2023 Kentucky General Assembly
The 2023 Kentucky General Assembly was in regular session from January through March 2023. It was a constitutionally structured odd-year session.
The Kentucky legislature, in odd-numbered years, convenes in regular session for a period not exceeding a total of 30 days. The first part of the session begins on the Tuesday after the first Monday in January. The second part of the session begins on the first Tuesday in February of the same year.
A “legislative day” is defined as a calendar day, excluding Sundays, legal holidays, and any day on which neither house meets.
In total, 594 House Bills and 284 Senate Bills were introduced this year. By comparison, in 2021 (the previous odd-year session) 595 House Bills and 286 Senate Bills were introduced.
The summary below includes legislation passed by the 2023 General Assembly that relates to: both primary and secondary education, hazing, medicinal cannabis, public safety, sex offenses, postpartum depression, interscholastic athletes, child abuse, child support, juvenile justice, sex crimes, mental health, school safety and the First Amendment.
It includes 11 House Bills and 18 Senate Bills. *
*DISCLAIMER – The list of newly enacted laws referenced herein does not reflect the complete list of laws that were passed during the 2023 Kentucky Legislative Session. The laws outlined in this summary are laws that relate to the research of the Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women.
| 2023 General Assembly: Legislation by Chamber | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BILL NUMBER | SPONSOR(S) | BILL TITLE | BILL SUMMARY | SENATE VOTE | HOUSE VOTE | GOV'S SIGNATURE |
| Senate | ||||||
| SB 5 | J. Howell (R )(1), G. Boswell, D. Douglas, S. Funke Frommeyer, M. Wise | AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to define "harmful to minors"; require local boards of education to adopt a complaint resolution policy to address parent complaints about materials that are harmful to minors; require the school to ensure that a student whose parent has filed a complaint does not have access to the material; require the Kentucky Department of Education to promulgate model complaint resolution policy; EMERGENCY. | 34-0 | 80-18 | 3/29/2023 (enacted without Governor's signature) |
| SB 150 | M. Wise (R )(16), G. Boswell, D. Carroll, S. Funke Frommeyer, R. Girdler, S. Meredith, R. Mills, J. Schickel, B. Storm, L. Tichenor, P. Wheeler, G. Williams, M. Wilson | AN ACT relating to children. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to establish definitions; require specific parental notifications from public schools; require school districts to adopt specific procedures related to parental rights; limit authority of the Kentucky Board of Education and Kentucky Department of Education in relation to parental rights and a student's use of pronouns; prohibit district or school policies with the intent of keeping student information confidential for parents; prohibit a school district from requiring school personnel or pupils to use pronouns for students that do not conform to that student's biological sex; provide school districts and district personnel authority to seek emergency medical services for a student; provide conditions for student confidentiality; amend KRS 158.1415 to establish requirements for any public school's course, curriculum, or program on the subject of human sexuality. | 29-8 | 76-23 | 3/29/2023 (enacted over Governor's veto) |
| SB 3 | M. Wise (R )(16), M. Nemes | AN ACT relating to the educators' liability insurance and making an appropriation therefor. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 161 to establish the Educators Employment Liability Insurance Program to provide excess liability coverage for certified employees of public schools; require the Department of Education to promulgate administrative regulations to implement the program; amend KRS 160.105 to require the Kentucky Board of Education to require a district to provide each certified employee with primary liability insurance; APPROPRIATION. | 37-0 | 96-3 | 3/27/2023 |
| SB 9 | R. Mills (R )(04), M. Deneen, L. Tichenor | AN ACT relating to hazing. | Create new sections of KRS Chapter 508 to define "hazing," "student," and "organization"; establish a Class D felony of hazing in the first degree; establish a Class A misdemeanor of hazing in the second degree; amend KRS 164.7874 to remove eligibility for a KEES scholarship if convicted of hazing; provide that the Act may be referred to as Lofton's Law. | 33-0 | 98-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| SB 61 | M. Wise (R)(16) | AN ACT relating to early high school graduation. | Amend KRS 158.142 to delete end-of-course examination and ACT benchmark requirements from the early high school graduation program. | 30-4 | 96-3 | 3/27/2023 |
| SB 25 | M. Wilson (R )(32) | AN ACT relating to postsecondary readiness indicators and declaring an emergency. | Amend KRS 158.6455 to include achieving three hours of dual credit or qualifying for three hours of postsecondary articulated credit as a postsecondary readiness indicator. | 35-0 | 100-0 | 3/22/2023 |
| SB 47 | S. West (R )(27), P. Wheeler, C. Armstrong, K. Berg, S. Funke Frommeyer, D. Harper Angel, J. Higdon, S. Meredith, G. Neal, M. Nemes, B. Smith, R. Thomas, R. Webb, D. Yates | AN ACT relating to medicinal cannabis. | Create new sections of KRS Chapter 218A to define terms and establish a medicinal cannabis program; amend KRS 342.815 to establish that the Employer’s Mutual Insurance Authority shall not be required to provide coverage to an employer if doing so would subject the authority to a violation of state or federal law; amend KRS 216B.402 to require hospital emergency departments to report cases of cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control; amend KRS 218A.010, 218A.1421, 218A.1422, 218A.1423, and 218A.500 to conform; amend KRS 12.020, 12.252, 15.300, 15.380, 15.398, 15.420, 15A.340, 61.592, 62.160, 131.1815, 211.285, 241.010, 241.015, 241.030, 243.025, 243.0307, 243.038, 243.090, 243.360, 438.310, 438.311, 438.313, 438.315, 438.317, 438.320, 438.325, 438.330, 438.337, and 438.340 to change the name of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Control; some sections EFFECTIVE July 1, 2024. | 26-11 | 66-33 | 3/31/2023 |
| SB 49 | M. Deneen (R )(10)_, G. Boswell, D. Carroll, R. Girdler, S. Meredith, J. Schickel, B. Storm | AN ACT relating to teacher certification and declaring an emergency. | Amend KRS 161.048, relating to alternative methods of teacher certification, to change the provisional certification period from two to four years for Option 6 and Option 7 for a total of five years; EMERGENCY. | 33-0 | 92-0 | 3/22/2023 |
| SB 54 | J. Carpenter (R )(34), R. Girdler, J. Adams, G. Boswell, D. Carroll, M. Deneen, D. Douglas, S. Funke Frommeyer, A. Mays Bledsoe, C. McDaniel, M. Nemes, J. Schickel, B. Smith, D. Thayer, S. West, G. Williams, M. Wise | AN ACT relating to Kentucky educational excellence scholarships. | Amend KRS 164.7884 to define "proprietary school" and "qualified proprietary school program" and allow use of KEES funds for enrollment in a qualified proprietary school program; amend KRS 165.7879 to allow a student who attends an out-of-state high school or Department of Defense school due to a parent's military transfer to earn a KEES award if the student earned a base amount in a previous year at a Kentucky high school. | 32-0 | 93-0 | 3/22/2023 |
| SB 79 | J. Adams (R )(36), M. Deneen, B. Storm | AN ACT relating to the Safe at Home Program. | Amend KRS 14.260 to change the name of the address protection program to the Safe at Home Program; amend KRS 14.300 to include definitions of "application assistant" and "human trafficking"; amend KRS 14.302 to set forth the intentions of the Safe at Home Program; amend KRS 14.304 to specify who may apply to be a part of the Safe at Home Program; establish additional information that must be contained in an application for the Safe at Home Program and allow applicants to consult with application assistants; extend the certification of applicants from two years to four years and allow the applicant to request that state and local agencies be notified of participation in the Safe at Home Program; restrict the disclosure of a program participant's participation in the program by anyone who is aware of the participation absent written consent from the program participant; allow individuals who participate in a similar program in another state to be approved for the program in Kentucky; amend KRS 23A.208 and 24A.178 to conform. | 36-0 | 96-0 | 4/4/2023 |
