SB 216 updates Kentucky's election registration forms to replace gendered language ("his or her") with gender-neutral terms in KRS 116.155. It directly affects all voters registering to vote in Kentucky by changing the wording on official registration forms. The bill amends the specific law governing required registration form content, ensuring forms use inclusive language without altering voter eligibility or other registration requirements. This is a procedural change to the form language, not a substantive policy shift in voting rights.
Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to require health plans to include a generic drug or biosimilar on the plan's formulary under specified circumstances; define terms; establish cost-sharing requirements when a generic drug or biosimilar is required to be placed on the health plan's formulary; prohibit a health plan from imposing any prior authorization, step therapy, or other limitation on coverage for a generic drug or biosimilar required to be placed on the health plan's formulary or imposing any restriction on a pharmacist or pharmacy that makes it more difficult for the insured to obtain coverage or access to the generic drug or biosimilar compared to the reference drug or product; amend KRS 304.17C-125, 164.2871, and 18A.225 to require limited health service benefit plans, self-insured group health plans offered by a state postsecondary education institution, and the state employee health plan to comply with the requirements for generic drugs and biosimilars; direct that the Act applies to health plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE, January 1, 2027.
Amend KRS 304.17A-660 to define "health professional"; amend KRS 304.17A-661 to require that annual mental health parity reports be submitted to the Legislative Research Commission on or before June 1 of each year for referral to certain committees and be published by the insurance commissioner on the Department of Insurance's website; require insurers to have an independent audit conducted to evaluate mental health parity compliance upon request of the commissioner or Attorney General; require the commissioner to establish and operate a hotline that allows health professionals and insureds to submit complaints regarding mental health parity compliance; prohibit insurers from retaliating against a health professional for submitting a complaint; authorize the Attorney General to enforce the mental health parity law; establish duties, remedies, and penalties for enforcement by the Attorney General; authorize a private cause of action by any person directly injured by a violation or likely violation of the mental health parity law; establish duties, remedies, and penalties for a private right of action under the mental health parity law; establish construction clauses; authorize the Attorney General to promulgate administrative regulations for proper enforcement of mental health parity law; create a new section of KRS 304.17A-660 to 304.17A-669 to establish requirements for review criteria used by insurers to determine the medical necessity and appropriateness of a claim submitted for the diagnosis or treatment of a mental health condition; require that the review criteria be publicly available on the insurer's website; require insurers to comply with KRS 304.17A-600 to 304.17A-633 with respect to claims submitted by health professionals for the diagnosis of treatment of mental health conditions except as provided in the section; amend KRS 304.17A-617 and 304.17A-623 to conform; amend KRS 205.522 to require the Department for Medicaid Services, Medicaid managed care organizations, and the state' medical assistance program to comply with mental health parity law; require the Department for Medicaid Services or the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to obtain federal approval, if necessary, and comply with notice requirements; provide authorization from the General Assembly to make changes as required under KRS 205.5372(1); EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.
Amend KRS 160.290 to ensure public school curriculum, textbooks, and instructional materials, including digital learning materials, remain subject to the Open Records Act and that districts protect a resident's fair use rights; amend KRS 160.350 to require a superintendent with total annual compensation greater than the commissioner of education to be subject to confirmation by the Senate; require a majority vote instead of a four-fifths vote of local board of education members to remove a superintendent; delete requirements for approval from the commissioner of education to remove a superintendent; provide an appeal process for the superintendent; amend KRS 160.160 to establish a 1 year term for chair and vice chair of a local board of education; require superintendents to submit reports on closed personnel investigations to the local board of education for the purposes of policy oversight and evaluation of the superintendent's performance; amend KRS 160.180 to make ineligible a candidate for membership on a board of education who engages or serves as an officer or director of an organization that represents district employees in employment or legal matters against the district; require Open Records Act and Open Meetings Act training for local board of education members; make conforming changes; permit the hiring of relatives of a local board of education member; amend KRS 160.380 to prohibit a person convicted of certain specified crimes from being employed by a superintendent; require superintendents to submit reports on previous personnel investigations closed during the superintendent's contract to the local board of education within 30 days of the effective date of this Act.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 15 to create the vaping settlement trust fund to be administered by the Office of the Attorney General; direct the deposit of certain litigation proceeds into the fund; direct the allowable use of fund moneys for certain youth prevention and cessation efforts.
Direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Economic Development Incentive Modernization Task Force to study and make recommendations regarding Kentucky's current economic develop inititiatives, incentives, and related policies and their effectiveness in relation to competitor states, marketing campaigns and targeted sector updates that competitor states have implemented in recent years and their effectivesness, and actions and policies Kentucky should consider in order to improve Kentucky's economic develop initiatives and incentives; establish membership; direct the task force to meet during the 2026 Interim and submit findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2026.
HJR 56 is a joint resolution directing Kentucky's Governor to establish a formal sister state partnership with Israel's Shomron Regional Council through a memorandum of understanding. It aims to recognize shared cultural and historical ties, including Kentucky towns with biblical names (like Lebanon and Hebron), and promote exchanges in commerce, culture, and innovation between the two regions. The bill does not create new laws or funding but requires the Governor to initiate this partnership agreement. It directly affects Kentucky's executive branch and the Shomron Regional Council, with no financial or regulatory obligations outlined. The resolution is currently under review by the House Committee on State Government.
This bill is a ceremonial resolution designating a 0.6-mile segment of Kentucky Route 2057 in Leslie County (from mile point 2.4 to 3.0) as the "PFC Denver Wells Memorial Highway." It directs the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to install signage within 30 days of the resolution's effective date. The bill does not create new laws or policies but formally commemorates Private First Class Denver Wells, a Marine killed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 at age 19. The highway segment itself is the only entity directly affected by this naming.
HJR 65 is a procedural resolution naming a specific 0.9-mile segment of Kentucky Route 88 in Hart County (from mile point 15.2 to 16.1) as the "Representative Dottie Sims Memorial Highway." It directs the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to erect appropriate signage within 30 days of the resolution's effective date. This action does not change laws or policies but formally honors Dottie Sims, a former Kentucky House representative from District 19 who served for 12 years before her passing in 2023. The resolution affects only highway signage in Hart County, with no broader legislative impact.
SB 206 amends Kentucky Revised Statute 56.020 to update gendered language to be inclusive, changing references from "he or she" to gender-neutral terms in the Secretary of State's duties. The bill directly affects state record-keeping procedures by requiring the Secretary of State to maintain property records using inclusive language. It modifies the statutory description of the Secretary's responsibilities for recording deeds, indexes, and property records, without altering the actual duties or substantive requirements. This is a procedural update to modernize administrative language, not a policy change. The bill is currently in the Senate committee stage after introduction on February 18, 2026.
This bill designates a 1.3-mile segment of U.S. Route 460 West in Menifee County (between mile markers 7.1 and 8.4) as the "Gary Lee Egelston Memorial Highway." It directs Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet to install appropriate signage within 30 days of the resolution's effective date. The highway segment is named to honor Gary Lee Egelston, a Vietnam War veteran, former Menifee County Fire Chief, and community member who passed away in 2025. This is a ceremonial designation affecting public highway signage, not a policy change with regulatory or funding impacts.
HJR 68 directs Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services to grant third-party companies that process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits the authority to share recipient data with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This enables federal officials to verify eligibility and ensure benefits are properly administered, aligning with a USDA request to remove data-sharing barriers. The resolution requires state agencies to comply with this directive to avoid potential federal withholding of SNAP benefits. It directly affects SNAP processors and the USDA, streamlining data access for federal oversight.
