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SB 224 Kentucky Senate · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to land use.

Summary
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 65 to define terms; establish that an applicant has a vested right to the development standards in place at the time of application for a building permit, development plan, or subdivision plat upon the submission of the application to a relevant authority; establish vesting periods; allow for extensions to the vesting period; establish that the relevant authority may terminate the vested rights under specified circumstances; establish enforcement authority; allow for the amendment to a development plan on a vested right; amend KRS 100.347 to limit entities which have standing to challenge a final action of a planning and zoning authority.
Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
Governor
Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Last action Mar 17, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Current/Final · 4 edits
MODERATE
The bill text was reformatted to align with official legislative numbering and style, while a critical structural edit reorganized the section on 'vested property rights' to clarify how long developers can rely on existing rules. The original draft had a confusing mix of rules for building permits and development plans; the new version separates these into distinct timeframes and adds a specific extension period to maintain rights.
Scope change
The scope of the bill remains focused on land use and development standards, but the clarity of the rules governing developer rights has been improved.
TECHNICAL

Page headers and document identifiers were updated to reflect the correct bill number (SB 224) and session dates.

Indentation and spacing were adjusted throughout the text to match standard legislative formatting.

REQUIREMENT

The rules for 'vested property rights' were restructured. The original draft combined rules for building permits and development plans in a confusing way. The new version clearly separates the timelines for each type of application and adds a specific provision allowing a two-year extension to maintain rights if construction has already begun.

A new sentence was added stating that authorities cannot deny an application simply because development standards changed after the application was submitted.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 13, 2026

How they voted

32–11
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 44
Mar 13, 2026
D Democratic6
6 Nay
100% Nay
R Republican38
32 Yea 5 Nay 1
84% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
11
Key actions
2
Committee
4
Mar 17, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Mar 13, 2026
Upper · Passed
3rd reading, passed 27-10 with Committee Substitute (1)
upper
Mar 11, 2026
Upper · Passed
reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1)
upper
Mar 9, 2026
Committee
to State & Local Government (S)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Feb 23, 2026
Introduced
introduced in Senate
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.