Rep. Shawn McPherson

Amend KRS 39A.100 to exclude houses of worship from emergency condemnation authority; prohibit a governmental entity from prohibiting religious services during an emergency to a greater extent than imposed on other organizations or businesses that provide essential services; require a compelling governmental interest to place a burden on a religious organization; prohibit a governmental entity from taking any discriminatory action against a religious organization on the basis that the organization is religious; define "discriminatory action," "governmental entity," "religious organization," and "religious services"; allow a religious organization to assert a violation of this section as a claim against a governmental entity or as a defense and waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity to the extent of liability under the section; set out remedies available to a religious organization; require construciton in favor of protecting free exercise of religion; require a religious organization to bring an action no later than two years from the date the person should have known of the discriminatory action.

Recognize April 2, 2022, as World Autism Awareness Day and April 2022 as Autism Acceptance Month.

Create new sections of Subtitle 17C of KRS Chapter 304 to define terms; permit third-party access to provider network contracts if certain conditions are met; prohibit a dental carrier from canceling or otherwise ending a contractual relationship with a provider that opts out of third-party access; require a dental carrier to accept a qualified provider regardless of whether the provider opts out of third-party access; provide that a provider shall not be bound by third-party access granted in violation of the relevant provisions; establish exceptions to the third-party access provisions; allow a dental benefit plan to deny a claim for procedures included in a prior authorization when certain conditions are met; establish requirements for payments from the dental benefit plan to the dentist; require an insurer of a dental benefit plan to honor an assignment of benefits and make payments directly to the dentist or professional dental service corporation when certain conditions are met; permit a dentist or professional dental service corporation with a valid assignment of benefits to bill the insurer and notify the insurer of the assignment; require the dentist or professional dental service organization to provide the assignment of benefits to the insurer upon request; allow an assignment of benefits to be revoked when certain conditions are met; require the insurer of a dental benefit plan to send a revocation to the dentist or professional dental service corporation; establish the effective date of a revocation; require a dentist or professional dental service corporation to reimburse an insured under certain circumstances; prohibit provisions relating to third-party access, prior authorization, and assignment of benefits from being waived by contract; create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to require an insurer and its health insurance plans to comply with the provisions relating to third-party access, prior authorization, and assignment of benefits; amend KRS 304.17C-085 to define terms; prohibit a provider from charging more than the provider's rate for noncovered services under a limited health service benefit plan; prohibit the amount of a contractual discount for covered services from resulting in a fee less than the limited health service benefit plan would pay but for certain contractual limitations; require reimbursement by a limited health service benefit plan to be reasonable and prohibit nominal reimbursement in order to claim services are covered; amend KRS 304.17A-611 to require retrospective denials of dental services to comply with the new section on prior authorization; amend KRS 222.422 to conform; permit the commissioner of insurance to promulgate regulations.

Amend KRS 67.083 to allow a fiscal court of any county to levy all taxes not in conflict with the Constitution, provided that the fee or tax is allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 92.281 to allow cities of all classes to levy all taxes not in conflict with the Constitution, provided that the fee or tax is allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 610.350 to allow certain local government bodies to levy taxes within constitutional limitations, provided that the tax is allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 83.520 to allow the legislative body of a city of the first class to levy all taxes, provided that the taxes are allowed by the statutes of this state; amend KRS 65.760 to allow local governments to levy certain taxes, provided that the taxes are allowed by the statutes of this state; create a new section of KRS Chapter 92 to prohibit municipal corporations that are authorized to levy and collect taxes or fees from levying the tax or fee unless the tax or fee is allowed by the statutes of this state; EFFECTIVE only upon the ratification by voters of an amendment to Section 181 of the Kentucky Constitution.

Amend KRS 156.070 to require KHSAA to promulgate administrative regulations or bylaws requiring schools to designate all interscholastic athletics based upon the biological sex of the students eligible to participate; prohibit male students from participating in girls' athletics; establish how to designate biological sex; prohibit designated agencies from entertaining complaints or investigations of policies; create a cause of action against a school that violates these provisions; create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to require a public postsecondary education institution or private postsecondary education institution that is a member of a national intercollegiate athletic association to designate all intercollegiate and intramural athletics authorized by the institution based on biological sex of students eligible to participate; require that institutions prohibit male students from participating in womens' athletics; prohibit designated agencies from entertaining complaints or investigations of policies; create a cause of action against a postsecondary institution that violates these provisions; title the Act "Fairness in Womens' Sports Act."

Amend KRS 132.191 to expand the requirements for using the income approach and sales comparison approach in the valuation of property; establish additional requirements for the appraisal of real property; amend KRS 133.120 to change the qualifications of taxpayer representatives who receive compensation for appealing property assessments.