| SB 80 | D. Carroll (R )(02) | AN ACT relating to public safety. | Amend KRS 17.545 to prohibit a registered sex offender from loitering within 1,000 feet of the clearly defined grounds of a school, playground, or day care; amend KRS 508.025 to include healthcare providers working in an emergency room to the list of protected workers for the offense of assault in the third degree. | 32-2 | 93-3 | 3/27/2023 |
| SB 81 | A. Mays Bledsoe (R )(12), D. Thayer, G. Boswell, D. Douglas, J. Howell, L. Tichenor | AN ACT relating to private and parochial school calendars. | Amend KRS 158.080 to require private and parochial schools to operate on a school calendar with a minimum school term and student instructional year as defined in KRS 158.070 instead of for a term not less than the public school district in which the child resides. | 35-1 | 93-0 | 3/31/2023 |
| SB 119 | M. Deneen (R )(10), D. Carroll | AN ACT relating to sex offenses. | Amend KRS 403.720 to remove "sexual abuse" from the definition of "domestic violence and abuse" and replace with "sexual assault"; define "sexual assault"; amend KRS 510.010 to redefine "sexual contact." Retain original provisions; provide that the intentional touching is construed by a reasonable person as being for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, done for a sexual purpose, or in a sexual manner; make technical corrections. | 32-0 | 97-0 | 3/20/2023 |
| SB 135 | S. Funke Frommeyer (R )(24), C. Armstrong, K. Berg, D. Harper Angel, G. Neal, A. Southworth, R. Stivers, L. Tichenor, R. Webb | AN ACT relating to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 211 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to make information on postpartum depression and a postpartum assessment tool available on its website; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to develop and implement a collaborative program aimed at improving the quality of prevention and treatment of postpartum depression. | 34-0 | 100-0 | 3/22/2023 |
| SB 145 | S. Funke Frommeyer (R )(24) | AN ACT relating to interscholastic athletics. | Amend KRS 156.070 to remove the statutory eligibility restriction for nonresident student participation in interscholastic athletics; retain eligibility authority with the agency designated to manage interscholastic athletics. | 37-0 | 80-17 | 3/24/2023 |
| SB 156 | S. West (R )(27), L. Tichenor | AN ACT relating to a statewide reading research center. | Amend KRS 164.0207 to establish a statewide reading research center; direct the center and the Kentucky Department of Education to establish annual goals and performance objectives; require KDE to make annual programming and funding recommendations for the center; require KDE to select the center through a competitive proposal process by July 1, 2024, for a five-year contract; amend KRS 151B.406, 151B.409, 154A.130, 156.553, 158.305, 158.792, 158.840, and 164.035 to conform; make Sections 1 through 9 of the Act take effect July 1, 2024.Amend KRS 164.0207 to establish a statewide reading research center; direct the center and the Kentucky Department of Education to establish annual goals and performance objectives; require KDE to make annual programming and funding recommendations for the center; require KDE to select the center through a competitive proposal process by July 1, 2024, for a five-year contract; amend KRS 151B.406, 151B.409, 154A.130, 156.553, 158.305, 158.792, 158.840, and 164.035 to conform; make Sections 1 through 9 of the Act take effect July 1, 2024. | 35-0 | 100-0 | 3/22/2023 |
| SB 229 | J. Adams (R )(36) D. Yates, D. Carroll, M. Deneen | AN ACT relating to child abuse. | Amend KRS 620.030 to remove the requirement that a supervisor make an additional report to the proper authorities regarding a report made to them of suspected abuse; require an oral report of child abuse and notification of a supervisor; add the requirement that a supervisor cooperate with the investigation of a report; amend KRS 620.040 to require an agency that is the reporting source to notify other involved agencies; amend KRS 620.072 to allow the cabinet to choose announced or unannounced visits following alleged child abuse reports. | 36-0 | 91-6 | 3/27/2023 |
| SB 247 | D. Givens (R )(09) | AN ACT relating to transient public school students. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 requiring eligible students to have the option to remain in the same school when changing residence within the same school district; define "eligible student"; require the98-0 school district to provide transportation to the school from the student's new residence. | 37-0 | 98-0 | 3/31/2023 |
| SB 268 | D. Yates (D)(37) | AN ACT relating to financial support of a child or dependent after driving under the influence. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 532 allowing restitution in the form of child support to be ordered in violations of KRS 189A.010 if the violation caused the death of a parent or guardian of a minor child or resulted in a finding by the court that a parent or guardian of a minor child is disabled or totally and permanently disabled; provide that the Act may be cited as Melanie's Law. | 37-0 | 84-12 | 4/4/2023 |
| House of Representatives | ||||||
| HB 3 | K. Bratcher (R )(29), J. Bauman, S. Bratcher, E. Callaway, B. Chester-Burton, D. Elliott, P. Flannery, K. Fleming, C. Freeland, J. Hodgson, DJ Johnson, M. Lockett, C. Massaroni, K. Moser, J. Nemes, D. Osborne, S. Rawlings, B. Reed, S. Rudy, N. Tate, K. Timoney, B. Wesley, W. Williams, S. Witten | AN ACT relating to juvenile justice and making an appropriation therefor. | Amend KRS 610.030 to require a report to the court of truancy cases when there is no action implemented by the response team within 90 days; require a court-designated worker to make a finding if diversion is failed due to lack of parental cooperation; allow a court to refer cases back to the court-designated worker and order parental cooperation; amend KRS 610.990 to establish penalty; amend KRS 610.265 to require children charged with serious felony offenses to be detained pending a detention hearing and to be evaluated for treatment; amend KRS 610.340 to provide that confidentiality does not apply to cases in which a child has admitted to or been adjudicated for a violent felony offense for five years; direct renovations to the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center; APPROPRIATION. | 29-7 | 76-16 | 3/27/2023 |
| HB 32 | K. Jackson (R )(20), P. Pratt, R. Duvall, D. Elliott, D. Hale, S. Lewis, R. Palumbo, J. Tipton, T. Truett, W. Williams, L. Willner | AN ACT relating to classified school staff and declaring an emergency. | Amend KRS 161.011 to allow for the hiring of classified personnel without a high school diploma or equivalent if the district provides the employee the opportunity to obtain a high school equivalency diploma at no cost to the employee; allow licenses or credentials issued by a government entity to substitute. | 36-0 | 95-0 | 3/22/2023 |
| HB 78 | K. Banta(R )(63), S. Stalker, P. Stevenson | AN ACT relating to sex crimes. | Amend KRS 530.020 to delineate familial relationships; replace "consenting adults" with "consenting persons"; establish any nonconsenting person is a victim; make changes to enhancement requirements. | 36-0 | 97-0 | 3/27/2023 |
