Kentucky Bills

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 is a symbolic resolution (not a law) honoring Frank Riherd, founder of Riherd's Scoreboard, for his work building and operating Kentucky's primary online repository for high school sports statistics. The resolution recognizes his decades-long effort to document over 650,000 games across 12 sports, which serves as the historical record for Kentucky high school athletes. It was adopted by the Kentucky Senate in February 2026 as a tribute to his contributions, acknowledging his role in creating the "gold standard" for accessing high school sports information. The resolution has no policy impact beyond formal recognition.

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.

This resolution (SR 78) is a ceremonial Senate recognition of the CSX Santa Train, a decades-long holiday tradition. It commends CSX Railroad, volunteers, and sponsors (like Appalachian Power and Food City) for providing toys, supplies, and holiday joy to children across Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee - specifically noting 15,000 toys and 5,000 cold-weather gear bags distributed in 2025. The resolution expresses the Senate’s appreciation for the train’s 83-year impact on Appalachian communities and directs the Senate Clerk to present a copy to CSX. As a procedural resolution, it has no policy or legal effect beyond honoring the event.

Amend KRS 72.025 to require a post-mortem examination in deaths that occur during an arrest; create a new section of KRS Chapter 72 to require coroners to notify the Kentucky State Medical Examiner of arrest-related deaths; require publication of an annual public report; amend KRS 72.020 to conform.

Direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Mental Health Alternative Community Response Model Task Force; establish task force membership; require the task force to study and make recommendations to identify programs, initiatives, and opportunities in the Commonwealth for alternative response services for communities related to mental health for Kentuckians and submit a report with recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2026.

Amend KRS 158.060 to require teachers to be compensated for noninstructional planning time within their school day during which they are required to supervise or instruct students.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 138 to define terms; impose a 4% state retail regulatory license fee on all alcoholic beverage sales to consumers by alcoholic beverage retailers; establish procedures and duties of retailers; establish KRS Chapter 243A and create new sections thereof to impose state wholesale regulatory license fees on alcoholic beverages, state retail regulatory license fees on kratom, hemp-derived, and cannabinoid products, and penalties for violations; set out regulatory license fee rates, deductions for timely filing and payment, and licensee duties; amend KRS 211.285 to fund the alcohol wellness and responsibility education fund with 0.5% of the collected state retail regulatory license fees; amend KRS 241.010 to define "state or national conference" and redefine "alcoholic beverages"; amend KRS 241.069 to delete outdated language; amend various sections of KRS Chapter 243 to establish state license fees for new and existing license types; limit licensee discipline to only the specific license in question; establish a souvenir package license for distillers; authorize distillers, small farm wineries, and microbreweries to allow leashed dogs on their premises; allow caterers and special temporary auction licensees at state and national conferences; modify the privileges for various licensees, including a limited golf course, wholesaler, Class B distiller, and special agent or solicitor; allow a qualified historic site to sell alcoholic beverages by the package under a limited nonquota package license; add references to the new tax structure and statutes; modify requirements for public notice of a license application; sunset existing excise, wholesale, and other taxes on July 1, 2027, as they relate to alcoholic beverages; repeal and reenact KRS 243.075, relating to local regulatory license fees, to allow any moist or wet city or county to impose the fee; authorize audits of each city's or county's regulatory license fee fund by the Auditor of Public Accounts for the most recent 10 years; describe audit penalties for cities and counties that fail to substantially comply; establish the regulatory license fee audit fund; direct cities and counties to reduce the regulatory license fee to 3% within 4 years; limit future cities and counties to a 1% regulatory license fee; amend KRS 244.080 to permanently prohibit a retail license from using a premises if the licensee sold to minors at that premises 3 or more times in 24 months; amend KRS 244.585 to establish limitations for agreements between distributors and breweries or microbreweries; amend KRS 131.250, 139.010, 243.045, 243.430, 243.790, 243.850, and 243.990 to conform; EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 441 to establish the External Detainee Fatality Review Panel to conduct comprehensive reviews of all fatalities of individuals detained by law enforcement, in county or regional jails, or in any facility operated by the Department of Corrections, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or an entity under contract with either department; establish membership and duties of the panel; set a schedule for appointment of members.