Transportation

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 277 to require each railroad company to destroy or remove obstructive vegetation at intersections with public roads or highways; direct the Transportation Cabinet or local government to remove obstructive vegetation if the railroad company fails to do so after receiving written notice from the cabinet or local government; establish procedures for reimbursement by the railroad company for the vegetation removal.

Amend KRS 189.993 to establish enhanced penalties for a violation of KRS 189.505, including increased fines, vehicle impoudment for up to 6 months for the first offense, and vehicle forfeiture for the second or subsequent offense; amend KRS 500.090 to provide that the proceeds from any public auction of a vehicle that has been forfeited for a second or subsequent violation of KRS 189.505 be transferred to the Crime Victims Compensation Board.

The Transportation Cabinet Budget: Detail Part I, Operating Budget; detail Part II, Capital Projects Budget; detail Part III, Funds Transfer; detail Part IV, Transportation Cabinet Budget Summary; APPROPRIATION.

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.

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.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; allow the use of camera monitoring systems on school buses operated by a school district and allow the enforcement of a civil penalty for stop arm camera violations recorded by a camera monitoring system; establish the amount of the civil penalty; require that the revenue generated from a civil penalty be retained by the school district; allow a law enforcement agency to charge a fee of $25 from every civil penalty enforced by the law enforcement agency; require specific notice for a stop arm camera violation; establish defenses to a violation; establish procedures for a contest to a violation; allow for suspension of motor vehicle registration for failure to timely pay a penalty; require a school district or law enforcement agency to notify the Transportation Cabinet of the need to release a motor vehicle registration suspension within 1 business day of payment; amend KRS 189.370 to require traffic in the opposite direction of a school or church bus to stop for the bus on a highway that is not divided by an elevated barrier or unpaved median;amend KRS 189.990 to increase the maximum fines for failing to stop for a school or church bus that is receiving or discharging passengers.

Amend KRS 177.240 to prohibit the Transportation Cabinet or any county or city that maintains a limited access facility from requiring a property owner to pay compensation for any increase in property value attributable to the new access as a condition of allowing a property owner access.

Amend KRS 189.222 to allow vehicles with a gross weight of up to 90,000 pounds transporting fluid milk from a farm to the first market to operate on any state highway; allow for a 10% weight tolerance; provide exceptions and limitations; amend KRS 189.221 to conform.