| HB 148 | R. Webber (R )(26) | AN ACT relating to the assignment of substance abuse or mental health treatment benefits. | Create a new section of Subtitle 17A of KRS Chapter 304 to provide for the written assignment of substance abuse or mental health treatment benefits to a substance abuse and mental health facility or other health care provider located in this state that provides both substance abuse and mental health treatment services to the public; amend KRS 304.14-250, 304.17-130, and 304.18-090 to conform; create a new section of Subtitle 38A of KRS Chapter 304 to require limited health service organizations to comply with assignment provisions; amend KRS 18A.225 and 164.2871 to require the state employee health plan and the state postsecondary education institutions, respectively, to comply with assignment provisions; apply assignment provisions to both insurance policies in effect and insurance policies issued, delivered, or renewed on or after effective date. | 34-0 | 97-0 | 3/24/2023 |
| HB 241 | J. Justice (R )(94), J. Bray | AN ACT relating to compulsory attendance. | Amend KRS 159.030 to clarify the evidence requirements for exemption from compulsory attendance due to physical or mental conditions. | 34-0 | 98-0 | 3/20/2023 |
| HB 249 | N. Wilson (R )(82), M. Dossett, D. Elliott, D. Frazier Gordon, J. Gooch Jr., K. Upchurch, B. Wesley | AN ACT relating to aggravating circumstances. | Amend KRS 532.025 to include the intentional killing of a child under 12 as an aggravating circumstance in cases of offenses for which the death penalty may be authorized; provide that subsection (2)(a)9. of Section 1 of this Act may be cited as Kimber's law. | 32-4 | 85-6 | 3/24/2023 |
| HB 319 | J. Tipton (R )(53), J. Bauman, B. Chester-Burton, D. Grossberg, DJ Johnson | AN ACT relating to teachers. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 161 to implement the Interstate Teacher Mobility Compact; create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 requiring exit surveys from school personnel leaving employment; require the Kentucky Department of Education to develop a system for reporting exit survey data; create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to direct the Council on Postsecondary Education to develop a marketing program to promote the teaching profession; require CPE to provide a report on the status of the program to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by November 1, 2024; establish a trust fund for the marketing program; create a new section of KRS Chapter 160 to direct the Kentucky Department of Education to create an online statewide job posting system for school job openings, if funds are available; amend KRS 160.380 to conform; amend KRS 164.769 to revise requirements for the Teacher Scholarship program; require the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to submit an annual program report to the Interim Joint Committee on Education; amend KRS 161.048 to require the Education Professional Standards Board to establish a process for candidates to obtain an eligible for hire letter; direct the Kentucky Department of Education to expand the GoTeachKY ambassador program to all school districts, as funds are available; require the Kentucky Department of Education to review the alternative pathway teacher certification options and processes to identify areas for improvement; require KDE to present its findings to the Interim Joint Committee on Education by October 1, 2023; APPROPRIATION. | 36-1 | 99-0 | 3/31/2023 |
| HB 331 | R. Palumbo (D )(76), K. Timoney, K. Moser, C. Aull, J. Bauman, D. Bentley, J. Blanton, T. Bojanowski, A. Bowling, J. Branscum, K. Bratcher, S. Bratcher, R. Bridges, G. Brown Jr., B. Chester-Burton, J. Decker, S. Dietz, M. Dossett, R. Dotson, R. Duvall, D. Elliott, D. Fister, P. Flannery, C. Fugate, A. Gentry, J. Gooch Jr., D. Grossberg, D. Hale, M. Hart, S. Heavrin, T. Huff, M. Imes, DJ Johnson, J. Justice, K. King, S. Lewis, M. Lockett, S. McPherson, M. Meredith, A. Neighbors, M. Pollock, S. Rawlings, R. Raymer, B. Reed, S. Riley, T. Smith, S. Stalker, C. Stevenson, P. Stevenson, N. Tate, W. Thomas, T. Truett, K. Upchurch, B. Wesley, W. Williams, L. Willner, N. Wilson | AN ACT relating to the emergency medical preparedness of schools. | Amend KRS 158.162 to direct local boards of education to require schools to maintain a portable automated external defibrillator in every middle and high school building and at school-sponsored events; require local boards to adopt policies and procedures for portable automated external defibrillators and ensure training requirements are met; amend KRS 158.302 to conform; amend KRS 160.445 to require all interscholastic coaches to be trained in CPR and use of portable automated external defibrillators; require all schools that participate in interscholastic athletics to maintain a portable automated external defibrillator at every practice or competition and meet training requirements; require venue-specific emergency plans to identify the location of a portable automated external defibrillator and the procedures for use; require schools that participate in interscholastic athletics to annually certify compliance with portable automated external defibrillator requirements and venue-specific emergency plan requirements. | 37-0 | 99-0 | 3/31/2023 |
| HB 538 | T. Truett(R )(89), S. Lewis, S. Baker, J. Bauman, J. Blanton, J. Branscum, K. Bratcher, S. Bratcher, B. Chester-Burton, J. Decker, M. Dossett, R. Duvall, C. Fugate, J. Hodgson, M. Imes, K. Jackson, K. King, W. Lawrence, D. Lewis, M. Lockett, M. Pollock, S. Rawlings, B. Reed, S. Riley, T. Smith, K. Timoney, B. Wesley, W. Williams | AN ACT relating to discipline of students. | Amend KRS 158.150 to require a local board of education to expel a student for at least 12 months if the student makes threats that pose a danger to other students or staff; require a local board of education to adopt a policy requiring disciplinary actions for a student who assaults other students or staff off campus property; allow a local school board to place a student in an alternative education setting in lieu of expulsion, or at the end of an expulsion; allow a teacher to remove a disruptive student from the classroom; provide that a student who is removed from a classroom three times in 30 days shall be considered chronically disruptive and may be suspended; provide that a principal may permanently remove a disruptive student from a classroom and determine the placement of the student, subject to an appeal process; require a local board of education to conduct an expulsion review process to determine whether a student's expulsion shall continue or end. | 34-3 | 85-11 | 3/23/2023 |
| HB 540 | K. Timoney (R )(45), C. Aull, S. Bratcher, G. Brown Jr., C. Fugate, S. Heavrin, DJ Johnson, R. Palumbo | AN ACT relating to school safety | Amend KRS 158.441 to include private and parochial schools; amend KRS 158.4414 to specify that private and parochial schools can enter memorandums of understanding with local law enforcement agencies or the Department of Kentucky State Police to provide school resource officers. | 37-0 | 98-0 | 3/24/2023 |
| HB 547 | C. Fugate (R )(84), J. Petrie, S. Baker, K. Banta, J. Bauman, D. Bentley, J. Blanton, A. Bowling, K. Bratcher, S. Bratcher, J. Bray, R. Bridges, E. Callaway, J. Calloway, J. Decker, R. Dotson, R. Duvall, D. Elliott, D. Frazier Gordon, C. Freeland, J. Gooch Jr., D. Hale, M. Hart, R. Heath, J. Hodgson, M. Imes, DJ Johnson, J. Justice, K. King, S. Lewis, M. Lockett, S. Maddox, C. Massaroni, B. McCool, D. Meade , K. Moser, J. Nemes, D. Osborne, M. Pollock, P. Pratt, S. Rawlings, B. Reed, S. Rudy, S. Sharp, T. Smith, N. Tate, W. Thomas, K. Timoney, J. Tipton, T. Truett, R. Webber, B. Wesley, R. White | AN ACT relating to First Amendment rights in public schools. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to prohibit a school district from punishing an employee for engaging in private religious expression otherwise protected by the First Amendment absent a showing of engaging in actual coercion; provide specific examples of protected activity; establish limits of applicability. | 81-12 | 81-12 | 3/24/2023 |
2022 Kentucky General Assembly
The 2022 Kentucky General Assembly was in regular session from January 4 through April 14, 2022. It was a constitutionally-structured even-year session. The Kentucky Constitution mandates that the General Assembly convene a regular session on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January and may not last more than 60 legislative days in even-numbered years. Regular Sessions shall be completed no later than April 15 in even-numbered years.
