Kentucky

Confirm the reappointment of Merideth Murphy Pittman to the Education Professional Standards Board for a term expiring June 30, 2028.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 278 to establish the membership of the Public Service Commission; provide for the appointment, confirmation, and replacement of commissioners; establish the qualifications of the commissioners; provide for the election of the chair and the delegation of his or her duties; set the terms and term limits for commissioners; set qualifications for intervenors in cases before the commission; provide that in cases in which the Attorney General intervenes, he or she shall be the sole advocate for residential consumers; amend KRS 278.020 to increase the minimum voltage and length of electric transmission lines for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is required for construction; amend KRS 278.040 to provide that the commission is an independent department of state government that is administratively attached to the Auditor of Public Accounts only for the limited functions and purposes that the commission requests; allow the commission, in its sole discretion, to conduct procurements under KRS Chapter 45A, identify and determine the compensation for categories of its professional employees, and engage hearing officers and other entities on a contractual basis; prohibit the commission from being reorganized under KRS Chapter 12; amend KRS 278.060 to prohibit the immediate family members of commissioners from having any official relationship to any utility; allow for a commissioner or an immediate family member to have a pension or a retirement savings account with utility as long as no contributions have been made to it for at least 1 year prior to the commissioner's appointment; amend KRS 278.070 to allow the officer who appointed a commissioner to remove the commissioner for cause; amend KRS 278.100 and 278.120 to allow the commission to appoint and have sole discretion in fixing the compensation of the executive director; require the executive director to be subject to confirmation by the Senate; amend KRS 278.702, 12.020, 43.015, 64.640, 160.617, and 224.10-022 to conform; repeal KRS 278.050, relating to membership of the Public Service Commission; require the Auditor of Public Accounts to make initial appointments to the commission on or before July 1, 2026, and provide for the staggering of the appointments; allow current members of the commission to serve out the remainders of their terms provided that they meet the qualification requirements of the Act; terminate the terms of current commissioners who do not meet the qualification requirements of the Act and provide for their replacement; direct the transfer of all records, files, or documents associated with functions previously performed by the Energy and Environment Cabinet to the Auditor of Public Accounts; EMERGENCY.

Confirm the appointment of Misdee Wrigley Miller to the Kentucky Film Leadership Council for a term expiring June 30, 2027.

Amend KRS 158.4433 to move the school mapping data program to the Kentucky 911 Services Board, specify responsibility for mapping data accuracy walk-through; amend KRS 65.7629 and 158.442 to conform; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Adjourn in honor and loving memory of Vinita Winters.

Confirm the reappointment of Anne Veno to the Board of Nursing for a term expiring June 30, 2029.

Recognize April 28, 2026, as Pay It Forward Day.

Amend KRS 213.136 to establish processes and procedures for requesing vital statistics records from the state or county registrar; amend KRS 213.141 to increase the fee for a certified copy of a vital statistic record to $10; establish fee exceptions; increase the fee for a certified copy of a birth record to $15; establish fee exceptions; establish that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall provide a copy of the Annual Lifetime Kentucky Death Report to the State Board of Elections on or before July 1 of each year; amend KRS 116.113 to conform.

Confirm the hiring of Eric King as executive director of the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission.

Adjourn in honor and loving memory of Levi Peterson, Jr.

Confirm the reappointment of Angela Hatton to the Public Service Commission for a term expiring July 1, 2029.

Confirm the appointment of Kerry McCandless to the Kentucky Lottery Corporation Board of Directors for a term expiring November 28, 2027.

Establish the Health Care Workforce Task Force to identify strategies to increase the number of health care providers while maintaining high quality standards of care; establish task force membership; require the task force to submit a report with recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committees on Health Services and Education by December 1, 2026.

Confirm the reappointment of William Crawford to the Board of Trustees of the Teachers' Retirement System for a term expiring March 10, 2029.

Confirm the appointment of Tara Horn to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Board of Regents for a term expiring September 11, 2031.

