Rep. Chris Fugate

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 277 to require each railroad company to destroy or remove obstructive vegetation at intersections with public roads or highways; direct the Transportation Cabinet or local government to remove obstructive vegetation if the railroad company fails to do so after receiving written notice from the cabinet or local government; establish procedures for reimbursement by the railroad company for the vegetation removal.

Amend KRS 61.598, relating to pension spiking and the definition of "bona fide promotion or career advancement," to retroactively exempt pension spiking adjustments that were due to increases in rates of pay authorized or funded by the legislative or administrative body of an employer or mandated in a collective bargaining agreement approved by the legislative body of the employer for members of the Kentucky Employees Retirement System, County Employees Retirement System, or State Police Retirement System who retired on or after July 1, 2022; require the Kentucky Public Pension Authority to review and make necessary adjustments to benefits payable on or after July 1, 2022, to impacted members; RETROACTIVE.

Amend KRS 15.460 to allow Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources game wardens to receive annual supplements from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund; remove the requirement that a game warden's annual training stipend be paid from the game and fish fund; amend KRS 150.010 to remove the definitions for "administrative regulation," "navigable waters," and "public roadway"; add definitions for "exotic wildlife," "native wildlife," and "roadway" and amend the definition for "livestock"; amend KRS 150.021 to remove the requirement that the department pay a fee equal to 5% of the debt service for the 2-way radio system utilized by the Kentucky State Police; amend KRS 150.025 to allow the department or the commissioner, with the approval of the commission, to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out the purposes of KRS Chapter 150; amend KRS 150.027 to require the department to file a statement of consideration at the same time as it files an administrative regulation that affects property that is adjacent to department-owned or controlled lakes; amend KRS 150.061 to require the commissioner of the department to establish a salary structure for the department's Division of Law Enforcement that is adequate to meet the department's recruitment and retention goals; amend KRS 150.090 to provide that waters bordering the Commonwealth are included in the jurisdiction of game wardens; amend KRS 150.120 to provide that native and exotic wildlife that are taken, possessed, or transported in violation of the provisions of KRS Chapter 150 or the administrative regulations promulgated thereunder shall be seized; require that upon seizure, native wildlife or any hybrid thereof shall be declared contraband and disposed of as determined by the commissioner; amend KRS 150.150 to conform and to provide that the $25,000 set aside annually for hunger relief is not required to be taken from the game and fish fund; amend KRS 150.170 to change the reference from "disposal" tag to "carcass tag" for the taking of depredating wildlife; amend KRS 150.172 to allow a person to use a firearm at any time to take a mortally wounded animal instead of an injured animal; amend KRS 150.360 to allow the taking of wildlife at night instead of only coyotes and to conform; amend KRS 150.660 to allow the department to revoke a pay lake operator's license at all of his or her licensed locations for failure to comply with the laws or regulations governing pay lakes; amend KRS 150.690 to change the references from "buffalo" to "American bison"; amend KRS 150.990 double all fines for violations of KRS Chapter 150 and to establish replacement costs for certain wildlife; amend KRS 150.995 to provide that any restitution amount to be paid to the department for the illegal taking of wildlife that would exceed $10,000 shall be panel scored by 2 official scorers; allow the commissioner or a designee to seek an order from the court for payment of restitution costs in any action in which a person is found guilty for a violation of KRS Chapter 150 and for which restitution costs are owed; amend KRS 235.250 to increase the property damage threshold for the mandatory reporting requirement for boating accidents.

Maddy summaryHB 767 amends Kentucky law (KRS 39A.050) to require the Division of Emergency Management to establish and maintain the Kentucky Qualification System for emergency management personnel. This bill directly affects the Division of Emergency Management, local emergency management agencies, and all state and local government entities involved in disaster response. The key provision mandates the new qualification system, which will standardize training and certification for emergency personnel, while reinforcing existing duties like coordinating with federal agencies and maintaining the Kentucky Emergency Operations Plan. The bill is marked as an emergency measure, indicating expedited consideration.

­Create a new section of KRS Chapter 510 to establish the offense of grooming a minor; amend KRS 510.010 to define "course of conduct," "grooming behavior," and "sexual conduct"; amend various sections to conform; make technical corrections.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 197 to establish the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Prison Education Program within the Department of Corrections in partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) to provide inmates with job training; require KCTCS to construct a facility to house the program at Northpoint Training Center; establish convictions that preclude participation in the program; require the parties to enter into a memorandum of agreement establishing the responsibilities of each party; amend KRS 196.281 to establish entitlement to a certificate of employability upon successful completion of the program and require reporting by the department; amend KRS 335B.020 to establish that a person shall not be disqualified from public employment or obtaining an occupational license solely because of previous criminal conviction and obtaining a certificate of employment from the department shall constitute rebuttable evidence of rehabilitation and fitness for the occupation; amend KRS 355B.030 to remove a conviction of a Class A felony, Class B felony, or any other felony offense other than a conviction that would qualify the individual as a registrant as defined in KRS 17.500 as supportive of a rebuttable presumption of a connection between that conviction and a license issuance request.

Amend KRS 156.160 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations for an alternate high school diploma and a modified high school diploma; specify requirements for alternate and modified high school diplomas; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to require the Department of Workforce Development to identify, compile, and publish a list of employers willing to employ individuals possessing an alternate high school diploma; amend KRS 158.140, 164.787, and 164.7882 to conform.

Amend KRS 439.3401 to provide that a violent offender who has received a life sentence and has not been sentenced to 35 years without probation or parole or imprisonment for life without the benefit of probation or parole shall not be released on probation or parole until he or she has served at least 30 years; amend KRS 439.3406 to prohibit a person who has been convicted of a Class B felony or a person who is a violent offender who has been unanimously denied discretionary parole from qualifying for mandatory reentry supervisions; provide that the Department of Corrections shall provide an annual report on the results of the mandatory reentry supervision program to the Legislative Research Commission by February 1 of each year; amend KRS 504.150 to require a treating professional for a defendant who has received a sentence of guilty but mentally ill to file a petition for involuntary hospitalization under KRS Chapter 202A or 202B; amend KRS 532.025 to provide that if a defendant has been found guilty of intentional murder, the jury or court does not have to find any aggravating circumstance to sentence a defendant to imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole or imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole for 35 years; amend KRS 532.030 to enhance the sentence of imprisonment for life without benefit of probation or parole for 25 years to 35 years; amend KRS 532.110 to provide that sentences of a defendant convicted of 2 or more capital offenses, Class A felonies, Class B felonies, or a combination of those offenses or 2 or more violent offenses involving 2 or more victims shall run consecutively; amend various KRS sections to conform; repeal KRS 504.020 and 504.030; provide that the Act may be cited as Logan's Law.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 367 to establish requirements to protect minors from AI companion platforms and social media platforms using addictive features and predatory data collection; define terms; require AI companion platforms and social media platforms to refine their age verification for users; prohibit AI companion platforms or social media platforms from maintaining accounts for children without verifiable parental consent; create a private right of action for violations by AI companion platforms or social media platforms; authorize the Attorney General to enforce violations.

Direct the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission to conduct a comprehensive assessment of coal resource viability and energy affordability in eastern Kentucky; direct that EPIC report to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2026; EMERGENCY.