A “legislative day” is defined as a calendar day, excluding Sundays, legal holidays, and any day on which neither house meets.
During the 2022 Session of the General Assembly, a total of 783 House Bills (HB) and 382 Senate Bills (SB) were introduced. The previous legislative session was in 2020, at which time 647 House Bills and 286 Senate Bills were introduced.
The summary below provides a select summary of legislation passed by the 2022 General Assembly and includes bills addressing domestic violence and interpersonal violence, protective orders, crimes and punishment, child welfare and child support, gender-related athletics, post-secondary compensation for athletes, educational accountability, mental health, abortion services for minors, religious freedom, and substance abuse.
The summary includes 15 House Bills and 12 Senate Bills. It also includes 1 Senate Joint Resolution and 1 House Joint Resolution.
| 2022 General Assembly: Legislation by Chamber | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BILL NUMBER | SPONSOR(S) | BILL TITLE | BILL SUMMARY | SENATE VOTE | HOUSE VOTE | GOV'S SIGNATURE |
| Senate | ||||||
| SB 6 | M. Wise (R ) (16), M. McGarvey, W. Schroder, W. Westerfield | AN ACT relating to athletics and declaring an emergency. | The bill creates new sections of KRS Chapter 164 to define terms; provide protections for student athletes seeking compensation through name, image, and likeness agreements or seeking an athlete agent; provide similar protections for institutions; establish prohibitions, conditions, and limitations on athletes earning compensation through name, image, and likeness agreements; prohibit name, image, and likeness compensation as an inducement; prohibit institutions, associations, or affiliated organizations from providing compensation for name, image, and likeness of a student athlete and other similar activities; establish a process for institutions to review name, image, and likeness agreements of student athletes; authorize institutions to establish reasonable restrictions on name, image, and likeness activities of student athletes; provide protections for institutions and their employees in actions taken in the course of administering intercollegiate athletics; require institutions to provide financial literacy and life skills education to student athletes; authorize institutions to provide ongoing support to student athletes and information on name, image, and likeness to the general public; establish that name, image, and likeness agreement documents and related information in possession of public postsecondary institutions are protected student records; limit applicability; limit duration of name, image, and likeness and agency contract agreements for minors and student athletes; amend KRS 164.6903 to conform; amend KRS 156.070 to forbid KHSAA member schools from authorizing student athlete use of school logo and similar property in the athlete's name, image, and likeness activities; authorize Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate regulations to enforce rules on name, image, and likeness; authorize agreements made pursuant to Executive Order 2021-418 for one year and nullify the executive order. The bill includes an emergency provision which means it required a majority vote and became effective upon the signature of the Governor. | 37-0 | 89-2 | 3/9/2022 |
| SB 8 | Senators Julie Racque Adams (R)(36), R. Alvarado, D. Carroll, D. Douglas, C. Embry Jr., D. Harper Angel, M. McGarvey, B. Storm, and D. Yates | AN ACT relating to child welfare and declaring an emergency. | Amend KRS 15.900 to create the definition of "abused or neglected child" and "community resource organization"; change the definitions of "state board" and "prevention program"; amend KRS 15.905 to reference the new definition of "state board"; amend KRS 15.910 to establish new membership of the State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board; amend KRS 15.920 to require the state board to meet at least quarterly each year and make conforming changes to align with the new established definitions; amend KRS 15.925, 15.935, 15.940, 15.942, and 15.948 to make conforming changes to align with new established definitions; amend KRS 194A.010, relating to the implementation of child welfare programs by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; amend KRS 199.011 to update the definition of "fictive kin"; amend KRS 199.505, relating to a five-business-day notification requirement if someone is registered on the putative father registry; amend KRS 199.540 to remove a condition when an adoption can be annulled; amend KRS 199.570 to reference digital files related to an adoption case; amend KRS 200.575 related to when family preservation services are provided; create a new section KRS Chapter 205, relating to Medicaid reimbursement for certain services at children's advocacy centers; amend KRS 600.020 to change the definition of "abused or neglected child" and "fictive kin"; amend KRS 620.055 to require the annual report of the external child fatality and near fatality review panel to be delivered to State Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board and the Interim Joint Committee on Health, Welfare, and Family Services; amend KRS 620.140, relating to an eligible youth's ability to commit and re-commit themselves to the custody of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; amend KRS 620.363 to add new rights for foster children; require the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations related to the Kentucky Employees Charitable Campaign. The bill includes an emergency provision which means it required a majority vote and became effective upon the signature of the Governor. | 32-4 | 94-0 | 4/1/2022 |
| SB 38 | Senators Julie Racque Adams (R)(36), D. Harper Angel | AN ACT relating to incest. | The bill amends KRS 439.3401 to include incest, as defined in KRS 530.020, as a qualifying crime for designation of a "violent offender". | 33-1 | 93-0 | 3/10/2022 |
| SB 59 | M. Wilson (R)(32), M. Wise | AN ACT relating to the statewide education accountability system. | Amend KRS 158.6453 to delete the tenth grade college admissions examination; amend KRS 158.6455 to add postsecondary readiness indicators to the statewide accountability system. | 33-0 | 98-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| SB 61 | M. Wise (R)(16) | AN ACT relating to early high school graduation. | Amend KRS 158.142 to delete end-of-course examination and ACT benchmark requirements from the early high school graduation program. | 37-0 | 95-1 | 3/30/2022 |
| SB 83 | Senators Robby Mills (R)(04), M. Wise, D. Carroll, R. Girdler, P. Wheeler, and M. Wilson | AN ACT relating to athletics. | The bill amends KRS 156.070 to require the Board of Education or agency designated by the Board of Education to manage interscholastic athletics to promulgate administrative regulations or bylaws requiring schools that participate in interscholastic athletics to designate all athletic teams, activities, and sports based upon the biological sex of the students eligible to participate; prohibit male students from participating in athletic teams, activities, and sports designated as "girls"; prohibit designated agencies from entertaining complaints or investigations of policies; create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to create a cause of action against a school that violates these provisions; require that an action be brought within two years. The Act may is cited as the "Save Women’s Sports Act." | 29-8 | 72-23 | 4/13/2022 (enacted over Governor's veto) |
| SB 90 | Senators Whitney Westerfield (R)(3), R. Stivers, and B. Storm | AN ACT relating to legal proceedings and making an appropriation therefor. | The bill creates a new sections of KRS Chapter 533 to establish a behavioral health conditional dismissal pilot program beginning October 1, 2022, and continuing for four years to provide eligible individuals an alternative to receive treatment for a behavioral health disorder instead of incarceration, resulting in dismissal of the criminal charges upon successful completion of the program; identify the counties participating in the pilot program; define terms; establish program procedures, reporting requirements, and program requirements including access to medical treatment, counseling, education, and vocational counseling and training; create a council with designated membership to assist with the implementation of the pilot program; provide that the council shall end September 30, 2027; amend KRS 197.020 to provide for telehealth services in county jails. The bill includes an appropriation for the program. | 27-4 | 90-2 | 4/20/2022 |
