Rep. Dan Fister

Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to require coverage for emergency ground ambulance services; establish minimum allowable reimbursement for out-of-network emergency ground ambulance services; establish requirements for reimbursement of out-of-network ground ambulance providers; prohibit balance billing by out-of-network ground ambulance providers; establish construction clause in the event of conflicts; amend KRS 18A.225 to require the state employee health plan to comply with emergency ground ambulance coverage and payment requirements; provide that Act applies to health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE January 1, 2027.

Maddy summaryHR 43 is a resolution recognizing Kentucky's long-standing economic and cultural partnership with Japan. It highlights that Japanese companies operate over 200 facilities in Kentucky, employing 45,000 Kentuckians and making Japan the state's top foreign investor, while Kentucky exports over $1 billion in goods (like bourbon and machinery) to Japan annually. The resolution also notes cultural ties, including seven sister city relationships and Japanese language education programs in Kentucky communities. It encourages lawmakers to join the Kentucky Japan Caucus to strengthen trade relations and directs the Clerk to share the resolution with Japan's Consul-General. As a symbolic gesture, it does not create new laws but formally acknowledges existing partnerships.

Appropriate $96 million from the Kentucky Permanent Pension Fund in fiscal year 2026-2027 to the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority to fund 1-time supplemental payments on July 1, 2026, to recipients of a retirement allowance who have been retired for at least 12 months from the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) and the State Police Retirement System (SPRS); allow the Board of Trustees of the County Employees Retirement System to, by board decision, provide a one-time supplemental payment to recipients of a retirement allowance who have been retired at least 12 months by increasing employer contribution rates over a one-year or two-year period; specify that the 1-time supplemental payment shall be equal to the monthly payment received by the recipient in the month of June 2026; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 16 to define "Task Force Model Program"; require Kentucky State Police posts to enter into agreements with the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to participate in the Task Force Model Program; require Kentucky State Police officers who participate in the Task Force Model Program to complete Immigration and Customs Enforcement training; amend KRS 15.404 to provide that any peace officer who completes Immigration and Customs Enforcement training will be deemed to have completed annual in-service training; require the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council to certify the Immigration Authority Delegation Program as an approved in-service training program.

Amend KRS 158.1415 to require a school district to adopt health curricula that includes human growth and development instruction that meets specific criteria; set restrictions for the instruction that grants parents an opportunity to review materials and opt their child out of instruction.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 186 to define "local governmental entity" and "local official"; require the Transportation Cabinet to expand driver licensing services by setting up a system between the Transportation Cabinet and 1 local official or local governmental entity in each county to issue operator's licenses and personal identification cards; require the Transportation Cabinet to identify a local official or local governmental entity in each county that will participate in the system by July 1, 2027; allow a local offical or local governmental entity to charge a convenience fee for any document issued by a local official or local governmental entity; require the Transportation Cabinet report the number of documents issued by local officials and local governmental entities and any effect on wait times at regional licensing offices; amend KRS 186.531 to conform; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2027.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 431 to define terms; provide that a person shall not be eligible for pretrial release until he or she can provide proof of citizenship or that he or she is lawfully permitted to be in the United States; provide that a person shall not be held for longer than 48 hours due to his or her inability to provide proof of citizenship or permission to be in the United States; require a law enforcement agency, jail, or regional jail that has custody of a person who cannot provide proof of citizenship or that he or she is lawfully permitted to be in the United States to immediately notify the United States Department of Homeland Security to determine if the person is a citizen, lawfully permitted to be in the United States, or subject to a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer; provide that the lack of proof of citizenship or permission to be in the United States shall be considered when completing a pretrial risk assessment.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 405 to define "child" and "parent"; establish specific fundamental rights of parents relating to care, custody, and control of their children, including the right and duty to make decisions regarding a child's use of cellular phones; provide a cause of action against the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions for violations of a parent's fundamental rights.

Amend KRS 139.480, relating to the sales and use taxes, to exempt bees used in a commercial enterprise for the production of honey or wax for sale or for the pollination of crops, and certain items used in that pursuit; EFFECTIVE August 1, 2026.

Amend KRS 446.350 to define terms; outline appropriate relief if a government substantially burdens a person's sincerely held religious belief; apply to laws adopted before or after the effective date; include severability clause; waive sovereign and governmental immunity.