Sen. Mike Wilson

Amend KRS 13A.010 to define "full review"; amend KRS 13A.030, 13A.270, 13A.280, 13A.290, and 13A.300 to establish the procedures for the informational review of an administrative regulation by the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee or any other legislative committee; make separate processes for full reviews compared to informational reviews; require promulgating agencies to be present and cooperate with informational reviews; allow deferrals of informational reviews under designated circumstances; amend KRS 13A.335 and 67.767 to conform; EMERGENCY.

Maddy summaryThis bill designates a 9.5-mile segment of Kentucky Route 221 in Harlan County (from mile 8.9 to 18.4) as the "Johnnie L. Turner Memorial Highway." It memorializes Johnnie L. Turner, a longtime Harlan County attorney, former Kentucky state legislator (House and Senate), and advocate for Eastern Kentucky who died in October 2024. The resolution requires the Transportation Cabinet to install signage within 30 days of enactment. As a commemorative resolution, it does not change laws or regulations but honors a local figure through highway naming.

Maddy summarySB 172 amends Kentucky's eminent domain law (KRS 154.50-323) to require government entities to clearly state the specific purpose for which condemned property will be used and prove that purpose in court. It mandates that condemned property must be developed within five years for the stated purpose, or the original owner can repurchase it at the government's purchase price. Property owners whose land is taken gain the right to reclaim it through court if development doesn't occur, plus recovery of costs and reasonable attorney fees. This bill directly affects landowners facing condemnation and government entities exercising eminent domain authority.

Maddy summarySB 173 creates a program through which the Kentucky Board of Education helps certified teachers purchase personal computers at discounted rates. The bill requires the Board to secure the lowest prices via competitive bidding and arrange vendor-provided training on computer use. This directly affects all certified teachers in Kentucky by providing financial assistance and technical support for personal computer purchases. The legislation amends KRS 156.690 to establish this specific teacher support program, with no mention of gender-neutral language in the actual bill text (contrary to the abstract).

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 214 to prohibit a requirement for any individual to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, modified ribonucleic acid (modRNA) vaccine, or messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine for the purposes of student enrollment, employment, or medical treatment in the Commonwealth; prohibit any COVID-19 vaccine, modified ribonucleic acid (modRNA) vaccine, or messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccine to be administered in the Commonwealth to a minor child under the age of 18 years; sunset the provisions that relate to a minor child on July 1, 2035, unless extended by the General Assembly:

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; prohibit a school district, public school, or cooperative board from providing differential treatment or benefits on the basis of an individual's religion, race, sex, color, or national origin; prohibit the Kentucky Department of Education, a school district, a public school, or a cooperative board from expending any resources on diversity, equity, and inclusion; prohibit the department, a school district, a public school, or a cooperative board from soliciting statements on an applicant's experience with or views on religion, race, sex, color, or national origin, from providing differential treatment or benefits to an individual based on the individual's participation in diversity, equity, and inclusion training, and from disseminating or profiting from any research, work product, or material that promotes or justifies discriminatory concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion; establish exclusions; authorize the Attorney General to bring an action for a writ of mandamus to compel the department, a school district, a public school or a cooperative board to comply; create a cause of action to permit a qualified individual to file a civil action against a the department, a school district, a cooperative board, or a public school for injunctive relief arising from a violation of this Act; permit recovery of monetary damages for a willful and intentional violation; waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity; prohibit retaliation; require each public school district and cooperative board to provide the State Treasurer the name, job title, duty station, and compensation information of each employee of the school district or cooperative board each month for publication; amend KRS 161.030 to require certain certification applicants to complete an approved professional development program on Kentucky education law; amend KRS 158.4416 and 158.4414 to conform; require school districts and cooperative boards to follow designated procedures when implementing this Act including termination or transfer of certain employees; require the Kentucky Department of Education to eliminate the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging and follow designated procedures when implementing this Act including termination or transfer of certain employees; EFFECTIVE, in part, February 1, 2026; EMERGENCY.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 61 to prohibit a state or local government or public agency from providing preferential treatment to individuals or entities on the basis of religion, race, sex, color, or national origin when they contract or seek employment with the state or local government; define terms; prohibit a state or local government from requiring or incentivizing a person to attend a diversity, equity, and inclusion training or provide any differential treatment or benefits to an individual based on the individual's participation in diversity, equity, and inclusion training; prohibit a public agency from providing resources or funds to establish or maintain diversity, equity, and inclusion offices, trainings, or related initiatives; allow an exemption to provide preferential consideration for businesses owned by individuals who are residents of Kentucky or the United States; allow the Attorney General to bring civil action to enforce provisions of this Act; allow a qualified individual to bring a civil action for injunctive relief and to recover attorney's fees and litigation costs if a state or local government or public agency is found to have violated this Act; waive immunity under certain conditions; prevent an employee or agent of a public agency or a state or local government from using their authority to influence, discourage, interfere, or retaliate against a person who in good faith participates in a civil action in accordance with this Act; amend KRS 12.020 to rename the "Office of Diversity, Equality, and Training" to "Office of Employee Training"; amend KRS 18A.025 to deline the responsibilities of the Office of Employee Training; EMERGENCY.

Amend KRS 37.170 to create the Kentucky Emergency Volunteer Corps (KEV Corps) within the Kentucky State Defense Force; create a new section of KRS Chapter 37 to detail KEV Corps eligibility, supervision, training requirements, uniform details, and prohibitions and to create the KEV Corps fund; amend KRS 39B.030 to permit the local emergency management director to use the KEV Corps during a local disaster or emergency; amend KRS 39B.050 to include the KEV Corps as a part of the local disaster and emergency services organization; amend KRS 39B.070 to permit each city, urban-county government, or charter county government the use of the KEV Corps.

Amend KRS 157.360 to require that English language learners receive an additional factor of 0.24 in a school districts average daily attendance for the program to support education excellence in Kentucky, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year; amend KRS 160.1596 to conform.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 61 to define "boy," "equal," "female," "girl," "male," "man," "sex," and "woman"; prohibit any state or local law, regulation, ordinance, or policy from treating males or females unfairly from similiarly situated members of the opposite sex, but permit separation of the sexes if in the interest of maintaining safety, privacy, and fairness; provide a non-exhaustive list of examples of areas in which public entities may distinguish between the sexes; require any public school, public school district, state agency, department, local government, special district or any political subdivision of those entities that collects vital statistics to identify each person as either male or female; provide that the Act may be cited as the Kentucky Women's Bill of Rights.