Sen. Lindsey Tichenor

Amend KRS 61.315 to define "rescue squad personnel"; expand eligibility for in the line of duty death benefits to rescue squad personnel; require the Division of Emergency Management to promulgate administrative regulations establishing necessary criteria and procedures; amend KRS 164.2841 to define "rescue squad personnel"; expand eligibility for tuition and fee exemption to dependents of rescue squad personnel who died in the line of duty; amend KRS 342.316 to conform.

Amend KRS 369.130 to add and modify various definitions; create a new section of KRS 369.130 to 369.139 to prohibit the Commonwealth of Kentucky and governing authorities from issuing, recognizing as legal tender, accepting or requiring as payment, or participating in any test of central bank digital currency; create new sections of KRS 369.130 to 369.139 and KRS Chapter 393 to prohibit ownership of digital asset mining businesses by prohibited foreign parties; provide for enforcement by Attorney General and penalties for violation of prohibited foreign party prohibition; establish distribution of proceeds if digital asset mining business property is escheated due to a violation; amend KRS 45.345 to conform; amend KRS 42.500 to make technical corrections; permit the State Investment Commission to invest up to 10% of excess funds in bullion; prohibit State Investment Commission from investing in central bank digital currency; amend KRS 42.525 to make technical corrections; authorize the State Investment Commission to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out and effectuate certain authorized investments; establish Subtitle 13 of KRS Chapter 286 and create new sections thereof to regulate virtual currency kiosks; establish definitions; provide for enforcement by the commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions; establish license requirements for virtual currency kiosks; require regulatory filings to be submitted to a nationwide licensing system registry; establish initial and renewal application processes and requirements, reporting, surety bond and tangible net worth, and change of control requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators; require the commissioner to promulgate administrative regulations to establish format, document submission, fee, and trade practice requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators; establish record retention requirements for persons required to be licensed as virtual currency kiosk operators; establish trade practice requirements relating to protection of resident assets, virtual currency kiosk transactions, prohibited practices, and fraud and information security compliance procedures; authorize the commissioner to conduct investigations and examinations; provide for the confidentiality of certain documents provided to the commissioner; authorize the commissioner to share, disclose, and report information and take other actions to assist in the commissioner's duties; require the commissioner to submit an annual licensing report to the Legislative Research Commission; establish due process requirements for adverse actions taken by the commissioner against licensees and other persons; establish requirements for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license; authorize the commissioner to enter cease and desist orders and emergency orders; authorize the commissioner to order civil penalties against persons that violate the subtitle; create a new section of KRS Chapter 41 to define terms; recognize gold specie and silver specie as legal tender in Kentucky; provide for use of gold specie and silver specie as legal tender; require the State Treasurer to promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A to designate or establish a bullion depository and authorize 1 or more electronic payment systems to facilitate electronic payment transactions; establish requirements for system participants, transaction information, and bullion deposits; require the State Treasurer to submit an annual report to the Legislative Research Commission and to implement the system within 1 year; provide that Section 32 of the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Transactional Gold and Silver Act; require the commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions to promulgate any required emergency and ordinary administrative regulations on or before January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE, in part, March 31, 2027.

Amend KRS 160.210 to establish new numbers for membership of a local board of education based on district enrollment; require the Kentucky Board of Education to determine the required number of members every 10 years; provide for the election of additional members and for the reduction of membership; require local boards of education to report new electoral divisions to the Kentucky Board of Education and the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 160.200, 160.160, 160.042, and 116.200 to conform; require the Kentucky Board of Education to make initial determinations of board size by December 31, 2026, and local boards to conduct required division changes with created positions being treated as vacancies under KRS 160.190.

Maddy summarySB 194 establishes a process for voters to recall members of Kentucky's local school boards for "neglect of duty," as defined by the bill (including failures to perform duties, misuse of funds, or criminal convictions). To initiate a recall, at least five eligible voters must file a notice with the county clerk, followed by a petition gathering signatures from 25% of voters who participated in the last election for that school board position. The petition must be filed within 90 days of the notice or by June 1 of the year the recall would appear on the ballot, with strict rules for voter eligibility and petition formatting. This process directly affects all local school board members and eligible voters in Kentucky school districts.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to define "grooming behavior"; amend KRS 161.120 to add, current and recent former students to the list of individuals upon which the Education Professional Standards Board may refuse to issue or take disciplinary action against a certificate if the applicant or certificate holder engaged in sexual contact with the specified individuals; amend KRS 160.390 to require superintendents to include employment terms prohibiting sexual contact between an employee of the district and specified individuals; amend KRS 160.1596 to require as a term of the public charter school contract that all employees and contractors refrain from sexual contact with specified individuals; amend KRS 156.160 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to require certified nonpublic schools to require employee prohibitions on sexual contact between an employee of the school and specified individuals.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to establish a statewide system of oversight and compliance monitoring for Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; specify the required components of the system; amend KRS 156.070 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to establish a system for reporting allegations of misconduct by employees of any agency designated for the management of interscholastic athletics and the requirements of the system.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 61 to define "boy," "equal," "female," "girl," "male," "man," "sex," and "woman"; prohibit any state or local law, regulation, ordinance, or policy from treating males or females unfairly from similiarly situated members of the opposite sex, but permit separation of the sexes if in the interest of maintaining safety, privacy, and fairness; provide a non-exhaustive list of examples of areas in which public entities may distinguish between the sexes; require any public school, public school district, state agency, department, local government, special district or any political subdivision of those entities that collects vital statistics to identify each person as either male or female; provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Women's Bill of Rights.

Amend KRS 439.3406 to prohibit an inmate from qualifying for mandatory reentry supervision if the inmate has previously been convicted of 2 or more offenses that would classify him or her as a violent offender under KRS 439.3401 or has been recommitted to prison for a violation of probation, shock probation, parole, or conditional discharge; require the Department of Corrections to produce an annual report on the results of the mandatory reentry supervision program by February 1 of each year.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to establish the calendar and procedures for a district superintendent and local board of education to adopt a school district budget; require that a budget must include a reserve of not less than 2%; amend KRS 160.431 to require the annual financial report and the Kentucky Department of Education's written report be published on the district financial disclosure website; amend KRS 160.463 to require a school district to maintain a district financial disclosure website; identify the information that shall be published on the website; amend KRS 157.440, 160.390, 160.460, 160.470, 160.473, 160.530, 160.550, and 424.250 to conform; require districts to publish the most recent information available on the district financial disclosure website upon the effective date of the Act.

Amend KRS 156.557 to permit a superintendent to initiate summative evaluations; require that summative evaluations be provided to the local board of education.