Sen. Johnnie Turner

Amend KRS 151.100 to define terms; amend KRS 151.110 to make technical corrections; amend KRS 151.112 to allow the Energy and Environment Cabinet to request technical assistance from any agency or organization to carry out its duties; make technical corrections; amend KRS 151.116 to direct the Energy and Environment Cabinet to consult with the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority in developing administrative regulations; amend KRS 151.120 to make a technical correction; amend KRS 151.125 to direct the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet to adopt minimum standards for floodplain management; replace instances of “certificate of inspection” with “inspection report”; amend KRS 151.220 to permit the Energy and Environment Cabinet to accept and use cooperate agreements; amend KRS 151.250 to prohibit buildings, barriers, or obstructions in floodplains or floodways without approval and a permit from the Energy and Environment Cabinet; allow the Energy and Environment Cabinet to require approval prior to construction related to agricultural operations that impact the base flood of a stream; make technical corrections; amend KRS 151.260 to direct the Energy and Environment Cabinet to notify construction permit applicants within 20 working days for a floodplain permit and 45 working days for a dam permit; allow the secretary of the Energy and Environment Cabinet to establish administrative regulations requiring some dam owners to develop and maintain emergency action plans; amend KRS 151.293 to replace instances of “certificate of inspection” with “inspection report”; replace the “United States Weather Service” with the “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”; make technical corrections; amend KRS 151.310 to prohibit encroachment on the reservoir area of any dam in Kentucky; amend KRS 151.600 to direct the Energy and Environment Cabinet to administer National Flood Insurance Program related activities; make technical corrections; repeal KRS 151.230.

Amend KRS 423.345 to allow notaries to perform notarial acts in another state if the notarial act is performed in a civil action or legal proceeding originating in the Commonwealth.

Adjourn in honor and recognition of the life and legacy of the Honorable Henry R. Wilhoit, Jr.

Confirm the appointment of Angela C. Hatton to the Public Service Commission for a term expiring July 1, 2025.