Amend KRS 304.17A-164 to prohibit insurers, pharmacy benefit managers, and other administrators of pharmacy benefits from imposing certain requirements on health plan insureds; create new sections of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to establish definitions for pharmacy-related insurance practices; require pharmacy benefit managers to establish reasonably adequate and accessible pharmacy networks; require pharmacy benefit managers to file, and the insurance commissioner to review, an annual report describing pharmacy networks; provide that information and data acquired by the Department of Insurance shall be considered proprietary and not subject to disclosure under KRS 61.870 to 61.884; establish requirements for certain contracts between a pharmacy or pharmacist and a pharmacy benefit manager; establish prohibited practices for pharmacy benefit managers; establish certain requirements for insurers and pharmacy benefit managers contracting for the provision of pharmacy benefit management services; prohibit administrators from offering any incentive or discount for use of an affiliated pharmacy benefit manager; establish a Pharmacy Benefits Management Advisory Council; create a new section of Subtitle 99 of KRS Chapter 304 to authorize the insurance commissioner to order reimbursement to persons who incurred a monetary loss as a result of a violation of provisions of legislation; amend KRS 304.9-054 to make technical changes; authorize the promulgation of administrative regulations; require pharmacy benefit managers to report certain information to the insurance commissioner; provide that certain reported information shall not be subject to disclosure under KRS 61.870 to 61.884; amend KRS 304.17A-708, 304.17A-712, and 304.17A-714 to conform; create a new section of Subtitle 17C of KRS Chapter 304 to apply provisions of legislation to limited health service benefit plans, including limited health service contracts; create a new section of Subtitle 38A of KRS Chapter 304 to apply provisions of legislation to limited health service organizations; amend 18A.225 to require the state employee health plan to comply with provisions of legislation; amend KRS 367.828 to establish certain requirements for the health discount plans that purport to offer discounts, or access to discounts, on prescription drugs; provide for staggered appointments to the Pharmacy Benefits Management Advisory Council; provide that provisions of this Act shall be severable; require the insurance commissioner to promulgate regulations to implement the Act on or before January 1, 2023; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2023.

Amend KRS 341.005 to define "enhanced federal benefits" and "state average unemployment rate"; amend KRS 341.100 to define "suitable work" under certain circumstances; amend KRS 341.270 and KRS 341.272 to reduce the minimum period of time for an employer to qualify for a lower contribution rate to four quarters; amend KRS 341.350 to require that eligible recipients engage in five work search activities per week during each week that he or she claims eligibility for benefits; amend KRS 341.380 to change the maximum benefit payable to a worker within a benefit year; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 providing for a variable duration of unemployment insurance benefits, ranging from 12 weeks to 24 weeks, based upon the state average unemployment rate at the time of each individual's application for benefits except in certain situations; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 to allow an employer to notify the secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet about each worker who has declined suitable work or has failed to attend a first interview; amend KRS 341.370 to change the conditions under which a worker must be disqualified from receiving benefits during unemployment; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 to allow the General Assembly to end the Commonwealth's participation in any enhanced benefits program; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 to require the General Assembly's approval, which it may withdraw at any time, to participate in any enhanced federal benefits program; amend KRS 341.096 to define terms; create new sections of KRS Chapter 341 to allow employers to submit a plan for a shared work program to the secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet for approval; make employees eligible for shared work benefits if they are employed as members of an affected group, under an approved plan, are able to work, and their normal weekly hours are reduced at least ten percent but not more than forty percent; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 explaining that the weekly shared work benefit amount shall be the product of the regular weekly unemployment compensation amount calculated in KRS 341.380 multiplied by the percentage of reduction of at least ten percent in the individual's usual weekly hours of work, and although an individual may be eligible for shared work benefits or regular benefits as appropriate, no individual shall be eligible for combined benefits in any benefit year in an amount greater than his or her maximum benefit as calculated under KRS Chapter 341.380 and no individual shall receive shared work benefits for more than 26 weeks; amend KRS 341.530, 341.080, 341.127, and 341.710 to conform; declare the provisions of this Act severable; allow the Act to be cited as the Unemployment Insurance Sustainability Act of 2022.

Honor the Kentucky Historical Society.

Amend KRS 278.702 to provide that the terms of service for the ad hoc members of the Kentucky State Board on Electric Generation and Transmission Siting end when the merchant electric generating facility for which they were appointed has been constructed and has begun generating electricity for sale; amend KRS 278.704 to include decommissioning requirements within the requirements over which local planning and zoning requirements shall have primacy; remove outdated language; amend KRS 278.706 to require that a decommissioning plan be included in an application for construction of a merchant electric generating facility; establish minimum requirements for a decommissioning plan; require as part of a decommission plan that a bond or similar security be secured to assure that the decommissioning plan is accomplished; establish requirements for how the bond is set and how the beneficiaries of the bond are to be determined; require that certain components of the decommissioning plan be incorporated into the construction certificate applicant's leases with landowners; amend KRS 278.710 to include whether the decommissioning plan complies with the requirements of the Act in the criteria for approval of a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility; require a person that has received a construction certificate for a merchant electric generating facility file with the board the copy of the bond or similar security no later than the date that construction commences for the facility; require that an updated copy of the bond or similar security be refiled at least once every five years thereafter; require notice to be filed with the board when the construction of the merchant electric generating facility is complete and has begun producing electricity for sale; require that notice be given of any transaction involving the sale or transfer of ownership of the facility to the board and local officials within five days of finalizing the transaction; require a person who has acquired a merchant electric generating facility to file with the board written consent to assume the obligations in the decommissioning plan for the facility and to adopt or replace the required decommissioning bond; amend KRS 278.718 to provide that an ordinance, permit, or license issued by a local government shall have primacy over the requirements of KRS 278.700 and Sections 2, 3, and 4 of this Act.