| SB 94 | Senators Danny Carroll (R)(2), D. Parrett, and B. Storm | AN ACT relating to the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program. | Amend KRS 164.787 to add eligibility for the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship Program to students with intellectual disabilities enrolled in comprehensive transition and postsecondary programs. | 37-0 | 95-0 | 3/29/2022 |
| SB 97 | D. Carroll (R)(2) | AN ACT relating to child fatalities and near fatalities. | Amend KRS 620.040 to require law enforcement to request a blood, breath, or urine test from a caregiver suspected of being under the influence at the time of a child fatality or near fatality, and to request a search warrant for the test if consent is not given by the caregiver; amend KRS 620.055 to change the number of members on the external child fatality and near fatality review panel from 15 to 17, to include the President of the Kentucky Coroners Association and a medication-assisted treatment provider selected by the Attorney General; require membership of the co-chairs of the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee instead of the chairs of the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees; require the panel's annual report to be due February 1 of each year instead of December 1 of each year; create a process for the panel to suggest recommendations to state agencies and for the state agencies to respond and implement the recommendations; establish that all proceedings, opinions, and records of the panel are privileged and not subject to subpoena. | 32-1 | 97-1 | 4/8/2022 |
| SB 102 | M. Wise (R)(16) | AN ACT relating to mental health providers in schools. | Amend KRS 158.4416 to require local superintendents to report information on school-based mental health services providers in the district to the Kentucky Department of Education; require the department to compile and maintain the information and report annually to the Interim Joint Committee on Education. | 37-0 | 66-6 | 4/20/2022 |
| SB 245 | Senators Johnny Turner (R)(29), P. Wheeler | AN ACT relating to protective orders. | The bill amends KRS 403.735, 403.740, 456.050, and 456.060 to require that emergency protective orders and interpersonal protective orders restrain both parties from certain conduct; amend KRS 403.730 and 456.404 to require certain information to be included in ex parte emergency protective orders and interpersonal protective orders. | 38-0 | 98-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| SB 271 | Senator Whitney Westerfield (R)(03) | AN ACT relating to domestic violence. | The bill creates a new section of KRS Chapter 209A to require the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center to compile data on domestic violence fatalities and occurrences of dating violence and abuse or domestic violence and abuse; amend KRS 209A.120 to indicate when Kentucky State Police is to report data to the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center; amend KRS 403.785 and 456.090 to mandate reporting of JC-3 forms; amend KRS 209A.100 to include the reporting of suspected dating violence and abuse or domestic violence and abuse deaths to the Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Center. | 37-0 | 93-0 | 4/20/2022 |
| Senate Joint Resolution 72 | Senator Ralph Alvarado | A JOINT RESOLUTION directing the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to apply for a Medicaid waiver for individuals with severe mental illness and declaring an emergency. | The Resolution directs the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to apply for a Medicaid waiver targeting individuals with severe mental illness to provide for supported housing, including respite care, and supported employment. The Resolution includes an emergency provision which means it took a super majority to pass and became effective upon signature of the Governor. | 36-0 | 95-0 | 3/20/2022 |
| House of Representatives | ||||||
| HB 3 | Representatives Nancy Tate (R)(27), K. King, S. Baker, L. Bechler, D. Bentley, J. Blanton, A. Bowling, J. Branscum, K. Bratcher, J. Bray, R. Bridges, J. Calloway, J. Decker, R. Dotson, J. DuPlessis, D. Elliott, J. Fischer, D. Fister, P. Flannery, D. Frazier Gordon, C. Freeland, C. Fugate, J. Gooch Jr., D. Hale, M. Hart, R. Heath, S. Heavrin, R. Huff, T. Huff, M. Imes, DJ Johnson, N. Kirk-McCormick, W. Lawrence, S. Lewis, M. Lockett, S. Maddox, C. Massey, B. McCool, C. McCoy, S. McPherson, D. Meade , S. Miles, K. Moser, J. Petrie, M. Pollock, P. Pratt, M. Prunty, B. Reed, S. Riley, B. Rowland, S. Rudy, S. Santoro, S. Sheldon, T. Smith, W. Thomas, J. Tipton, T. Truett, R. Webber, and B. Wesley | AN ACT relating to public health and declaring an emergency. | The bill amends KRS 311.732 to require the informed written consent of a parent or legal guardian to include a copyof a government-issued identification and documentation; require government-issued identification for the minor; require notification to other parent with joint or physical custody with exceptions; require the physician to keep a copy of the informed written consent for at least 7 years; require the physician to execute an affidavit; require additional criteria and standards for when a court determines whether to allow a minor to self-consent to an abortion; require the court hearing to remain confidential and be held in a private, informal setting within the courthouse; require, in the case of a medical emergency, for the physician to notify the parent or legal guardian within 24 hours of the abortion; require report to the cabinet; amend KRS 311.595 to allow the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure to suspend or revoke the license of any physician for violations; amend KRS 311.990 to establish criminal penalties for violations; establish penalties for a person who violates Section 5 to 11 of this Act; amend KRS 213.101 to expand the statistical reporting system for abortions; require the Vital Statistics Branch report to include verification of compliance with the certification requirement of KRS 311.727; add required reporting items; require the Inspector General, Cabinet for Health and Family Services, to audit reporting; prohibit the audit from including personally identifying information of any pregnant woman upon whom an abortion was performed or attempted; specify that any personally identifying information viewed or recorded by the Inspector General in conducting the audit is not subject to the Open Records Act; require an annual report to be submitted including findings from the audit and abortion facility inspections to the General Assembly and the Attorney General; require an annual in-person report to be presented to the Interim Joint Committee on Health, Welfare, and Family Services; create new sections of KRS 311.710 to 311.820 to define terms; prohibit abortion-inducing drugs from being provided outside of required procedures or by courier, delivery, or mail service; establish requirements for qualified physician providing abortion-inducing drugs; require informed consent by patient for being provided abortion-inducing drugs; list requirements for informed consent form; require each abortion-inducing drug provided to be reported to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services on a report form; list requirements for report form; require report to the cabinet of treatment for adverse event or complication related to a drug-induced abortion; list requirements for report; prohibit provisions from being construed as creating or recognizing a right to abortion, making lawful an abortion that is otherwise unlawful, or overriding any existing laws; prohibit the provision of abortion-inducing drugs in any school facility or on state grounds; provide additional remedies to comply with Sections 5 to 11 of this Act; create new sections of KRS Chapter 213 to require the cabinet to publish information about the potential ability to reverse the effects of abortion-inducing drugs; require the cabinet to create and distribute the consent forms and reporting forms for abortion-inducing drugs; require the cabinet to keep reported data confidential; require the cabinet to communicate reporting requirements to required reporters; create new sections of KRS Chapter 315 to require the Board of Pharmacy to create a certification program for