindergarten to grade 5 to 45 minutes per student per day; exclude designated uses of technology from the restriction; direct in-person elementary schools to require at least 70% of student assignments to be written; require daily access to traditional learning material; require incorporation of physical manipulatives into math and science instruction; prohibit replacing primary instruction with instructional technology for designated elementary subjects; prohibit homework that requires instructional technology; prohibit requiring students to carry instructional technology to and from school daily; prohibit replacing library time with digital reading labs; require each school district to adopt a written technology-use policy; require school districts to publish an annual technology use report that includes designated items to its website.
Create a new section of KRS 42.720 to 42.742 to define terms; establish the Kentucky Health Command in the Commonwealth Office of Technology; require the Kentucky Health Command to contract with a private sector entity to develop and provide standards and qualifications for the utilization of an artificial intelligence-assited virtual health platform; establish a process by which rural health care providers and facilities may contract for use of the aritificial intelligence-assisted virtual health platform; establish a process for distribution of net advertising revenue; establish activities the virtual health platform may perform; prohibit the virtual health platform from engaging in the practice of medicine or diagnosing or treating any disease, illness, or medical condition; amend KRS 42.724 to conform.
Amend KRS 367.3611 to define "actual knowledge," "algorithmic feed," "algorithmic recommendation system," "covered design feature," "covered minor," "covered online service," "dark pattern," "knows to be a child," "knows to be a minor," "minor," "online service," "parent," "personalized recommendation system," "publicly available information," and "user"; create a new section of KRS 367.3611 to 367.3629, the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act, to require a covered online service to configure all default privacy settings provided to a covered minor through its online service, product, or feature to the highest level of privacy; provide a covered minor and his or her parents with certain default settings and tools to protect the minor from profiling, targeted advertising for prohibited products, or the use of dark patterns to impair a covered minor's choice; prohibit the use of notifications and push alerts to a covered minor between certain days and times; amend KRS 367.3613 to conform; provide that Section 2 of the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Kid's Code.
SB 234 creates a program to help Kentucky certified teachers purchase personal computers. The Kentucky Board of Education would secure discounted computer prices through competitive bidding and arrange vendor-provided training. This bill directly affects all certified teachers in Kentucky public schools by providing financial assistance and technical support for personal computer use. The official abstract mentions gender-neutral language, but the bill text itself contains no gendered terms requiring amendment (current language uses "his or her," which is already standard). The bill was introduced in the Senate on February 24, 2026.
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.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 367 to establish consumer rights relating to social media and artificial intelligence data; define terms; require social media companies and model operators to implement data interoperability interfaces; establish requirements for data sharing between social media services and artificial intelligence systems; grant rulemaking authority to the Attorney General, along with the Consumers' Advisory Council, and enforcement authority to the Office of the Attorney General; provide for civil penalties: provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Digital Choice Act.
Amend KRS 367.3611, relating to the Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act, to define "automatic content recognition" and "smart monitor" and to include automatic content recognition data in the definition of "sensitive data"; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2027.
Create new sections of KRS Chapter 194A to establish the Kentucky statewide health data utility; define terms; establish purposes and a restricted fund for the utility; require the executive director of the Office of Data Analytics to be responsible for the development, implementation, operation, and maintenance of the utility, contract with a consortium of public health colleges to operate and govern the utility, and promulgate administrative regulations to carry out those duties; establish functions and content of utility; create a consortium of public health colleges; establish duties of consortium in operating and governing the utility; establish administration and operation requirements for the consortium; establish the Kentucky Health Information Technology Board; require the board to establish policies and procedures for the sharing and submission of health information, approve data control, governance, and privacy practices, and advise the executive director and the consortium; require the utility's participants to comply with health information sharing and submission requirements within certain timeframes; require the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to enforce the mandatory reporting requirements for the utility's participants; establish enforcement powers of secretary including civil penalty assessment; require the consortium and the executive director to make annual reports relating to the utility; amend KRS 194A.030, 194A.101, 194A.103, 194A.095, 205.640, 205.6489, 211.474, 214.375, and 311A.190 to conform; repeal KRS 216.2920, 216.2921, 216.2923, 216.2925, 216.2927, and 216.2929, relating to health data collection; establish timeframe for making initial appointments, and provide for staggered appointments to the board; 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 in the Medicaid program as required under KRS 205.5372(1); EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2028.
