Kentucky

Amend KRS 91A.080 to exempt large group health insurance policies newly offered on or after January 1, 2027, from the local government license fee or tax imposed upon insurance companies.

Amend KRS 116.045 to require a county clerk to verify the United States citizenship of voter registration applicants with the United States Social Security Administration; amend KRS 116.095 to remove language relating to Social Security numbers to conform; amend KRS 116.115 to remove exception for those registering to vote who are unable to provide a Social Security number, and to conform.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 620 to require social service workers to wear body-worn cameras when interacting with children during investigations; require recordings to be stored for at least 5 years and be made available to parents or guardians, their counsel, and the court; establish a civil cause of action against employees of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services who knowingly submit a false statement, withhold exculpatory evidence, or violate a person's constitutional rights; waive qualified immunity; create a new section of KRS Chapter 605 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to submit an annual report to the Legislative Research Commission on the number of children removed from their homes and the average caseload of social service workers; create a new section of KRS Chapter 194A to establish the family preservation fund; amend KRS 600.010 to provide that KRS Chapters 600 to 645 shall be interpreted consistently with federal law and that statutes in conflict with federal law are void to the extent of the conflict; require courts to apply strict scrutiny when reviewing state action that interferes with the fundamental rights of a parent relating to the parent-child relationship; amend KRS 610.070 to require audio and video recording of dependency, neglect, and abuse hearings; amend KRS 620.060 and KRS 620.080 to require clear and convincing evidence of neglect or abuse before removing a child from the home; amend KRS 620.090 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to provide a written explanation to the court in cases where placement is not made with relatives or fictive kin; amend KRS 620.155 to require appeals of removal orders to be heard within 24 hours of the order; amend KRS 625.090 to prohibit termination of parental rights if the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has not made reasonable efforts to reunite the child with the parents, unless reasonable efforts are not required under KRS 610.127; provide that the Act may be cited as the Protection of the Children Act; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2027.

Create a new section of KRS 17.500 to 17.580 to require sex offender registrants to pay an annual registration fee; establish penalties for failure to pay annual registration fee; establish the sex offender registry fund.

Recognize and honor Rudy William Grant, Consul General of Barbados.

Amend KRS 160.463 to make technical corrections.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to define terms; establish a nonpublic school student's eligibility for participation in interscholastic athletics at the public school to which the student would be assigned in the student's district of residence; establish requirements, conditions, and procedures for the nonpublic school student's participation in interscholastic athletics.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 214 to require reporting of alpha-gal syndrome; require laboratory reporting of positive test results to the Department for Public Health within 5 days of confirming the results; require the department to follow up annually on cases and report to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Amend KRS 134.810 to require the proration of motor vehicle property taxes when a motor vehicle is transferred between private parties; set requirements for the proration; require any overpayments created from the proration requirements to be refunded without written request; apply to motor vehicle transfers occurring on or after January 1, 2027.

Authorize Kentucky State University to submit a proposal for a new Doctor of Philosophy in Aquaculture and Aquatic Science program; direct the Council on Postsecondary Education to review and approve a proposal for that program that includes a certification that the program will not require additional general fund appropriations

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 313 to adopt the Interstate Dental and Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact; declare the intent and purpose of the compact; define terms; establish conditions under which an individual can practice in a remote state; authorize a home state to impose adverse action against an individual's license issued by the home state; authorize a member state's licensing authority to issue subpoenas for hearings and investigations as well as cease and desist orders to restrict, suspend, or revoke an individual's privilege to practice in the state; establish the Interstate Dental and Dental Hygiene Licensure Compact Commission; provide immunity from suit and liability for members, officers, executive director, employees, and representatives of the commission who act in accordance with the provisions of the compact; authorize the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of state government to enforce the provisions of the compact; establish rulemaking procedures; authorize the commission to attempt to resolve disputes related to the compact that arise among member states and between member and nonmember states; require provisions of the compact to become effective on the date the compact is enacted into law in the fifth compact state; establish withdrawal provisions for a member state that wishes to withdraw from the compact; provide for severability for any provision in the compact that is contrary to the constitution of any member state or of the United States or the applicability thereof to any government, agency, person, or circumstance.

Amend KRS 218A.500 to provide that drug testing products that are used or intended for use to determine whether a substance contains a controlled substance, synthetic drug, or any chemical or compound that may cause physical harm or death shall not be deemed drug paraphernalia.

Appropriate $43,827,000 from the budget reserve trust fund account in fiscal year 2026-2027 to the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority to fund one-time supplemental payments on July 1, 2026, to recipients of a retirement allowance who have been retired for at least 12 months from the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) and the State Police Retirement System (SPRS); specify that the one-time supplemental payment shall be equal to the monthly payment received by the recipient in the month of June 2026, not to exceed $1,000; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Propose to amend Section 170 of the Constitution of Kentucky to exempt property owned by seniors who are 65 years of age or older and property owned by a former member of the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard, who is 100% service-connected combat-related disabled and, upon his death, property owned by his or her surviving spouse; apply to property assessed on or after January 1, 2027; provide ballot language; submit to voters for ratification or rejection.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 7 to establish a Special Committee on Sexual Misconduct; direct the appointment of members; require investigation, hearings, and report of complaints submitted by employees of the Legislative Research Commission, another member of the General Assembly, and the public; require report of recommended punitive actions to Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and members of the General Assembly.

