Rep. David Hale

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 277 to require each railroad company to destroy or remove obstructive vegetation at intersections with public roads or highways; direct the Transportation Cabinet or local government to remove obstructive vegetation if the railroad company fails to do so after receiving written notice from the cabinet or local government; establish procedures for reimbursement by the railroad company for the vegetation removal.

Amend KRS 15.460 to allow Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources game wardens to receive annual supplements from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund; remove the requirement that a game warden's annual training stipend be paid from the game and fish fund; amend KRS 150.010 to remove the definitions for "administrative regulation," "navigable waters," and "public roadway"; add definitions for "exotic wildlife," "native wildlife," and "roadway" and amend the definition for "livestock"; amend KRS 150.021 to remove the requirement that the department pay a fee equal to 5% of the debt service for the 2-way radio system utilized by the Kentucky State Police; amend KRS 150.025 to allow the department or the commissioner, with the approval of the commission, to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out the purposes of KRS Chapter 150; amend KRS 150.027 to require the department to file a statement of consideration at the same time as it files an administrative regulation that affects property that is adjacent to department-owned or controlled lakes; amend KRS 150.061 to require the commissioner of the department to establish a salary structure for the department's Division of Law Enforcement that is adequate to meet the department's recruitment and retention goals; amend KRS 150.090 to provide that waters bordering the Commonwealth are included in the jurisdiction of game wardens; amend KRS 150.120 to provide that native and exotic wildlife that are taken, possessed, or transported in violation of the provisions of KRS Chapter 150 or the administrative regulations promulgated thereunder shall be seized; require that upon seizure, native wildlife or any hybrid thereof shall be declared contraband and disposed of as determined by the commissioner; amend KRS 150.150 to conform and to provide that the $25,000 set aside annually for hunger relief is not required to be taken from the game and fish fund; amend KRS 150.170 to change the reference from "disposal" tag to "carcass tag" for the taking of depredating wildlife; amend KRS 150.172 to allow a person to use a firearm at any time to take a mortally wounded animal instead of an injured animal; amend KRS 150.360 to allow the taking of wildlife at night instead of only coyotes and to conform; amend KRS 150.660 to allow the department to revoke a pay lake operator's license at all of his or her licensed locations for failure to comply with the laws or regulations governing pay lakes; amend KRS 150.690 to change the references from "buffalo" to "American bison"; amend KRS 150.990 double all fines for violations of KRS Chapter 150 and to establish replacement costs for certain wildlife; amend KRS 150.995 to provide that any restitution amount to be paid to the department for the illegal taking of wildlife that would exceed $10,000 shall be panel scored by 2 official scorers; allow the commissioner or a designee to seek an order from the court for payment of restitution costs in any action in which a person is found guilty for a violation of KRS Chapter 150 and for which restitution costs are owed; amend KRS 235.250 to increase the property damage threshold for the mandatory reporting requirement for boating accidents.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 179 to define "chip seal"; require the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid to establish a pilot project to evaluate the efficacy of chip seal pavement on gravel county roads; start the pilot program on July 1, 2026, and end it on June 30, 2030; limit the amount of county road aid funds a county may use to chip seal county roads in any year; require the Department of Rural and Municipal Aid to report annually to the Legislative Research Commission on the use of chip seal pavement on gravel county roads; set forth required elements of the report: EFFECTIVE July 1, 2026; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 189 to define terms related to automated license plate readers; restrict use of automated license plate readers; establish limitations on use and sale of data captured by automated license plate readers; provide that captured license plate data may be retained longer than 90 days only if it is being used in a criminal or insurance investigation or has become subject to a preservation of evidence notification; require law enforcement agencies to adopt and make public a written policy governing use of automated license plate readers; provide that any recorded images or data captured by an automated license plate reader may be made available to the National Insurance Crime Bureau or its successor organization; require the Transportation Cabinet to establish a permit process for installation of automated license plate readers on highway rights-of-way and to promulgate administrative regulations; amend KRS 189.990 to establish penalty for violation.

­Create a new section of KRS Chapter 510 to establish the offense of grooming a minor; amend KRS 510.010 to define "course of conduct," "grooming behavior," and "sexual conduct"; amend various sections to conform; make technical corrections.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; allow the use of camera monitoring systems on school buses operated by a school district and allow the enforcement of a civil penalty for stop arm camera violations recorded by a camera monitoring system; establish the amount of the civil penalty; require that the revenue generated from a civil penalty be retained by the school district; allow a law enforcement agency to charge a fee of $25 from every civil penalty enforced by the law enforcement agency; require specific notice for a stop arm camera violation; establish defenses to a violation; establish procedures for a contest to a violation; allow for suspension of motor vehicle registration for failure to timely pay a penalty; require a school district or law enforcement agency to notify the Transportation Cabinet of the need to release a motor vehicle registration suspension within 1 business day of payment; amend KRS 189.370 to require traffic in the opposite direction of a school or church bus to stop for the bus on a highway that is not divided by an elevated barrier or unpaved median;amend KRS 189.990 to increase the maximum fines for failing to stop for a school or church bus that is receiving or discharging passengers.

Amend KRS 156.160 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate administrative regulations for an alternate high school diploma and a modified high school diploma; specify requirements for alternate and modified high school diplomas; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to require the Department of Workforce Development to identify, compile, and publish a list of employers willing to employ individuals possessing an alternate high school diploma; amend KRS 158.140, 164.787, and 164.7882 to conform.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 189 to require vehicles operating on a highway with an iron, steel, or wooden wheel to be equipped with a rubberized strip on the portion of the wheel that is in contact with the highway; provide an exception for certain animal-drawn vehicles; amend KRS 189.990 to set penalty for violation at $20 to $100 for each offense.

Amend KRS 508.025 to expand assault in the third degree to include causing or attempting to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider in a jail, penitentiary, or local or state correctional or detention facility; amend KRS 65.1591 to add jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers employed by a local detention center, local correctional facility, or regional jail to the list of public safety employees eligible to participate in a peer support counseling program.

Amend KRS 217.127 to define "charitable food donor" as a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or home-based processor, which produces food for distribution to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster; exempt a charitable food donor from the licensing requirements of KRS 217.005 to 217.215 and application of State Plumbing Code requirements; amend KRS 217.218 to conform; amend KRS 411.241 to exempt a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a home-based processor from civil or criminal liability arising from the production or donation of food to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster.