AN ACT relating to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
Summary
Amend KRS 15.460 to allow Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources game wardens to receive annual supplements from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund; remove the requirement that a game warden's annual training stipend be paid from the game and fish fund; amend KRS 150.010 to remove the definitions for "administrative regulation," "navigable waters," and "public roadway"; add definitions for "exotic wildlife," "native wildlife," and "roadway" and amend the definition for "livestock"; amend KRS 150.021 to remove the requirement that the department pay a fee equal to 5% of the debt service for the 2-way radio system utilized by the Kentucky State Police; amend KRS 150.025 to allow the department or the commissioner, with the approval of the commission, to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out the purposes of KRS Chapter 150; amend KRS 150.027 to require the department to file a statement of consideration at the same time as it files an administrative regulation that affects property that is adjacent to department-owned or controlled lakes; amend KRS 150.061 to require the commissioner of the department to establish a salary structure for the department's Division of Law Enforcement that is adequate to meet the department's recruitment and retention goals; amend KRS 150.090 to provide that waters bordering the Commonwealth are included in the jurisdiction of game wardens; amend KRS 150.120 to provide that native and exotic wildlife that are taken, possessed, or transported in violation of the provisions of KRS Chapter 150 or the administrative regulations promulgated thereunder shall be seized; require that upon seizure, native wildlife or any hybrid thereof shall be declared contraband and disposed of as determined by the commissioner; amend KRS 150.150 to conform and to provide that the $25,000 set aside annually for hunger relief is not required to be taken from the game and fish fund; amend KRS 150.170 to change the reference from "disposal" tag to "carcass tag" for the taking of depredating wildlife; amend KRS 150.172 to allow a person to use a firearm at any time to take a mortally wounded animal instead of an injured animal; amend KRS 150.360 to allow the taking of wildlife at night instead of only coyotes and to conform; amend KRS 150.660 to allow the department to revoke a pay lake operator's license at all of his or her licensed locations for failure to comply with the laws or regulations governing pay lakes; amend KRS 150.690 to change the references from "buffalo" to "American bison"; amend KRS 150.990 double all fines for violations of KRS Chapter 150 and to establish replacement costs for certain wildlife; amend KRS 150.995 to provide that any restitution amount to be paid to the department for the illegal taking of wildlife that would exceed $10,000 shall be panel scored by 2 official scorers; allow the commissioner or a designee to seek an order from the court for payment of restitution costs in any action in which a person is found guilty for a violation of KRS Chapter 150 and for which restitution costs are owed; amend KRS 235.250 to increase the property damage threshold for the mandatory reporting requirement for boating accidents.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 28, 2026
Signed Apr 14, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Current/Final
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill text has been updated from a draft version to the final official version, reflecting changes made during the legislative process. The document metadata, including page counts, bill numbers, and dates, has been corrected to match the final state of the legislation.
TECHNICAL
Page headers and footers were updated to reflect the final bill number (HB 506/GA) and the correct final page count (8 pages instead of 35), indicating the document is now in its final form.
The date on the document was updated from January 29, 2026, to March 12, 2026, marking the progression from the initial introduction to the current final version.
The bill identifier was changed from 'BR 1853' to 'HB 506/GA', confirming the bill's final classification and version.
Floor votes · House Mar 12, 2026
How they voted
This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
23
Key actions
7
Committee
8
Apr 13, 2026
Introduced
filed without Governor's signature with the Secretary of State
lower
Apr 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
upper
Apr 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 38-0
lower
Mar 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar
lower
Mar 18, 2026
Committee
to Natural Resources & Energy (S)
upper
Mar 13, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 93-0 with Committee Substitute (2)
lower
Mar 12, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (2)
lower
Mar 4, 2026
Committee
recommitted to Tourism & Outdoor Recreation (H)
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Committee
to Tourism & Outdoor Recreation (H)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Introduced
introduced in House
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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