Amend KRS 160.463 to make technical corrections.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 635, relating to public offenders, to provide that a court that commits a child to the Department of Juvenile Justice shall require the child's caregiver to reimburse the department for the costs of the child's commitment; amend KRS 403.727 and KRS 456.035, relating to protection orders involving minors, to permit a victim advocate to attend an evidentiary hearing to offer advocacy services to an alleged victim; amend KRS 530.064 to provide that a person 18 years of age or older, or a minor who has been transferred to Circuit Court to be proceeded against as a youthful offender, is guilty of unlawful transaction in the first degree for the commission of a felony offense where any person uses or possess a gun in furtherance of a crime; amend KRS 530.065 and 530.070 to provide that unlawful transaction with a minor in the second and third degree may be applied to adult defendants and child defendants transferred to Circuit Court to be proceeded against as a youthful offender; amend KRS 610.030, relating to preliminary intake inquiry procedures and diversions, to provide that upon completing the preliminary intake inquiry for a status offense complaint, the court-designated worker shall refer the complaint to the county attorney for the county attorney to decide how the complaint shall proceed; require the court-designated worker to consult with the county attorney in the development of a diversion agreement; specify the persons the court-designated worker shall make the details of the diversion agreement available to; provide that if a child fails diversion for a status offense complaint, the court-designated worker shall refer the matter to the county attorney; amend KRS 610.070, relating to juvenile case hearings, to provide that if a child has been convicted of, pled guilty to, or has been adjudicated to have committed an offense which would classify the child as a violent offender, the court may order a dispositional or sentencing hearing open to the public; amend KRS 610.110 relating to disposition of juvenile cases, to require the department to notify relevant law enforcement agencies of the disposition of each case for any child committed by the court who is placed in a residential treatment facility by the department or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; amend KRS 610.340, relating to confidentiality of juvenile records, to require Administrative Office of the Courts to permit a peace officer access to juvenile and family court records necessary for the peace officer to carry out lawful duties; amend KRS 610.345, relating to disclosure of records, to provide that the clerk of the court shall notify certain school personnel when the court issues a protective order where a child is a petitioner or respondent; amend KRS 635.010, relating to public offense complaints, to allow a county attorney to file a petition for a first time misdemeanor; amend KRS 635.020, relating to criteria for determining how a child is to be tried, to provide that a youth 14 years of age or older may be tried as an adult if the court finds probable cause that the child committed an offense which would classify the child as a violent offender, or a capital offense, Class A felony, or Class B felony; provide that a child may be tried as an adult if the court finds probable cause that the youth has previously been adjudicated as a youthful offender and is back in front of a court for allegedly committing a new felony; amend KRS 635.040, relating to effect of adjudication by the juvenile court, to provide that a past adjudication may be considered for any enhanced disposition or sentence for a subsequent offense; amend KRS 635.060, relating to options of the court at the dispositional hearing, to increase the maximum period of sanctions for a violation of supervision from 30 days to 180 days; increase the maximum period of probation for a misdemeanor from 6 months to 12 months; increase the maximum period of probation for a Class D felony from 12 months to up until the age of 18; increase the period a child may be confined in a secure detention facility or detention program from 45 days to 90 days for children 14 and 15 years old, and from 90 days to 180 days for children 16 years of age and older; provide for a minimum commitment period of at least 12 months for a child committed to the department for a felony; repeal KRS 605.035, relating to the creation of the family accountability, intervention, and response teams; and amend various KRS sections to conform.

Recognize the importance of having a physician present in every emergency department and the critical need for improving rural health care.

Amend KRS 45A.100, relating to small purchases by state governmental bodies, to increase the small purchase annual limit for any state governmental body to $7,500 from $1,000; increase the small purchase construction project annual limit to $50,000 from $10,000; require the Finance and Administration Cabinet to make recommendations on revisions to the maximum small purchase amounts to the General Assembly.

Amend KRS 158.150 to permit a teacher to remove from the classroom a student that violates a school behavior policy and is disruptive to the classroom environment and education process; require teacher and principal or assistant principal agreement before student may return to the classroom on the same school day as removal.

Amend KRS 78.5522 to allow for the 5 year service requirement for disability retirement to be waived for a person who works in a nonhazardous position that could be certified as a hazardous position who is injured in line of duty resulting in an incapacity to continue as an employee in the position that could be certified as hazardous; allow certain persons whose last day of paid employment was on or after January 1, 2022, but prior to the effective date of this Act to apply for disability benefits; RETROACTIVE.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 198A to define terms; establish the abandoned home pool fund to be administered by the Kentucky Housing Corporation; specify eligible recipients, activities, and uses of fund; amend KRS 64.012 to increase county clerk recording fees and add a $2 fee to be deposited in the abandoned home pool fund; appropriate $25,000,000 from the General Fund to the abandoned home pool fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY, effective July 1, 2026.

Declare that all people have the right to adequate food.

Amend KRS 338.991 to increase the civil penalties for employers who have violated any provision of KRS Chapter 338, received a citation for a violation of the requirements of KRS Chapter 338, or failed to correct a violation for which a citation has been issued; require the secretary for the Education and Labor Cabinet to annually adjust the maximum civil penalties beginning in 2026 by the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Customers (CPI-U); direct the secretary to begin a 3 year phase-in for penalty adjustments beginning August 1, 2026.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 157 to establish a $10,000 salary supplement for certified teachers of exceptional children; provide the terms and requirements of the salary supplement.