Rep. Josh Branscum

Amend KRS 164.2841 to include tuition benefits for spouses and children of emergency medical services personnel who have died in the course of their duties on or after July 1, 2000; amend KRS 164.2842 to include tuition benefits for spouses and children of emergency medical services personnel who have been totally and permanently disabled in the course of their duties, specify that the beneficiary is eligible for up to a maximum of 128 credit hours of undergraduate instruction.

Maddy summaryHB 1 reduces Kentucky's individual income tax rate from 4% to 3.5% for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. This change directly affects all Kentucky residents who file individual income tax returns. The bill permanently lowers the rate for the specified tax years, with the reduction taking effect after a review process that confirmed fiscal conditions were met. Governor Andy Beshear signed the bill into law on February 6, 2025 (Acts Ch. 1), making it effective for 2026 tax filings.

Amend KRS 37.170 to create the Kentucky Emergency Volunteer Corps (KEV Corps) within the Kentucky State Defense Force; create a new section of KRS Chapter 37 to detail KEV Corps eligibility, supervision, training requirements, uniform details, and prohibitions and to create the KEV Corps fund; amend KRS 39B.030 to permit the local emergency management director to use the KEV Corps during a local disaster or emergency; amend KRS 39B.050 to include the KEV Corps as a part of the local disaster and emergency services organization; amend KRS 39B.070 to permit each city, urban-county government, or charter county government the use of the KEV Corps.

Amend KRS 164.295 to permit Eastern Kentucky University to offer doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees required for professional practice and licensure in osteopathic medicine.

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.