Sen. Robby Mills

Create new sections of KRS 186.400 to 186.640 to: require the Transportation Cabinet to establish a driver licensing regional office in each senatorial district; allow third-party entities to apply to the Transportation Cabinet to be approved to accept applications for certain identity documents; allow third-party entities to charge a fee for services provided; require the Kentucky State Police to offer written instruction permit testing in counties without a permanent driver licensing office that coincides with Transportation Cabinet visits to those counties to offer in-person licensing services; require the state police to collect certain data on appointments and customers served and report to the Interim Joint Committee on Transportation by October 31, 2025; EFFECTIVE, in part, July 1, 2025.

Honor the extraordinary service of Senator John Schickel to the Commonwealth of Kentucky upon his retirement from the General Assembly.

Adjourn in honor and loving memory of Jessie "Jess" J. Adkins.

Honor Senator Denise Harper Angel upon her retirement from the General Assembly.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to define terms; provide that a student or employee of a public postsecondary education institution shall not be penalized, discriminated against, or receive any adverse treatment due to the individual's refusal to support or endorse any divisive concept; provide that a student or employee of a public postsecondary education institution shall not be required to endorse a specific ideology or political viewpoint to be eligible for hiring, contract renewal, tenure, promotion, or graduation and prohibit an institution from inquiring into the individual's political or social viewpoints; provide that any person aggrieved by a violation of this Act has a cause of action against the institution for damages and costs of no less than $1,000 and no more than $100,000 per violation; waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity; require the job duties of any individual employed in a diversity, equity, and inclusion role to include the promotion of intellectual diversity; provide that nothing in the section shall be interpreted to infringe upon designated rights of an institution's ability to comply with state or federal law or accreditation standards; require each public postsecondary education institution to conduct a survey in 2025 and 2027 of the institution's students and employees to assess the campus climate with regard to diversity of thought and the respondents' comfort level in speaking freely on campus, regardless of political affiliation or ideology.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to make findings and declarations; define terms; establish the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission and administratively attach it to the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK CAER); provide for membership of the commission board and executive committee; provide for gubernatorial appointments of members of the commission board and executive committee and require Senate confirmation of those appointments; require the election of two of the executive committee members by the commission board from the board membership; provide for commission and executive committee terms; prohibit the compensation of members; make members subject to the requirements of the executive branch code of ethics; provide for the election of the commission chair and vice chair; allow the executive committee to adopt bylaws governing the conduct of the commission's business; prohibit any direct financial relationship between a member of the executive committee and a utility; prohibit a member from serving if it would cause a conflict with or result in the disclosure of confidential information relating to any research projects at the UK CAER; require recusal and replacement of an executive committee member to prevent the disclosure of confidential information; prohibit the Governor from reorganizing the commission or executive committee; allow the commission to employ an executive director, subject to confirmation by the Senate; provide for the duties of the commission, which shall include the examination and study of energy generation related topics and review of the decommissioning notices given by utilities as required by the Act; require the commission to submit annual reports on December 1 to the Legislative Research Commission, the Governor, and the Public Service Commission to make recommendations based on the issues that the commission has examined; require any utility seeking to decommission, demolish, or retire any existing coal, oil, or natural gas-fired electric generating plant to give notice to the executive committee no later than 365 days before submitting a retirement application to the Public Service Commission as required under KRS 278.264; provide for the requirements of the notice; prohibit the disclosure of confidential information as part of the notice; require that within 180 days of receiving a notice, the commission shall hold a public hearing in the county where the retirement is proposed to occur; require that within 270 days of receiving notice and after the public hearing has occurred, the executive committee submit a final report with written findings and recommendations regarding the retirement to the Public Service Commission; provide for the contents of the written findings and for the accommodation of dissenting findings with the executive committee members; require the Public Service Commission to consider the findings of the report before approving a retirement under KRS 278.264; require that the executive committee or executive director, if authorized by the executive committee, to have standing to intervene in any case or proceeding before the Public Service Commission; allow the executive committee to employ administrative staff or third-party consultants if funding is available; require that the commission cease to exist on December 31, 2035; create a new section of KRS 278.010 to 278.450 to require the Public Service Commission to issue final orders within six months of the filing of an application by a utility; amend KRS 278.110 to require final reports of investigations or special inquiries to be filed within the public record for the case for which it was prepared; require the contracted person to be subject to written information requests and cross-examination in any public hearing for the case in which the report was prepared; amend KRS 278.264 to require that an application for the retirement of an electric generating unit include a statement certifying compliance with the requirements of Section 1 of this Act; require the Public Service Commission to find that a utility seeking to retire an electric generating unit will replace it with new electric generating capacity that has the same or higher capacity value and net capability, unless the utility can demonstrate that it is not necessary and to find that utility shall not commence the retirement until the replacement generating capacity is fully constructed, permitted, and in operation; define "dispatchable" and "intermittent"; provide for the staggering of initial appointments to the Energy Planning and Inventory Commission; EMERGENCY.

Recognize and commend the Louisville Fire Department rescue squad that executed a rescue on the Clark Memorial Bridge, and the Louisville Metro Police and emergency medical services personnel that responded to the scene.

Honor the extraordinary service of Senator Damon Thayer to the Commonwealth of Kentucky upon his retirement from the General Assembly.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to define terms; establish a framework for employment of Kentucky guardians in schools; specify qualifications of a guardian; specify that a local board of education may not be held liable for a guardian acting within his or her scope of duty; specify that guardians shall have the immunities of police officers; amend KRS 158.442 to require the Center for School Safety to implement a system to certify guardians to school districts and administer and oversee the school mapping program; amend KRS 158.441 to specify required certifications in the definition of "school resource officer"; amend 158.4414 to allow school districts to hire a guardian until a certified school resource officer is available as required; allow a district with a school resource officer to hire guardians to provide additional school safety and security measures; amend KRS 158.4416 to define terms; make conforming changes; require the trauma-informed team to compile their activities to be used in the creation of the comprehensive school improvement plan and submit the information to the Department of Education (KDE); require KDE to annually summarize and submit the information to the state board and the Legislative Research Commission; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to require the department to gather and compile data, coordinate training, and monitor the numbers and types of mental health professionals in schools; amend KRS 158.443 to conform; amend KRS 158.4451 to require the Office of Homeland Security to maintain and update the anonymous reporting tool; specify that each school district shall make available an anonymous reporting tool; provide for an alternative anonymous reporting tool; amend KRS 156.095 to require schools to provide suicide prevention awareness twice a year and an opportunity for any student who missed the suicide prevention awareness lesson to receive the lesson at a later time; make conforming changes; amend KRS 158.162 to allow secondary locking mechanisms in schools; require school councils or principals to include school mapping data, if available, in their emergency plans; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to create the School Mapping Data Program administered by the Center for School Safety; outline requirements of school mapping data; amend KRS 158.4412 to require the local school district's safety coordinator to maintain a current copy of school mapping data; amend KRS 61.637 to 78.5540 to conform.

Amend KRS 439.3401 to include in the definition of "violent offender" a person who has been convicted of burglary in the first degree as described in KRS 511.020(1)(a), assault in the second degree as described in KRS 508.020(1)(b) or (c), and wanton endangerment in the first degree as described in KRS 508.060 involving the discharge of a firearm; remove the requirement that the victim of a Class B felony involving criminal attempt to commit murder shall be a clearly identifiable peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical services provider acting in the line of duty; provide that a violent offender who is convicted of a Class C felony violation of wanton endangerment in the first degree and assault in the second degree as described in KRS 508.020(1)(b) or (c) shall not be released on probation, shock probation, parole, conditional discharge, or other form of early release until he or she has served at least 65 percent of the sentence imposed; amend KRS 508.060 to enhance wanton endangerment in the first degree if the person discharges a firearm in the commission of the offense; amend KRS 635.020 to provide that if a child is 15 years of age or older and is charged with a felony involving the use of a firearm then he or she shall be transferred to Circuit Court to be tried as an adult; provide that a child who has been convicted of a felony involving the use of a firearm shall not be eligible for probation or conditional discharge in a proceeding consistent with KRS 640.030.