the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs; require physicians, manufacturers, and distributors to be certified; establish requirements for certification; require the board to enforce certification requirements; require the board to develop a complaint portal for violations and review complaints; amend KRS 213.081 to include fetal remains and to prohibit simultaneous cremations of fetal remains; amend KRS 213.096 to include abortions on the combination birth-death certificate; create a new section of KRS 311.710 to 311.820 to define "fetal remains," require within 24 hours before a surgical or chemical abortion the health care facility or abortion clinic to inform the parents both orally and in writing of their rights to determine the final disposition of the fetal remains; if a chemically induced abortion, inform the mother she may expect to expel a fetus after leaving the facility and she may return the remains to the facility for final disposition; require the parents to inform the facility of their choice for the disposition of the fetal remains; amend KRS 367.97501 to exclude fetal remains from the definition of “pathological waste”; amend KRS 311.715 to provide that public agency funds shall not be paid to any entity, organization, or individual that performs, induces, refers for, or counsels in favor of abortions; establish exceptions; create new sections of KRS 311.710 to 311.820 to require reporting to the cabinet information about complications, medical treatment, or death related to an abortion; permit the General Assembly to appoint members who sponsored or cosponsored this Act to intervene in any case to which the constitutionality is challenged; require provisions of this Act to be severable; amend KRS 311.774 to reporting requirements for adverse events or complications; amend KRS 311.783 to add reporting requirement; and amends KRS 315.990 to add penalty for violation of pharmacy certification program. The bill includes an emergency clause which means it required a super majority for passage and became effective upon signature of the Governor. | 36-1 | 76-21 | 4/14/2022 Enacted over Governor's veto |
| HB 9 | C. McCoy (R )(50), L. Bechler, A. Koenig, K. Moser, S. Santoro | AN ACT relating to educational opportunities and making an appropriation therefor. | Amend KRS 160.1590 to include definitions for "district of location", "private postsecondary institution", "proportionate per pupil basis", "proportionate per pupil transported basis"; change the definition of "authorizer" to include public and private postsecondary institution, the Kentucky Public Charter School Commission, the Kentucky Board of Education, and certain nonprofit entities; remove definitions for "achievement academy", "regional achievement academy", "regional achievement zone", and "start-up public charter school; amend KRS 160.1591 to allow nonresident enrollment, allow enrollment lottery to consider siblings, and remove regional achievement zones; amend KRS 160.1592 to require public charter schools to record student enrollment and attendance data in a manner necessary to participate in the Support Education Excellence in Kentucky (SEEK) fund; amend KRS 160.1593 to require public charter school applications to outline resident and nonresident enrollment policies, explain how the school’s proposed education program will serve students with individualized education programs or provide career readiness education opportunities, and require a memorandum of understanding with the district of location if the district has a total student enrollment of 5,000 or less; amend KRS 160.1594 to require any authorizer to establish an annual timeline for the application process, allow authorizers to give preference to applications that provide career readiness education opportunities, change the application process to allow for seeking an extension for curing deficiencies identified by the authorizer, and make changes to the review process; amend KRS 160.1595 to allow appeals to the Kentucky Public Charter School Commission in addition to the Kentucky Board of Education, require either to provide technical assistance to a charter applicant upon request, and modify appellate procedures; amend KRS 160.1596 to establish public charter schools as schools within an authorizing district for state and local funding purposes, establish public charter schools as local education agencies for federal funding purposes, establish terms for students enrolled in a public charter school to be included in the average daily attendance and transportation calculations of the district of location, establish a calculation to identify the amount of funding for a district of location to transfer to public charter schools, require public charter schools to provide services if funding received is tied to providing a service, establish how funding a collaborative's public charter school shall be determined, establish how data will be developed to provide funding during the public charter school's first year of operation, provide a transfer mechanism with authorizer fees and penalty provisions, determine how the Kentucky Board of Education shall develop a schedule for the transfer of funds, make public charter schools eligible for federal and state grants, require the commissioner of education to apply for all federal funding that supports charter school initiatives, determine the distribution of public charter school assets upon closure, and authorize the Kentucky Board of Education to promulgate regulations for the calculation and distribution of funds to public charter schools; amend KRS 160.1597 to permit a charter contract to range from 5 to 7 years; amend KRS 160.1598 and 160.1599 to conform; amend KRS 161.141 to require a public charter school participate in the state-sponsored health insurance program, require any on behalf payment made by the state for local public employees or school district employees also be made for public charter school employees, require public charter schools to make employer contributions to retirement systems in the same manner as school districts, limit the accrual to sick leave credit for public charter school employees to the same limits as the authorizing district, and require employees of education service providers to have the same certifications and background checks as public charter school employees; create a new section of KRS 160.1590 to 160.1599 to establish the Kentucky Public Charter School Commission and its composition, authority, and operations; amend KRS 18.225, 161.220, and 78.510 to conform; provide that any provision of this Act is severable; establish the General Assembly’s intent that if KRS 141.500 to 141.901 is held unconstitutional due to the provisions of KRS 141.504, then the remedy should be to make those provisions applicable to all counties; The bill includes an appropriation and an emergency clause. | 22-15 | 52-46 | 4/14/2022 Enacted over Governor's veto |
| HB 43 | Representatives S. Baker (R)(85), W. Thomas, L. Bechler, D. Bentley, J. Blanton, A. Bowling, J. Branscum, K. Bratcher, J. Bray, R. Bridges, J. Calloway, J. Decker, M. Dossett, R. Dotson, J. DuPlessis, D. Elliott, J. Fischer, D. Fister, P. Flannery, K. Fleming, D. Frazier Gordon, C. Freeland, C. Fugate, D. Hale, M. Hart, R. Heath, R. Huff, T. Huff, M. Imes, DJ Johnson, K. King, N. Kirk-McCormick, W. Lawrence, S. Lewis, M. Lockett, S. Maddox, C. Massey, B. McCool, S. McPherson, D. Meade , J. Nemes, J. Petrie, M. Pollock, P. Pratt, M. Prunty, F. Rabourn, B. Reed, S. Sharp, S. Sheldon, T. Smith, N. Tate, J. Tipton, T. Truett, R. Webber, B. Wesley, R. White | AN ACT relating to religious freedom during a declared emergency. | The bill amends KRS 39A.100 to exclude houses of worship from emergency condemnation authority; prohibit a governmental entity from prohibiting religious services during an emergency to a greater extent than imposed on other organizations or businesses that provide essential services; require a compelling governmental interest to place a burden on a religious organization; prohibit a governmental entity from taking any discriminatory action against a religious organization on the basis that the organization is religious; define "discriminatory action," "governmental entity," "religious organization," and "religious services"; allow a religious organization to assert a violation of this section as a claim against a governmental entity or as a defense and waive sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity to the extent of liability under the section; set out remedies available to a religious organization; require construciton in favor of protecting free exercise of religion; require a religious organization to bring an action no later than two years from the date the person should have known of the discriminatory action. | 30-7 | 83-12 | 4/5/2022 |