Amend 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 197, sec. 11, to direct the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to make the conservation easement acquisitions required to be made under the section instead of the Finance and Administration Cabinet; delete the provision requiring the Finance and Administration Cabinet to procure outside counsel; provide that the conservation easement transfers not be subject to KRS 382.850 provided that the conservation easements stipulate that they will not inhibit coal mining operations; allow the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to work with third parties, contractors, and partners to perform the due diligence necessary to complete the transactions; move the closing date for the acquisitions back to June 30, 2024; provide that notwithstanding KRS 56.040, surveys for the lands involved in the transactions directed by the section may be completed after closing; require funds to be held in escrow to reconcile any differences in acreage of the lands once the surveys are completed; authorize the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to sign all necessary documents to complete the transactions; require the Finance and Administration Cabinet to deliver all documents relating to the due diligence it has already performed to the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources on the effective date of the Act; allow the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to accept, via assignment, contracts that the Finance and Administration Cabinet has already entered into in the course of performing its due diligence; amend 2022 Kentucky Acts Chapter 199, Part I, Operating Budget, L. Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, 7. Fish and Wildlife Resources, (4) Kentucky Cumberland Forest Conservation Program, to provide that the $3,875,000 one-time allocation in fiscal year 2022-2023 to support the Kentucky Cumberland Forest Conservation Program shall not lapse and shall carry forward; amend KRS 45A.800 to add the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to several definitions for KRS Chapter 45A; amend KRS 45A.810 to create one or more engineering and engineering-related services section committees in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources and provide for the selection process for the members of the committees; amend KRS 45A.815, 45A.825, 45A.830, 45A.837 to conform; amend KRS 56.040 to require the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources to provide for the examination and certification of title when acquiring an interest in land from state funds; amend KRS 150.022 to remove language relating to the removal of a member of the Fish and Wildlife Commission by the Governor; amend KRS 150.0242 to provide that the department shall not be subject to any provision of KRS Chapter 45A that requires Finance and Administration Cabinet approval for any part of its procurement process; require the department to promulgate administrative regulations on or before January 1, 2024 implementing procedures for the procurement of engineering services; amend KRS 150.120 to remove the requirement that the Governor and the Finance and Administration Cabinet approve of the department's sale of contraband; subject sales of contraband to audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts; amend KRS 150.152 to specify certain aspects of the audit of the department by the Auditor of Public Accounts; amend KRS 150.170 to provide for a five acre minimum for a resident owner of farmlands to be hunting and fishing license-exempt when fishing or hunting on their own lands; amend KRS 150.175 to change some department-issued license names and to remove the requirement that an applicant under the age of 16 get written consent from a parent before applying for a youth statewide hunting license; amend KRS 150.195 to remove the requirement that county clerks sell licenses and permits issued by the department; specify other entities authorized to sell licenses and permits issued by the department; make conforming changes; amend KRS 150.250 to remove the requirement that the Governor and the secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet approve before thedepartment can enter into a contract with the federal government; amend KRS 150.990 to conform; provide that the requirements of the Act apply to all procurements and acquisitions of interests in land undertaken by the department, including those commenced prior to the effective date of the Act; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 177.074 to require the Transportation Cabinet Secretary, upon passage of a joint resolution of the General Assembly, to direct the placement of signs denoting inclusion of an artist as an honoree on the Country Music Highway on United States Route 23; amend KRS 186.240 to identify the mottos and slogans that may appear on a standard issue motor vehicle license plate; amend KRS 186.240 (Effective January 1, 2024) to conform.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 278 to define terms; prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving a request by a utility to retire a coal-fired electric generator unless the utility demonstrates that the retirement will not have a negative impact on the reliability or the resilience of the electric grid or the affordability of the customer's electric utility rate; require the Public Service Commission to submit an annual report on retirements of electric generating units by December 1 to the Legislative Research Commission; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of Subchapter 16 of KRS Chapter 224 to require the Energy and Environment Cabinet, when issuing permits under the Clean Water Act for discharges into outstanding state resource waters, to presume that water quality will be maintained if the permittee complies with technology-based effluent limitations for its industry or with species-specific protection measures imposed on its operations by another state or federal agency, give substantial weight to evidence that discharges from similar operations have not impacted the same or similar threatened or endangered species, not impose conditions that are more stringent than United States Fish and Wildlife Service requirements to protect a threatened or endangered aquatic organism or habitat, presume that compliance with numeric water quality standards applicable to the discharge shall constitute compliance with narrative water quality standards applicable to outstanding state resources waters that support threatened or endangered species; require the Energy and Environment Cabinet to clearly document its compliance with the requirements of the section in the fact sheet for the permit; provide that failure to clearly and adequately document compliance with the requirements of the section shall result in a stay in permit conditions for permits based on a narrative water quality standard for an outstanding state resource water upon the filing of a petition for an administrative hearing; amend KRS 224.10-225 to allow an applicant for a surface coal mining and reclamation operation to request for one stop shopping for environmental permits; provide that failure of the Energy and Environment Cabinet to adhere to the timelines for Clean Water Act permitting issuances shall constitute the making of a final determination, which shall allow the applicant to initiate an action in the Circuit Court for the county where the surface coal mining and reclamation operation is located or initiate an administrative hearing; define surface coal mining operations; amend KRS 224.16-050 to require the Energy and Environment Cabinet, when making a Clean Water Act Section 401 certification, to notify an applicant within 30 days of receiving an application if the application is incomplete; provide that if the application is incomplete, allow the applicant an additional 30 days to complete the application; provide that after receiving a complete application, the Energy and Environment Cabinet shall make a certification determination within 60 days; provide that if the certification determination is not made within 60 days, then the certification requirements are waived unless a time extension is otherwise agreed upon; provide that Clean Water Act Section 401 certifications shall be limited to water quality impacts from the discharge only; strike the requirement that the Governor must make a finding that the permitted activity would be in the best interests of the Commonwealth before the Energy and Environment Cabinet could engage in permitting and certification for the activity; prohibit the Energy and Environment Cabinet from delaying the issuance of a Clean Water Act permit based on the need or receipt of any other federal, state, or local permit or certification.

Adjourn in honor and loving memory of Dr. Frank Douglas Scutchfield.

Amend KRS 16.050 to extend contracts subject to reimbursement for training costs to five years for state police officers; amend KRS 70.290 to extend contracts subject to reimbursement for training costs to five years for law enforcement officers employed by cities and counties; amend KRS 183.881 to allow public airport boards to condition employment of a safety and security officer to contract to repay the airport board for training costs if the officer accepts a similar position within five years, and require the firing entity to repay costs under certain circumstances.