Rep. Jared Bauman

Maddy summaryHB 362 increases the maximum prize value for an individual charity game ticket from $599 to $2,000 for Kentucky charitable organizations conducting games like bingo or raffles. This directly affects licensed charities that run fundraising events, allowing them to offer higher individual prizes while maintaining other existing rules. The bill specifies that cumulative or carryover prizes in certain games remain capped at $2,400, requires clear posting of prize rules, and maintains restrictions on minors (who cannot purchase or play for cash prizes). Charities must still follow all other licensing, location, and operational requirements under Kentucky law.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 61 to define terms; prohibit state and local governmental entities from adopting sanctuary policies; require law enforcement agencies to use reasonable resources to support the enforcement of federal immigration law; prohibit policies which would restrict the sharing of information with federal immigration agencies; require compliance with federal requirements when a defendant subject to an immigration detainer has been sentenced in a criminal case; require correctional facilities to provide information regarding the date of discharge to federal immigration agencies and cooperate in the transfer of an inmate to federal custody; require completion of a sentence before an inmate may be transferred to federal custody in cases where the inmate is a violent offender; require a law enforcement agency to provide notice to a judge if a person in their custody is subject to an immigration detainer; require counties to endeavor to enter into agreements with federal immigration agencies regarding the housing of persons in county jails who are subject to immigration detainers; create a rebuttable presumption that a state or local officer who intentionally violates any of the provisions of the Act has committed malfeasance and neglect of duty and is subject to impeachment; allow the Attorney General to make findings that a local government has violated the Act; and to withhold road aid funding if the local government willfully violates the Act by refusing to cease a violation; create a private right of action against an official that has adopted a sanctuary policy; waive immunities when a person is injured by a person released as a result of a sanctuary policy; amend KRS 177.360 and 177.366 to require transfer of road aid moneys to be suspended upon notice by the Attorney General of willful violations by a local government and reinstated upon notice by the Attorney General of compliance; provide that the Act may be cited as the Lawful Immigration System Act of 2026.

Propose to create a new section of the Constitution of Kentucky to exempt homeowners who are 65 years of age or older from any increase in the valuation of their permanent residence that is assessed after the later of the year the homeowner turned 65 or the year the homeowner acquired the property; require the exemption to be in addition to the exemption provided in Section 170 of the Constitution of Kentucky and notwithstanding Sections 171, 172, and 174 of the Constitution of Kentucky; apply the exemption to increases in valuation that occur after the date the amendment is ratified by the voters; provide ballot language; submit to voters for ratification or rejection.

Maddy summaryHB 234 requires Kentucky employers covered by specific labor laws to post a two-page document listing key veterans' benefits and services in a visible location. The document, created by the Kentucky Department of Veterans' Affairs, includes contact information and descriptions for resources like mental health services, education programs, tax benefits, driver's license assistance, unemployment benefits, legal aid, and the Veterans Crisis Line. Employers must download, print, and maintain the most current version of this document. This directly affects businesses subject to Kentucky labor statutes related to employment practices. The bill aims to ensure veterans and their families easily access support services through their workplaces.

Propose to amend Section 172B of the Constitution of Kentucky to expand the freeze on an assessment or reassessment moratorium to include the development of property and to remove the 5-year expiration date for the moratorium; provide ballot language; submit to voters for ratification or rejection.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to define "lobbying" and "public school or school district"; prohibit a public school or school district from expending any moneys to compensate an external individual or entity to lobby; permit employees of public schools or school districts to engage in lobbying services; permit schools to compensate external individuals or entities to represent their interest before the executive or legislative branch of the federal government; create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to prohibit a public postsecondary education institution from expending moneys to compensate an external individual or entity to engage in lobbying services; permit employees of public postsecondary education institutions to engage in lobbying services; permit public postsecondary education institutions to compensate external individuals or entities to represent their interest before the executive or legislative branch of the federal government.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 160 to establish a process for the creation of new independent school districts from a persistently underperforming school district; define terms; establish the process for a local legislative body where a persistently underperforming school district is located to place the question of creating new independent districts and local boards of education on the ballot; specify the requirements for the questions and the board of education provisional election; establish the initial terms of office for the interim board of education; establish the transition of authorities from the originating district board of education to the boards of both the altered originating district and the new independent district; require the Kentucky Department of Education to calculate assets and liabilities of the originating district for division to the new independent districts; authorize the originating district to maintain control and use of assets until the scheduled transfer to the new independent districts and authorize the continued payments of debts; establish a negotiation process between the originating district and the new independent districts to resolve the division of the originating district's assets and liabilities; establish a deadline for the negotiation to conclude; provide a process for resolution of disagreements; establish a deadline for the transfer of all assets and debts; authorize the originating district to continue to assess and collect taxes for all districts until the close of the tax year in which the new independent districts are fully operational; provide for the distribution of collected taxes during the transition period; require the county judge/executive to call the newly elected interim boards of new independent districts to meet; allow the interim board to request assistance from the Kentucky Department of Education; establish the transition process for new independent districts to become fully functional; allow the interim board to submit a waiver request for a statute or administrative regulation to the Kentucky Board of Education; authorize the interim board to enter into service contracts with another school district during the transition; establish a process for the interim board to vote to terminate the establishment of the new independent district due to financial nonviability during the transition; establish the transition from an interim board to a fully functional board of the new independent district; require the continued collection of taxes restricted to the payment of debt or interest; waive the requirement for school-based decision making for the first year of operations of the new independent district; require the interim board of the new independent district to develop a transition plan and establish the requirements of the plan; create a new section of KRS Chapter 157, relating to state formula funding calculations, to establish a projection model for the first year of full operations of the new independent district and the altered originating district.

Amend KRS 156.557 to increase the time period between mandatory summative evaluations for tenured certified school staff from once every three years to once every five years; provide that additional summative evaluations may be performed at the discretion of the individual's immediate supervisor but shall not be imposed as a uniform requirement across the system; amend KRS 158.060 to provide teachers access to their employment contract upon request; amend KRS 156.095 to require the Department of Education to create and local school districts to implement a four year recurring professional development training schedule that includes all required professional development trainings; provide that all certified school employees shall complete designated trainings within 12 months of initial hire and at least once every four years thereafter; consolidate state-required certified school personnel trainings; create new sections of KRS Chapter 158 to relocate language currently contained in KRS 158.060 related to the display of designated hotline information and the publication of and school lessons on evidence-based suicide prevention awareness information; amend KRS 158.070 to remove language regarding professional development trainings consolidated elsewhere; amend KRS 160.346 to prohibit the Department of Education from requiring comprehensive school improvement plans and comprehensive district improvement plans not expressly required by federal law; amend KRS 156.492, 157.360, and 158.4416 to conform; amend KRS 161.031 to remove the mandate for an induction program for new teachers; require a report identifying school districts that do not implement an induction program for new teachers; require the Department of Education to conduct a review of the reporting requirements imposed upon public schools and public school districts; eliminate all reporting requirements not expressly required by state statute or federal law; submit a report on the remaining reporting requirements; provide that the Act may be cited as the Red Tape Reduction Act.

Amend KRS 439.3103 to require the Department of Corrections to include in its report certain data on time served by persons released from a correctional institution and on persons released from a correctional institution on parole; EFFECTIVE January 1, 2026.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 205 to require the Department for Medicaid Services to submit a Medicaid preprint to establish a supplemental payment program for public ground ambulance providers.