| HB 44 | Representatives B. McCool (R)(97), L. Willner, T. Bojanowski, K. Fleming, J. Gooch Jr., J. Jenkins, N. Kulkarni, C. Massey, C. Miller, J. Miller, P. Minter, R. Palumbo, R. Roberts, S. Sheldon, P. Stevenson, B. Wesley, B. Wheatley | AN ACT relating to local school districts. | The bill amends KRS 159.035 to require a local school district's attendance policy to include provisions for a student's mental or behavioral health status. | 33-3 | 94-0 | 4/20/2022 |
| HB 48 | Representatives P. Pratt (R )(62), DJ Johnson, C. Massey | AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. | The bill amends KRS 519.010 to add definition of "emergency response"; amend KRS 519.040 to increase the penalties for falsely reporting an incident that results in an emergency response; create a new section of KRS Chapter 411 to provide for a civil cause of action for damages arising from the false reporting of an incident; and amends KRS 134.127 to conform. | 31-0 | 88-7 | 4/8/2022 |
| HB 79 | Representatives B. Wesley (R )(91), M. Hart, K. Banta, T. Bojanowski, J. Branscum, K. Bratcher, M. Cantrell, D. Fister, C. Fugate, A. Gentry, J. Gooch Jr., D. Graham, D. Hale, A. Hatton, N. Kirk-McCormick, W. Lawrence, S. Maddox, K. Moser, R. Palumbo, M. Prunty, R. Roberts, S. Sheldon, C. Stevenson, A. Tackett Laferty, R. White, L. Willner | AN ACT relating to mental health. | Amend KRS 15.518 to include telecommunicators as eligible participants in the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program; amend KRS 15.550 to require the telecommunicator basic course training to include instruction on and provide resources for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and work-induced stress, require the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council to incorporate PTSD mental health treatment into the telecommunicator training program and provide treatment resources to telecommunicators and their supervisors; amend KRS 15.560 and 15.565 to require each in-service training to include a mental health component on PTSD and work-induced stress; amend KRS 15.590 to require the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council to include training and resources for post-traumatic stress disorder and work-induced stress during each telecommunicator in-service training, provide guidelines and a resource list to all telecommunicators and their supervisors, and allows telecommunicators to access the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program. The Act is known as the Lifeliner's Act. | 36-0 | 96-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| HB 127 | Representatives K. Fleming, L. Willner, D. Bentley, C. Massey, K. Moser, R. Palumbo, M. Prunty, C. Stevenson, N. Tate, S. Westrom | AN ACT relating to court-ordered mental health treatment. | Amend KRS 202A.0811 to clarify that the respondent be evaluated by a mental health professional and not examined, specify where and by when a qualified mental health professional's findings shall be certified, and specify when a date for a hearing shall be set; amend KRS 202A.0815 to expand the class of individuals who can have access to assisted outpatient treatment by modifying the criteria requirements for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment. | 37-0 | 90-0 | 3/25/2022 |
| HB 194 | Representatives DJ Johnson (R)(13), K. Timoney | AN ACT relating to alternative education. | Amend KRS 158.143 to provide that a student enrolled in a district-operated alternative education program shall be eligible to seek attainment of a High School Equivalency Diploma under certain conditions. | 38-0 | 95-0 | 4/1/2022 |
| HB 206 | R. Roberts (D)(67) J. Decker, J. Blanton, A. Gentry, S. Heavrin, K. King, C. Massey, C. Miller, P. Minter, R. Palumbo, J. Raymond, S. Santoro, W. Thomas, L. Willner | AN ACT relating to peace officer certification. | Amend KRS 15.382 to prohibit anyone who has been convicted of various misdemeanor offenses and inchoate offenses under KRS Chapter 510 from being certified as a peace officer; amend KRS 15.386 to prohibit peace officers who have been convicted of various misdemeanor offenses and inchoate offenses under KRS Chapter 510 from returing to active certification from inactive status; amend KRS 15.391 to provide that a peace officer's certification shall be revoked if he or she pleads guilty to, is convicted of, or enters an Alford plea to various misdemeanor offenses and inchoate offenses under KRS Chaper 510. | 34-0 | 96-0 | 4/20/2022 |
| HB 216 | Representatives W. Lawrence (R)(70), S. Heavrin, K. Moser, R. Palumbo | AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. | The bill amends KRS 508.075 to include domestic violence shelters as a covered location for terroristic threatening in the first degree. | 36-0 | 91-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| HB 263 | Representatives W. Lawrence (R)(70), S. Heavrin, K. Moser, R. Palumbo | AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. | The bill amends KRS 508.075 to include domestic violence shelters as a covered location for terroristic threatening in the first degree. | 36-0 | 91-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| HB 269 | Representatives C. McCoy (R )(50), T. Bojanowski, J. Decker, D. Elliott, K. Flood, A. Gentry, D. Graham, S. Heavrin, T. Huff, J. Jenkins, N. Kulkarni, C. Massey, J. Miller, P. Pratt, M. Prunty, R. Roberts, C. Stevenson, N. Tate, K. Timoney, J. Tipton, S. Westrom, B. Wheatley | AN ACT relating to mental illness. | The bill amends KRS 532.130, 532.135, and 532.140 to add a diagnosis of serious mental illness to the disabilities which prevent execution for persons convicted of capital offenses. | 25-9 | 76-19 | 4/8/2022 |
| HB 319 | Representatives R. Dotson (R)(73), W. Thomas, K. Banta, T. Bojanowski, J. Decker, M. Dossett, J. DuPlessis, K. Fleming, K. Flood, C. Freeland, J. Jenkins, N. Kulkarni, S. Lewis, D. Osborne, P. Pratt, M. Prunty, P. Stevenson, B. Wesley, S. Westrom, B. Wheatley | AN ACT relating to interpersonal violence. | The bill amends KRS 403.720 to include violence against an animal when used as coercive conduct in the definition of "domestic violence and abuse"; amend KRS 403.740 to allow a judge to award possession of a shared domestic animal to the petitioner; amend KRS 456.010 to include violence against an animal when used as coercive conduct in the definition of "dating violence and abuse"; amend KRS 456.060 to allow a judge to award possession of a shared domestic animal to the petitioner. | 35-1 | 95-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| HB 362 | Representative Kim Moser (R)(64) | AN ACT relating to substance abuse intervention and declaring an emergency. | The bill amends KRS 222.433 to establish that health care professionals performing examinations may be subject to subpoena for purposes of cross-examination; and establishes that an order of treatment shall be issued upon a finding of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The bill includes an emergency provision which means it took a super majority to pass and became effective upon the signature of the Governor. | 36-1 | 94-0 | 4/4/2022 |
| HB 501 | Representatives C. Massey (R)(66) and A. Hatton | AN ACT relating to child support. | The bill amends KRS 403.212 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to establish a child support obligation worksheet; define "obligor"; make changes to child support obligations; create a new section of KRS Chapter 403 to define terms; create a parenting time credit; amend KRS 620.090 to require the court to make specific findings if there are reasonable grounds to believe a child is dependent, neglected, or abused upon completion of a temporary removal hearing; and amend various statutes to conform. The bill has the special effective date of January 1, 2023. | 34-2 | 97-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| House Joint Resolution 5 | K. Fleming, L. Willner, D. Bentley, R. Palumbo, M. Prunty | A JOINT RESOLUTION directing mental health professional licensure boards to strongly consider entering into an interstate compact with other states, easing reciprocity procedures with other states, or establishing reciprocity procedures with other states to increase the mental health workforce in Kentucky, and declaring an emergency. | The Resolution requires mental health professional licensure boards to either enter into an interstate compact or to ease or establish reciprocity procedures to increase the mental health workforce in Kentucky; report to the General Assembly. The bill includes an emergency provision which means it required a super majority to pass and became effective upon signature of the Governor. | 36-0 | 90-0 | 4/8/2022 |