Amend KRS 230.210 to define various terms; create new sections of KRS Chapter 230 to authorize the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to regulate the conduct of fantasy contest operators; require the use of geolocation technology; require fantasy contest operators to implement procedures to prevent fraud, abuse, and money laundering; require notification to the corporation for a confirmed breach of a sport's governing body's internal rules and codes of conduct, conduct that corrupts any outcome, and confirmed illegal activities; establish licensing requirements for a fantasy contest operator; allow the corporation to promulgate administrative regulations to establish additional qualifications and requirements for licensing to preserve the integrity and security of fantasy contests; prohibit a license from being issued to a person that has been convicted of a felony, crime involving illegal gaming or gambling, or any crime involving theft or fraud; require a fantasy contest operator to conduct an independent audit; require a fantasy contest operator to be at least 21 years old; require the corporation to investigate all reasonable allegations of prohibited conduct; require each fantasy contest operator to include a statement regarding obtaining assistance with real-money gaming problems on the operator's website or mobile application; prohibit a fantasy contest operator from paying any price or award to a person who is on the self-exclusion list; create a new section of KRS Chapter 230 to establish the purse stabilization fund from fixed-odds wagers on horse racing taxes and fees; amend KRS 138.552 to define "fixed-odds wagering"; impose a 15% excise tax on the adjusted gross revenue of fixed-odds wagers on live horse racing; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 230 to establish the corporation's jurisdiction over fantasy contests and fixed-odds wagering; establish the Attorney General's concurrent jurisdiction with the Commonwealth's attorneys and county attorneys of this state for the enforcement of KRS Chapter 230 and 238; require the corporation to establish a process for the compilation, dissemination, and notification of the self-exclusion list; allow the corporation to authorize additional racing dates or amend racing dates; define "affiliate" and "beneficial interest"; prohibit an association or track or its affiliate from holding a license to conduct charitable gaming; require associations and tracks to accelerate the adoption of technologies, update the totalizator by April 1, 2027, and update technologies related to pari-mutuel wagering annually; require associations and tracks to disable all wagering simultaneously, but not later than the moment the starting gate is opened for commencement of a race; change the age of access to sports wagering from 18 to 21; allow a track to conduct fixed-odds wagering on horse racing; require a track or service provider to have a mandatory minimum hold of at least $2,000 per race; define "proposition bet"; prohibit sports wagering licensees and service providers from offering any proposition bets on individual players participating in collegiate sporting events; prohibit a track or association from participating in or contracting with platforms that offer events contracts through prediction markets; prohibit a track or association from contracting with a service provider that offers events contracts through a prediction market; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 238 to redefine "chairperson" and "charitable gaming facility"; define "licensed charitable gaming facility"; establish the power of the office relating to licensure issuance and renewal and imposing fines and penalties; require a background check for any person associated with an applicant if the corporation deems it necessary; change the distributor and manufacturer licensing fee from $1,000 to $5,000; change the charitable organization's licensing fee from $300 to $1,000; require an applicant to submit an application at least 60 days prior to the expiration of its existing license or its first expected date of operation; prohibit a person under the age of 21 from participating in the play of charitable gaming activities or events; increase the limit for a prize for an individual charity game ticket from $599 to $1,499; establish an affirmative defense for any prosecution for selling charitable gaming supplies to a minor if the sale was induced by the use of false identification; change the charitable gaming facility licensing fee from $2,500 to $5,000; prohibit an owner or affiliate of a licensed charitable gaming facility from soliciting licensed charitable organizations or holding a distributor license under KRS Chapter 238; allow the corporation to investigate and have free access to the office or place of business of a charitable gaming license or facility where licensed charitable gaming is offered; increase the administrative fine for a violation of KRS Chapter 238 from $1,000 to $5,000; allow a person to apply to the corporation for a stay of the ruling of the notice of violation; require a summary suspension to cease operations if there is an imminent risk to the health and safety of the public or a misappropriation of charitable gaming revenues; repeal and reenact KRS 238.538 to require a licensed charitable organization to only offer the play of electronic devices at locations authorized by the corporation and one additional location in either the same county or a county that is contiguous to the charitable organization's office location; require a charitable gaming facility to transfer its license first to one of the licensed charitable organizations it is affiliated with as of January 1, 2026, and next to any licensed charitable organization; prohibit a charitable gaming facility from transferring more than 3 licenses from locations where persons 21 years old and under are permitted to locations where only persons 21 years or older are permitted within 90 days of the effective date of this Act; establish the occurrences in which the play of charitable gaming devices shall be lost and forfeited at an additional location; amend KRS 243.500, 436.480, 525.090, 528.010, and 528.070 to exempt fantasy contests, fixed-odds wagering, and wagering on live horse races and historical horse races; amend KRS 2.015, 68.182, 91.202, 92.282, and 238.550 to conform; require the corporation to present a status report on the purse stabilization fund not later than November 30, 2027; provide that the Act may be cited as the Wagering Consumer Protection Act.

