Kentucky Bills

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 13A to define various terms; prohibit an administrative regulation setting an environmental requirement under KRS Chapter 39E, 109, 146, 151, 211, 224, or 350 from being more stringent or extensive in scope than any federal law or regulation regarding the same or a similar topic; require any administrative regulation setting an environmental requirement to be based upon the best available science and the weight of scientific evidence; establish exemptions.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 16 to define terms; establish the Office of Public Defense within the Department of Kentucky State Police to acquire and transfer machine guns to qualified persons; establish the duties of the office and its director; require the director or designee to issue a transfer certificate upon transfer of a machine gun to a qualified person; require a qualified person who becomes ineligible to possess a firearm to return a machine gun to the office within 7 days of learning of his or her prohibited status; allow a qualified person to transfer a machine gun to another qualified person; establish the public defense fund; provide civil immunity to the Commonwealth, the office, and the office's director, officers, and employees in the performance of their duties; provide that the Commonwealth, the office, and the office's director, officers, and employees shall not be civilly or criminally liable for acts or omissions of qualified persons; amend KRS 12.020 and 15A.020 to conform.

Amend KRS 533.020 to provide the court 60 days after the expiration of any period of supervision to determine if a violation of the period of supervision has occurred and any appropriate action; provide that a period of supervision shall be tolled between the issuance of a warrant for any violation of supervision and the defendant's first appearance before the court after service of the warrant.

Amend KRS 186.162, relating to special license plates, to establish that a portion of the initial and renewal fee for a Kentucky National Guard plate is dedicated to the National Guard Association of Kentucky.

Create a new section of KRS 16.505 to 16.652 to change the retirement benefits for members participating in the State Police Retirement System (SPRS) or in a hazardous position in either the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) or County Employees Retirement System (CERS) who are hired after January 1, 2014, but before January 1, 2027, so that, in lieu of continued participation in the hybrid cash balance plan (Tier 3 benefits), these members receive the benefits provided to members in a hazardous position who began participating immediately prior to January 1, 2014 (Tier 2 benefits); for those eligible hazardous employees, create a presumption that service credit in a hazardous position earned after January 1, 2014, is service credit earned immediately prior to January 1, 2014; for eligible hazardous members transitioning to Tier 2, require that accumulated contributions in the hybrid cash balance plan remain in the member’s account, but any employer credit be transferred to the retirement allowance account; allow a member in a hazardous position subject to a change from Tier 3 to Tier 2 benefits to make a one-time election to opt out of the change of benefits within 30 days; establish exclusions; amend KRS 16.576, 16.577, 16.578, 16.582, 61.546, 61.552, 61.597, 61.615, 78.5512, 78.5514, 78.5524, 78.5528, and 78.616 to grant to members in a hazardous position who begin participating after January 1, 2027, or whose participation is presumed under Section 1 of this Act to begin immediately prior to January 1, 2014, the same benefits provided to members whose participation began immediately prior to January 1, 2014 (Tier 2 benefits), including death and disability benefits, benefit factors and service credit that includes service credit for unused sick leave, and eligibility for early retirement and service purchases; make technical corrections; amend KRS 16.583 and 78.5516 to limit the hybrid cash balance plan (Tier 3 benefits) only to members participating in SPRS or in hazardous positions in KERS or CERS who make an election to opt out of Tier 2 benefits under Section 1 of this Act or who make an election, prior to the effective date of the Act, under KRS 61.5955; amend KRS 61.5955 to provide that only a member in a nonhazardous position who began participating in KERS or CERS as a Tier 2 member may elect to receive Tier 3 benefits in the hybrid cash balance plan in lieu of Tier 2 benefits; amend KRS 16.505, 61.510, and 78.510 to amend definitions of various terms to conform and make technical changes; amend KRS 16.560, 61.575, and 78.640 to allow interest credited on the accounts of members participating in SPRS or in a hazardous position in KERS or CERS to be adjusted to conform; amend KRS 61.592 and 78.5520 to exempt only hazardous members who opt out of receiving Tier 2 benefits from eligibility for an employer payment to convert nonhazardous service to hazardous service; amend KRS 61.680 to require that a member who is eligible under Section 1 of this Act and who has nonhazardous service credit as a Tier 3 member of either KERS or CERS to have his or her nonhazardous and hazardous service consolidated to determine eligibility and benefits; amend KRS 78.545 to add Section 1 of this Act as one of the provisions that shall be administered for the CERS in the same manner as for the KERS.

This Senate resolution honors the Blueprint for Kentucky's Children coalition and recognizes Children's Advocacy Week 2026. It formally acknowledges the coalition's work to improve outcomes for Kentucky children through policies promoting thriving communities, strong families, and successful kids. The resolution also directs the Senate Clerk to send a copy to Senator Brandon Smith and notes that the Senate adjourned in honor of Children's Advocacy Week. This is a ceremonial measure that does not create new laws or change existing policies.

Support the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' special pastoral message on immigration; affirm the protection of houses of worship, schools, and hospitals from immigration enforcement action within the Commonwealth.

Amend KRS 243.232, relating to vintage distilled spirits, to allow an exception for qualified collections of vintage distilled spirits from certain purchase and annual package maximum limits; limit the exemption to 10 collections in any given 12-month period per licensee or seller; amend KRS 241.010 and 243.990 to conform

Create a new section of Subchapter 32 of KRS Chapter 154 to establish a tiered county system for eligible companies to receive incentives under the Kentucky Business Investment Program; amends KRS 154.32-010 to define "tier"; amends KRS 154.32-020 and 154.32-040 to conform; amend KRS 154.32-050 to specify tiering procedures; amend KRS 154.32-060 to require the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority to identify and certify or decertify the tiers for all counties on an annual basis into 4 tax credit tiers; provide that the incentives available under this subchapter be determined based on the county where the economic development project is located by an approved company; provide a county's tier will be based on a 5 year average of its unemployment rate and population ranking; amend KRS 154.32-090, 154.61-010, 154.61-020, and 141.383 to conform.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 139 to annually transfer 80% of the sales and use taxes, interest, and penalties collected during the preceding fiscal year from sporting goods retailers from the general fund to the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation fund.

HB 718 creates an automatic expungement process for eligible nonviolent felony convictions in Kentucky, effective starting August 1, 2026. It directly affects individuals with nonviolent felony convictions who have completed their sentences, waited five years since release, and had no new convictions in that period. The bill requires courts to automatically erase court and law enforcement records for these cases without requiring the person to apply, with courts processing lists monthly after August 15, 2026. This eliminates the need for individuals to navigate a manual application process for qualifying records.

HB 712 updates Kentucky law to use gender-neutral language in fire department regulations. It amends KRS 75.160 to replace "he or she" with gender-neutral terms when referring to fire department chiefs and members, and updates references to "sheriffs" to be inclusive. The bill does not change any existing powers, duties, or legal authority for fire department personnel. It directly affects how Kentucky's fire protection districts and their members are legally described in statutes. This is a purely linguistic update with no new policy or procedural changes.