Budget & Taxes

Urge the Legislative Research Commission to direct the Legislative Oversight and Investigations Committee to investigate the misuse of state resources in the executive branch and provide a report of its findings by December 1, 2026, to the Commission.

Amend KRS 141.433 to allow amounts received as repayment on a qualified low-income community investment and reinvested in another qualified low-income community investment during the same calendar year to be considered continuously held; amend KRS 141.434 to increase the cap on total New Markets Development Program tax credits from $10 million to $20 million in each fiscal year.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 6 to define "fiscal note"; require fiscal notes to be filed with the clerk in the chamber of the General Assembly for each bill or resolution that is filed; establish requirements related to fiscal notes for the director of the Legislative Research Commission; require fiscal notes to contain specific information; amend KRS 6.950, 6.955, 6.960, 6.965, and 6.970 to rename fiscal note to local government mandate statement; amend KRS 13A.190, 13A.230, 13A.250, 13A.280, and 13A.320 to rename fiscal note to fiscal note on state and local government.

HB 792 makes a technical correction to Kentucky law regarding the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Fund. The bill amends the existing statute to clarify how funds from the tobacco settlement should be deposited into the Rural Development Fund, which supports agricultural development for Kentucky residents. The amendment ensures that 50% of tobacco settlement proceeds are properly allocated to this fund and establishes requirements for the Rural Development Board to create a strategic plan, submit annual reports, and undergo regular audits. This change does not alter the fund's purpose but corrects procedural details in the legal framework governing its administration.

Amend KRS 139.010 to define "diaper"; amend KRS 139.480 to exempt all diapers from the sales and use tax; make technical corrections; EFFECTIVE August 1, 2026.

Direct the Legislative Research Commission to establish the Property Tax Relief Task Force to study and review the taxation of property and make policy recommendations to address affordability issues; require the task force to seek input from other groups in the development of policy recommendations and strategies; outline task force membership; require the task force to meet monthly during the 2026 Interim; require the task force to submit its findings and recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission by December 1, 2026.

This bill amends Kentucky law to make a technical correction to the definition and administration of the state's Economic Development Fund. It clarifies how the fund is funded through bonds or appropriations and outlines specific criteria for selecting projects, including job creation potential, public involvement, and investment amounts. The bill requires applicants to submit detailed commitments about job projections and investment breakdowns before receiving funding, and it establishes a process for reviewing projects through state committees. Additionally, it ensures that funds do not lapse at the end of each budget cycle and mandates annual public reporting on fund usage and repayment status.

Amend KRS 96A.096 to include voluntary contributions by a Kentucky employer up to 0.05% of the Kentucky employer's total payroll in the Kentucky public transportation development fund; require the fund to be administered by the Transportation Cabinet; require the moneys received from the voluntary contributions to be used for providing public transit for workforce mobility needs; specify how the moneys in the fund for public transit are distributed; require annual reporting to the Transportation Cabinet from each public transit system that receives money from the fund; require annual reporting from the Transportation Cabinet to the Legislative Research Commission; create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to define "public transportation contribution," "Kentucky public transportation development fund," and "transit authority"; establish the public transportation contribution credit for taxes imposed in KRS 141.020 or 141.040 and 141.0401 for public transportation contributions provided by a Kentucky employer; limit the credit to 50% of the total amount of the public transportation contribution made for the taxable year by the employer; require annual reporting by the Department of Revenue on the credits claimed; amend KRS 141.0205 to order the credits; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on the credit; appropriate $30 million in general fund moneys in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 biennium to the Kentucky public transportation development fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 15A to create the juvenile services fund within the Department of Juvenile Justice; appropriate money to the fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 141.383 and 154.61-020 to allow that any unallocated portion of the $75 million credit cap be carried forward for utilization in subsequent calendar years for high-impact motion pictures or entertainment productions; amend KRS 154.12-280 to require the Kentucky Film Office to review applications, notify applicants of additional information needed, and forward applications to the Cabinet for Economic Development and the Kentucky Film Leadership Council; amend KRS 154.12-282 to update functions and purposes of the Kentucky Film Leadership Council; amend KRS 154.61-010 to define terms and revise definitions; provide that a motion picture or entertainment production eligible for credit includes a video game, music video, or commercial; amend KRS 154.61-020 to increase the minimum amount of qualifying expenditures and qualifying payroll expenditures that must be expended by an approved company to qualify for tax incentives; require, in addition to current reports, the submission of a certified audit by an approved company within 180 days of completion of production.