Confirm the appointment of Joan Stringer to the Kentucky State University Board of Regents for a term expiring June 30, 2028.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 65 to define terms; establish the process for a local government to establish a residential infrastructure development district and for dissolution of a district; authorize a local government to issue bonds and other obligations to pay for infrastructure costs within a residential infrastructure development district; authorize a local government to collect special assessments on property within the residential infrastructure development district to pay for infrastructure costs and use special assessment revenue for administrative costs unless restricted; establish that the special assessment constitutes a lien, address lien priority, require delinquent property taxes to be paid prior to a special assessment, and allow for redemption of property sold as a result of delinquent payment of a special assessment; permit local governments to act jointly to establish and maintain a residential infrastructure development district; define terms and allow a local government to establish a housing development district and a Housing Incentive Payment Program; allow a local government to exempt housing developments within a housing development district from planning and zoning following a public hearing; permit other local taxing authorities to participate in a housing development district; allow a local government to accept applications from developers to undertake projects within a housing development district; allow a local government to negotiate with a developer whose application it has accepted regarding rates associated with incentive payments to the developer; establish a means by which a developer shall be paid incentive payments by a local government; require area development districts to provide assistance to a local government in establishing a housing development district; require the Cabinet for Economic Development to promote awareness of the housing development district and incentive program and the Certified Child Care Community Designation program set out in KRS 199.891; require the cabinet to post information including a list of local governments that have established housing development districts and have obtained the certified child care community designation to its website; require local governments that have established housing development districts to provide information to the Department for Local Government regarding the district and utilization of the incentive program; require the Department for Local Government to submit a report to LRC summarizing information received from local governments regarding housing development districts; provide that the Act shall not be construed to prohibit a local government from establishing any other incentive program for housing development.

Confirm the appointment of Dennis Repenning to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education for a term expiring December 31, 2030.

Honor the Kentucky state Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for advocacy, dedication, and impact on long-term care residents in the Commonwealth.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 336 to allow public employee collective bargaining organizations to represent only dues-paying members; allow nonmember employees to be represented by counsel of their choosing, subject to reasonable employer procedures; grant the labor organization the right to represent a nonmember employee in an action involving the interpretation or enforcement of a collective bargaining agreement; allow nonmember employees to enter into a written agreement with the labor organization for representation for a reasonable fee; apply to agreements entered into or renewed on or after the effective date of the Act.

Direct the Public Service Commission to open 1 or more administrative cases to investigate and identify measures to improve the affordability of utility service for low- and fixed-income individuals; direct that the PSC report to the Legislative Research Commission by September 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.

Confirm the appointment of Andrew Marshall Coyle to the Kentucky State Fair Board for a term expiring May 19, 2029.

Confirm the appointment of Elizabeth G. Dinkins to the Education Professional Standards Board for a term expiring September 10, 2028.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 156 to establish the Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program; define terms; establish the Adult Workforce Diploma Pilot Program fund; establish eligibility criteria for the program; direct the Education and Labor Cabinet to administer the program; provide payments to program providers for students who complete specified milestones; require program result reporting to the Kentucky Board of Education, the Secretary of State, and the Legislative Research Commission; specify a program end date of July 1, 2029.