Rep. Josh Branscum

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 224A to define terms; establish the Kentucky Water and Wastewater Assistance for Troubled or Economically Restrained Systems Program under the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority (KIA) to provide for a loan application and evaluation process for eligible public water and wastewater systems to seek loan funds from the General Assembly; require the KIA to make available applications under the program, verify eligibility of proposed recipients, award loans as directed by the General Assembly, enforce compliance with loan conditions, and report quarterly to the General Assembly on the status of all loans under the program; allow the Kentucky Rural Water Association (KRWA) to contract or consult with third-party consultants, state agencies, or special purpose governmental entities in discharging its duties; require finalized loan applications to be made available to the public; allow eligible public water and wastewater systems to submit applications for regional projects; provide for forfeiture and repayment of loans; require the KRWA to evaluate applications according to specified criteria and to submit an annual report to the Legislative Research Commission containing the evaluations and scores of the proposed loan recipients; establish the Kentucky water and wastewater assistance for troubled or economically restrained systems fund; provide that all moneys in the fund shall be allocated by the General Assembly for providing loans for eligible projects; require that interest rates for loans be set in the same manner as the interest rates for loans from the federally-assisted wastewater and water supply resolving funds, except that the interest rates shall be one-half of a percent lower; establish the emergency Kentucky water and wastewater assistance for troubled or economically restrained systems fund; provide that moneys from the fund be dedicated to providing loans for capital and non-capital expenses relating solely to restoring or avoiding imminent interruption of utility service provided by a public water or wastewater system after a statewide or local emergency has been declared; allow the authority to require a corrective action plan to be submitted with a loan application; require that interest rates for loans be set in the same manner as the interest rates for loans form the federally-assisted wastewater and water supply resolving funds; create a new section of KRS Chapter 96 to define terms; create a forbearance period of three years for a utility acquiring a public water or wastewater system with existing violations; require the acquiring utility to correct past violations during the forbearance period; defer fines and penalties during the forbearance period; prioritize funding from the KIA for projects where the acquiring utility is making improvements to the acquired system; allow for a waiver of accrued fines and penalties if all deficiencies have been corrected and the public water or wastewater system has been sold to the acquiring utility or if the utility adopts a management and operations agreement handled by a well-operated utility; require the acquiring utility to make records available to ensure compliance; after the expiration of the forbearance period, allow the Energy and Environment Cabinet and the Public Service Commission to either waive fines and penalties, collect fines and penalties, or grant a discretionary extension of the forbearance period; allow priority in funding from the KIA to be predicated on timely payment of deferred fines and penalties; prohibit an acquired water or wastewater systems to which a forbearance period applied from being eligible for any additional forbearance periods; amend KRS 224A.316 to remove repetitive language and to require the KIA to prioritize funding for a utility acquiring a public water or wastewater system for the correction of deficiencies in the system identified in state and federal violations; APPROPRIATION.

TheTransportation 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.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 211 to define terms; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish a system to designate swimming pools into classifications; establish lifeguard requirements for Class A and Class B pools; require the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations; EMERGENCY.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 367 to establish consumer rights relating to personal data; define terms; exempt certain persons or entities from the statutory provisions of this Act; establish certain consumer rights relating to personal data, including the rights to confirm whether data is being processed, to correct any inaccuracies in the consumer's personal data, to delete personal data provided by the consumer, to obtain a copy of the consumer's personal data that was previously provided, and to opt out of targeted advertising, the sale of data, or profiling of the consumer; set forth requirements for persons or entities that control and process consumer data; establish that the Attorney General has exclusive authority to enforce the consumer data privacy rights; create a consumer privacy fund to be administered by the Office of the Attorney General; EFFECTIVE January 1, 2026.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237 to prohibit financial institutions from requiring the use of a firearms code, discriminating against a firearms retailer as a result of the assignment or nonassignment of a firearms code, and disclosing protected financial information; prohibit keeping or causing to be kept any list, record, or registry of private firearm ownership; allow the Attorney General to enforce provisions; provide that the Act may be cited as the Second Amendment Privacy Act; EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025.

Amend KRS 315.010 and 315.205 to permit pharmacists to administer vaccines to children three years of age or older pursuant to prescriber-approved protocols with the consent of a parent or guardian.

Direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) Task Force to study the various components of the SEEK formula, evaluate whether changes are necessary to the base, tiers, or add-ons to maintain the original goal of SEEK; outline task force membership; require the task force to submit any findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2024

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to establish a Kentucky work opportunity tax credit contingent on eligibility for the federal work opportunity tax credit; set maximum credit amount of $500 per eligible employee; specify the tax is available for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, but before January 1, 2029; amend KRS 141.0205 to provide the ordering of the tax credit; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on the credit.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 222 to require treatment centers or programs licensed as a chemical dependency treatment service to provide transportation services to residents who wish to leave the program if the resident's family, guardian, or emergency contact does not agree to transport them; outline transportation service responsibilities; provide restrictions on where a resident can be taken; require that the facilities conduct a search of any outstanding warrants; exempt all facilities not licensed as a chemical dependency treatment service pursuant to KRS 216B.042; require the facility to notify family members, the county attorney, local law enforcement, and the court that a resident left the treatment facility in violation of a court order; allow a peace officer or a probation officer to arrest a resident without a warrant for violating the terms of the resident's conditional discharge or court order; prohibit treatment centers or programs licensed as a chemical dependency treatment service to recruit out of state residents into their facility if the out of state resident is dependent on Medicaid and require the treatment center or program licensed as a chemical dependency treatment service to submit to the Department for Medicaid Services the recipient's proof of residency when submitting a request for Medicaid reimbursement; require any out-of-state resident found to be ineligible for Medicaid services in Kentucky as a result of failing to establish Kentucky as his or her domicile to reimburse any Medicaid fees and to be fined; and amend KRS 205.200, relating to residency requirements for Medicaid, to prohibit relocation to Kentucky solely for receiving medical services using Medicaid and require proof of residency.

Amend KRS 341.020 to include gender-neutral language.