Rep. George Brown

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 311 to define terms; establish a qualified terminally ill patient's right to voluntarily request medication to self-administer to cause death; establish conditions required to make request; permit patient to rescind request at any time; permit an attending physician to provide medication; establish requirements for attending physician to inform patients and document request; require disposal of unused medications; establish residency requirements for qualified patients; require report by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; establish provisions for contracts, insurance policies, and beneficiaries; prohibit applicability of provisions to ending a patient's life by lethal injection, mercy killing, or active euthanasia; establish that a health care provider is not required to provide medication to a qualified patient; permit health care providers to prohibit persons or entities from participating in a qualified patient's request during or on the premises of employment; prohibit reporting a health care provider to a licensing board for participating in a qualified patient's request; state that actions under this Act do not authorize lethal injection, mercy killing or active euthanasia; establish that actions under this Act do not constitute suicide or homicide; create a form for a qualified patient to make a request; create a form for an interpreter for a qualified patient making a request; create a new section of Subtitle 12 of KRS Chapter 304 to establish provisions for insurance policies and beneficiaries of qualified patients; amend KRS 507.020 and 507.030 to create an affirmative defense to a charge of murder and manslaughter in the first degree; provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Death with Dignity Act.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 2 to name and designate as the official pets of Kentucky domestic cats and dogs that reside in or have been adopted from Kentucky animal shelters or rescue organizations.

Create a new section of Subchapter 12 of KRS Chapter 154 to define "in-demand industry sector" and "in-demand occupation"; require the Cabinet for Economic Development to create annual lists of in-demand industry sectors and in-demand occupations and transmit the lists to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services for use in determining eligibility criteria for the Child Care Assistance Program; amend KRS 199.894 to define "Child Care and Development Fund" and "Child Care Assistance Program"; make technical corrections; create a new section of KRS 199.892 to 199.896 to exempt applicants whose occupation or industry sector has been designated as in-demand from the income guidelines and copayment requirements for the Child Care Assistance Program.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to establish the employer student loan repayment credit, equal to 50 percent of the amount paid by an employer on an eligible student loan of a qualified employee effective for taxable years beginning January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2029; amend KRS 141.0205 to order the credit; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on the credit.

Maddy summaryThis bill amends Kentucky state law to provide maternity leave for public school employees who give birth, granting them 20 days of leave. The legislation defines covered individuals as teachers and other employees, including full-time and part-time staff, and establishes the terms for how maternity days can be used. Additionally, the bill expands existing sick leave provisions by allowing up to 10 days of paid sick leave per school year for various reasons, including illness or family emergencies, and permits sick leave to accumulate without limit. The law also outlines procedures for sick leave banks and donation programs, enabling employees to contribute unused leave to colleagues who need extended absences.

Amend KRS 205.592 to expand Medicaid eligibility to include pregnant women and new mothers up to 12 months postpartum regardless of citizenship or national origin; create a new section of KRS Chapter 205 to define terms; direct the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish a family planning program to provide family planning services and family planning-related services to Medicaid-eligible individuals, including individuals who would otherwise be eligible for Medicaid except for their citizenship or national origin; require the Department for Medicaid Services to promulgate administrative regulations and collaborate with multiple divisions, agencies, and other parties to facilitate participation in the family planning program; require a waiver to be requested if it is determined a waiver is needed.

Amend KRS 337.010 to define "job posting" and "wage range"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 337 to require all employers to include the wages or wage range for the advertised position in any job posting; amend KRS 95A.250 and 337.020 to conform.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 67 to require county governments to operate at least one emergency shelter for persons experiencing homelessness or to otherwise contract with an operator of an emergency shelter; require an adequate number of beds in the emergency shelter; require the emergency shelter to conform to applicable federal and state law; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate administrative regulations to provide standards for emergency shelters.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 189 to define "bus stop camera system," "school bus stop," and "qualifying school district"; require the installation of video cameras at each school bus stop in a qualifying school district; require the unit of government responsible for maintaining the road where the bus stop is located to install the cameras and retain the video images; specify the allowable uses of the video images and provide for retention timeframes; require school districts to notify the Transpiration Cabinet and all local governments that maintain roads in the district of the location of school bus stops.

Appropriate necessary funds for local school districts to provide a five percent salary increase to eligible employees in fiscal year 2025-2026; APPROPRIATION.