Sen. Lindsey Tichenor

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 512 to define terms; make criminal atmospheric pollution a Class D felony; require that a person found guilty of criminal atmospheric pollution pay a civil penalty of not less than $500,000 in addition to all other penalties authorized by law; provide that each day that a person engages in criminal atmospheric pollution constitutes a separate offense; empower all peace officers of the Commonwealth to enforce the prohibition on criminal atmospheric pollution; require an arresting officer to issue a notice to any federal agency that approved the action that those activities cannot be lawfully carried out in the Commonwealth.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 40 to define terms; require any person seeking compensation for assisting with veterans' benefits to be accredited by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs; provide that the Act may be cited as the Veterans' Benefits Accreditation Act.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; prohibit a school district, public school, or cooperative board from providing differential treatment or benefits on the basis of an individual's religion, race, sex, color, or national origin; prohibit the Kentucky Department of Education, a school district, a public school, or a cooperative board from expending any resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion; prohibit the department, a school district, a public school, or a cooperative board from soliciting statements on an applicant's experience with or views on religion, race, sex, color, or national origin, from providing differential treatment or benefits to an individual based on the individual's participation in diversity, equity, and inclusion training, and from disseminating or profiting from any research, work product, or material that promotes or justifies discriminatory concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion; establish exclusions; authorize the Attorney General to bring an action for a writ of mandamus to compel the department, a school district, a public school or a cooperative board to comply; create a cause of action to permit a qualified individual to file a civil action against a the department, a school district, a cooperative board, or a public school for injunctive relief arising from a violation of this Act; permit recovery of monetary damages for a willful and intentional violation; waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity; prohibit retaliation; require each public school district and cooperative board to provide the State Treasurer the name, job title, duty station, and compensation information of each employee of the school district or cooperative board each month for publication; amend KRS 161.030 to require certain certification applicants to complete an approved professional development program on Kentucky education law; amend KRS 158.4416 and 158.4414 to conform; amend KRS 160.380 to remove language requiting targeted minority recruitment; amend various KRS sections to conform; repeal KRS 156.500 and 161.165; require school districts and cooperative boards to follow designated procedures when implementing this Act including termination or transfer of certain employees; require the Kentucky Department of Education to eliminate the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and follow designated procedures when implementing this Act including termination or transfer of certain employees; EFFECTIVE, in part, February 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.

Direct the governing board of public postsecondary education institutions to adopt policies to combat antisemitism and require implementation until June 30, 2028; establish the requirements for the policies; require each institution to report data collected through policies to the Council on Postsecondary Education; and require the Council on Postsecondary Education to compile and report data to the Legislative Research Commission.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to define terms; direct each local board of education to designate one or more programs or applications as a traceable communication system that shall be the exclusive means for school district employees and volunteers to communicate electronically with students; provide that a parent may submit written consent for a designated school district employee or volunteer to communicate electronically with a student outside of the traceable communication system; exclude communications between a parent that is a school district employee or volunteer and his or her own children; establish a mandatory duty to report violations for school employees and volunteers; require principals, superintendents, and the commissioner of education to notify parents of allegations of unauthorized electronic communication involving their children; require principals, superintendents, and the commissioner of education to report alleged violations to the Educational Professional Standards Board (EPSB); require principals, superintendents, the commissioner of education, and EPSB to investigate designated allegations of unauthorized electronic communication; establish the methods of disciplinary action for a violation; amend KRS 161.120 to provide that the identity of complainants alleging unauthorized electronic communication, sexual contact, or other sexual misconduct that are dismissed and minors invovled in the complaint to remain confidential; provide that EPSB will have 120 days to conduct the initial review of complaints alleging unauthorized electronic communication, sexual contact, or other sexual misconduct.

Direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Nontraditional Instruction and Virtual Instruction Models Task Force; outline task force duties; establish membership; require the task force to meet monthly; and submit its findings and recommendations by December 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryKentucky's legislature passed SCR 248, a non-binding concurrent resolution urging President Trump and Congress to address violence against religious minorities in Syria. The resolution references reported killings of Alawites and Christians following the fall of the Assad regime (documented in March 2025), including a massacre in Latakia and displacement of over 11,000 Syrians. It does not create new laws or funding but formally encourages federal action through diplomatic channels. The bill was introduced and adopted in Kentucky's legislature in March 2025, with no policy mechanisms beyond symbolic advocacy.

Support the establishment of the Kentucky Discipline of Government Efficiency (KY DOGE) Task Force by the Legislative Research Commission to study executive branch expenditures and provide recommendations for efficiency in government operations.

Amend KRS 224.1-010 to change the definition of "water" or "waters of the Commonwealth"; amend KRS 224.1-300 to provide that the definitions contained therein only apply to KRS 224.1-300 and 224.1-310; amend KRS 350.010 to define "long-term treatment"; amend KRS 350.060 to establish the means of calculating the additional bond amount required for a permit or permit increment for which the Energy and Environment Cabinet determines long-term treatment is required; EMERGENCY.

Urge Kentucky’s colleges and universities to end the use of animals in wasteful government experiments; encourage institutions to provide data on animal research and testing within 90 days.