Sign Up
HB 470 Kentucky House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to behavioral health services and declaring an emergency.

Summary
Amend KRS 222.233 to require behavioral health multi-specialty groups or any entity that bills for peer support services to only employ specifically qualified alcohol and drug peer support specialists until January 1, 2028; extend the time period in which other alcohol and other drug treatment entities and behavioral health service organizations may only employ specifically qualified alcohol and drug peer support specialists to January 1, 2028; remove references to temporary alcohol and drug peer support specialists; amend KRS 309.0805 and 309.0813 to remove references to temporary alcohol and drug peer support specialists; repeal KRS 309.0836, relating to temporary alcohol and drug peer support specialists; establish the Peer Support Professionals Work Group to submit recommendations to the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services regarding the creation of a board of peer support professionals to develop statewide requirements for licensed peer support professionals; EMERGENCY.
Issues: ✓ HealthcareSupports HealthcareBill mandates qualified peer support specialists for mental health services, ensuring service quality and safety under licensing standards, directly supporting mental health care delivery.85% confidence
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 22, 2026 Signed Apr 10, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Current/Final · 6 edits
MODERATE
This bill updates the regulatory framework for behavioral health services in Kentucky, primarily shifting the effective date for new peer support specialist requirements from 2026 to 2027. It clarifies which entities must hire registered specialists versus temporary ones and removes previous limits on the number of hours these specialists can work directly with clients.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of entities subject to peer support specialist hiring requirements to explicitly include behavioral health multi-specialty groups and entities billing for peer support services, while also clarifying that licensed clinical professionals are exempt from these specific registration rules.
TIMELINE

The deadline for requiring licensed alcohol and other drug treatment entities to employ registered peer support specialists was moved from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for behavioral health service organizations and multi-specialty groups to hire only registered peer support specialists (rather than temporary ones) was moved from January 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027.

New language explicitly includes behavioral health multi-specialty groups and entities that bill for peer support services in the list of organizations required to employ registered peer support specialists.

A previous provision limiting the maximum number of direct client care hours for registered peer support specialists has been removed, allowing them to work unlimited hours.

ELIGIBILITY

The list of protected titles that cannot be used without proper licensure was updated to remove references to 'temporary alcohol and drug peer support specialist' and 'registered alcohol and drug peer support specialist'.

DEFINITION

The bill clarifies that peer support specialists employed by behavioral health service organizations cannot bill for psychoeducational services in individual or group settings.

Floor votes · House Feb 10, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
24
Key actions
10
Committee
9
Amendments
1
Apr 10, 2026
Signed into law
signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 80)
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Upper · Passed
enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
upper
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
passed 91-0
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
lower
Mar 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
lower
Mar 19, 2026
Committee
to Rules (H)
lower
Mar 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 35-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
lower
Feb 20, 2026
Committee
to Licensing & Occupations (S)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Feb 10, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 97-0 with Committee Substitute (1), Floor Amendment (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
lower
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
lower
Jan 30, 2026
Committee
to Health Services (H)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Jan 22, 2026
Introduced
introduced in House
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.