Transportation

Amend KRS 186.763 to prohibit a school district from operating a fully autonomous vehicle as a school bus or for transporting students; prohibit the operation of a fully autonomous vehicle if that vehicle requires an operator with a commercial driver's license; amend KRS 281.764 to conform.

The Transportation Cabinet Budget: Detail Part I, Operating Budget; detail Part II, Capital Projects Budget; detail Part III, Funds Transfer; detail Part IV, Transportation Cabinet Budget Summary; APPROPRIATION.

Amend KRS 190.058 to establish the motor vehicle commission fund; direct all license fees collected under KRS Chapter 190 to be deposited into the fund; set forth uses of the fund; provide that fund amounts not expended at the end of a fiscal year not lapse but instead be carried forward to the next fiscal year.

The State/Executive Branch Budget: Details Part I, Operating Budget; details Part II, Capital Projects Budget; details Part III, General Provisions; details Part IV, State Salary/Compensation, Benefit, and Employment Policy; details Part V, Funds Transfer; details Part VI, General Fund Budget Reduction Plan; details Part VII, General Fund Surplus Expenditure Plan; details Part VIII, Road Fund Budget Reduction Plan; details Part IX, Road Fund Surplus Expenditure Plan; details Part X, Phase I Tobacco Settlement; and details Part XI, Executive Branch Budget Summary; APPROPRIATION.

Amend KRS 189.993 to establish enhanced penalties for a violation of KRS 189.505, including increased fines, vehicle impoudment for up to 6 months for the first offense, and vehicle forfeiture for the second or subsequent offense; amend KRS 500.090 to provide that the proceeds from any public auction of a vehicle that has been forfeited for a second or subsequent violation of KRS 189.505 be transferred to the Crime Victims Compensation Board.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 189 to define terms; prohibit a person from remaining on any portion of a state-maintained right-of-way that is not designated for pedestrian use; provide exemptions and authorize local governmental exceptions; allow local governments to enact ordinances to authorize limited exceptions to the prohibition; allow the Transportation Cbinet to promulgate administrative regulations to define minimum standards for state-maintained rights-of-way; amend KRS 189.570 to conform.

Direct the Transportation Cabinet study the efficacy and potential drawbacks of planting mint along highways to mitigate motor vehicle collisions with deer and other wildlife and report the results of its study to the Legislative Research Commission by October 31, 2026.

Amend KRS 138.220 to set a single excise tax on gasoline and special fuels; set initial base rate at 29.6 cents per gallon (cpg); subject tax to annual adjustment; eliminate references to taxation on the average wholesale price of gasoline and the supplemental tax on gasoline and special fuels; require annual notification to motor fuel dealers of the adjusted rate of the excise tax on gasoline and special fuels for each upcoming fiscal year; amend KRS 138.660 to set the initial base rate for the heavy equipment motor carrier surtax for gasoline at 2.2 cpg for fiscal year 26-27 and 4.3 cpg for fiscal year 27-28 and set the rate for special fuels at 3.6 cpg for fiscal year 26-27 and 7.2 cpg for fiscal year 27-28; subject the surtax to annual adjustment; create a new section of KRS Chapter 138 to define "taxes"; provide a mechanism for annual adjustment of the excise tax on gasoline and special fuels and the heavy equipment motor carrier surtax based on changes in the National Highway Construction Cost Index 2.0; allow these taxes to increase or decrease no more than 5% from one year to the next, subject to the statutory minimums; amend KRS 186.018 to increase the fee for a driving history record from $3 to $6; amend KRS 186.020 to eliminate the requirement to present a vehicle's registration receipt when renewing the vehicle registration and allow mail or online registration renewal with no additional fee; amend KRS 186.040 to eliminate the $30 county clerk fee for motor carrier registrations on vehicles in excess of 44,000 pounds; increase the county clerk fee for motor vehicle registrations from $6 to $8; amend KRS 186.050 to increase to state fee for motor vehicle registrations from $11.50 to $22; increase other state registration fees; provide for a $10 late charge for vehicle registrations not renewed within 30 days of expiration; make technical correction; amend KRS 186.162, 186.180, and 186.240 to conform; amend KRS 186.531 to set the reinstatement fee for a suspended operator's license at $100 and provide for distribution of funds; amend KRS 281A.150 to increase reinstatement fees for suspended CDLs from $50 to $100; amend KRS 186A.130 and 186A.245 to set the fee for an initial title at $25, the fee for a duplicate or replacement title at $10, and the fee for a speed title at $40, and adjust the distribution of fees between the Transportation Cabinet and the county clerk; amend KRS 189.574 to increase to fee for state traffic school from $15 to $50; create a new section of KRS Chapter 174 to create the multimodal transportation fund, specify allowable uses for moneys in the fund; amend KRS 177.320 and 177.365, regarding allocation of a portion of fuel tax revenue to county road aid funds and municipal road aid funds; change the revenue-sharing formula on the portion of fuel tax revenue available for revenue sharing which exceeds $825 million in any year from 18.3% to counties and 7.7% to cities to 13% for each fund; amend KRS 176.080 to establish limitations and awarding of single bid construction contracts the exceed, engineer's estimates, require reporting of such contracts; amend KRS 176.210 to prohibit the Department of Highways from revealing the identities of eligible bidders on a project until the project bid letting; amend KRS 138.210 to delete the definitions for "average wholesale price," "average wholesale floor price," and "quarterly survey value"; amend KRS 138.695, 138.270, 42.409, 234.320, 234.380, and 186A.035 to conform; repeal KRS 138.228, regarding the calculation of average wholesale price of gasoline, KRS 138.4602, regarding determination of total consideration on vehicles purchased between 2009 and 2014, and KRS 175.505, regarding the debt payment acceleration fund for turnpike authority debt; EFFECTIVE, in part, July, 1, 2026, and January 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 177.320 and 177.365, relating to the allocation of a portion of motor fuel tax revenue to county road aid funds and municipal road aid funds, to change the revenue-sharing formula on the portion of revenue available for revenue sharing that exceeds $775 million in any fiscal year from 18.3% for counties and 7.7% for cities to 13% for each fund; make technical corrections; amend KRS 176.241, 178.010, 179.010, and 189.503 to conform; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 189.2226, regarding overweight allowances for hauling of building materials for homes, to require any builder of 10 or more homes in a 1 mile radius to apply for a permit before the person may operate under the exemptions; require all persons applying for a permit issued under this section to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Transportation Cabinet; allow the Transportation Cabinet to require a bond as part of the cooperative agreement; require funds collected under a cooperative agreement to be used for maintanence of state roads covered under the cooperative agreement.