| 2020 General Assembly: Legislation by Chamber | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BILL NUMBER | SPONSOR(S) | BILL TITLE | BILL SUMMARY | SENATE VOTE | HOUSE VOTE | GOV'S SIGNATURE |
| Senate | ||||||
| SB 8 | Max Wise (R )(16), T. Buford, R. Alvarado, D. Carroll, C. Embry Jr., D. Givens, S. Humphries, R. Mills, D. Thayer, J. Turner, S. West, M. Wilson | AN ACT relating to school safety and declaring an emergency. | Amend KRS 158.441 to clarify the definition of "school resource officer"; amend KRS 158.4412 to allow the superintendent to specify any individual to serve as the district's school safety coordinator; amend KRS 158.4414 to clarify which facilities are required to have school resource officers and to require that school resource officers are armed with a firearm; amend KRS 158.4416 to specify that the goal is to have at least one school counselor per public school and to have at least one school counselor or school-based mental health services provider for every 250 students; amend KRS 61.902 to specify that the commission of a special law enforcement officer employed as a school resource officer shall be for four years; amend KRS 156.095 to specify that the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training is to prepare an active shooter training video in consultation with the Department of Education; amend KRS 158.162 to include exceptions to locked classroom doors; amend KRS 508.078 to clarify when a person is guilty of terroristic threatening; amend KRS 16.128, 1.315, 70.062, and 95.970 to conform. | 34-1 | 78-8 | 2/21/2020 |
| SB 40 | Ralph Alvarado (R )(28) | AN ACT relating to child welfare. | Amend KRS 194A.062 to require front-line staff to submit to national and state fingerprint-supported background checks; amend KRS 199.8966 to define the term "staff member" and to require national and state fingerprint-supported background checks of staff members of child-placing agencies in Kentucky in addition to staff members of child-caring facilities. | 35-0 | 72-12 | 3/27/2020 |
| SB 42 | D. Harper Angel (D)(35), J. Adams, T. Buford, D. Carroll, A. Kerr, M. McGarvey, R. Mills, G. Neal, D. Parrett, R. Thomas, J. Turner, M. Wise | AN ACT relating to student health and safety. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to require any student identification badge issued to a public middle or high school student to contain the contact information for national crisis hotlines specializing in domestic violence, sexual assault, and suicide; apply the requirement to public charter schools; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to publish recommendations for at least one national crisis hotline in each specialized area; create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to require any student identification badge issued by a public or private postsecondary institution or other institution that offers a postsecondary degree, certificate, or license to contain the contact information for national crisis hotlines specializing in domestic assault, sexual assault, and suicide. | 35-1 | 79-5 | 3/27/2020 |
| SB 63 | Jimmy Higdon(R )(14), M. Wise | AN ACT relating to high school programs. | Amend KRS 158.100 to include virtual high school completion programs, give local board authority to establish program, identify the purpose of such programs, outline enrollment eligibility requirements, identify graduation requirements for enrollees of the program, authorize schools to charge students tuition and fees for the program, require that an enrollee in the program be at least 21 years old, establish school requirements for eligibility, and allow a district to choose between requiring completion of graduation requirements at the time of drop out or the requirements in place currently. | 38-0 | 94-1 | 3/17/2020 |
| SB 72 | J. Adams (R )(36), W. Westerfield, R. Alvarado, T. Buford, D. Carroll, R. Girdler, D. Harper Angel, P. Hornback, A. Kerr, M. McGarvey, S. Meredith, G. Neal | AN ACT relating to female genital mutilation and declaring an emergency. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 508 to define "female genital mutilation" and create the Class B felony of female genital mutilation; create a new section of KRS Chapter 211 to require the Department for Public Health in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to develop, produce, and disseminate educational materials related to female genital mutilation; amend KRS 15.334 to require law enforcement training on female genital mutilation; amend KRS 311.595 to require a conviction of female genital mutilation to result in mandatory revocation of a physician's license; create a new section of KRS Chapter 413 to permit civil action for female genital mutilation for ten years; amend KRS 620.020 to include female genital mutilation in the definition of "abused or neglected child"; amend KRS 620.030 to provide that if a person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is a victim of female genital mutilation, then that person shall immediately make an oral or written report to the appropriate authorities; create a new section of KRS Chapter 620 to require a report on female genital mutilation reports to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; EMERGENCY. | 38-0 | 84-0 | 4/2/2020 |
| SB79 | Julie Raque Adams (R)(36) | AN ACT relating to school background checks. | Amend KRS 160.380, relating to the employment of school personnel, to define "administrative findings of child abuse or neglect" to mean a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect that is upheld on appeal or not appealed; amend the definition of "clear CA/N check" to include administrative findings instead of substantiated findings; remove the requirement that an existing school district employee self-report a substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect to the superintendent. | 35-1 | 94-1 | 3/24/2020 |
| SB 82 | Julie Raque Adams. (R )(36), M. McGarvey, G. Neal, R. Thomas | AN ACT establishing the Kentucky Eating Disorder Council and making an appropriation therefor. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 210 to establish the Kentucky Eating Disorder Council in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; set forth membership and duties; require a report annually beginning December 1, 2020; sunset the council on December 1, 2030, unless otherwise reestablished by the General Assembly. | 34-0 | 79-5 | 3/27/2020 |
| SB 101 | Mike Wilson (R)(32), M. Wise | AN ACT relating to awarding of credit under articulation agreements. | Amend KRS 164.2951 to require the Council on Postsecondary Education to facilitate the implementation of a standardized articulation agreement for each approved high school career pathway to be honored at any public college or university. | 38-0 | 81-2 | 3/27/2020 |
| SB 122 | JulieRaque Adams (R)(36) | AN ACT relating to assisted outpatient mental health treatment. | Amend KRS 202A.0815 to permit a person to be court-ordered into assisted outpatient mental health treatment if the person has be involuntarily hospitalized at least twice in the past 24 months instead of twice in the past 12 months. | 33-1 | 93-1 | 3/24/2020 |
| SB 193 | Julie Raque Adams (R)(36), D. Thayer, R. Alvarado, M. Wise | AN ACT relating to educational goals. | Amend KRS 158.849 to establish a goal of increasing participation in computer science courses by underrepresented groups; require the Department of Education to submit an annual report on public school students participating in computer science courses. | 37-1 | 83-1 | 3/27/2020 |
| House of Representatives | ||||||
| HB 2 | S. Miles (R )(7), J. Petrie, T. Bojanowski, D. Frazier, A. Hatton, R. Heath, S. Heavrin, N. Kulkarni, C. Massey, C. McCoy, D. Meade , J. Miller, D. Osborne, R. Palumbo, P. Pratt, N. Tate | AN ACT relating to human trafficking and making an appropriation therefor. | Amend KRS 17.500 to add offenses to what qualifies as a sex crime; amend KRS 49.370 to state that a human trafficking victim's cooperation shall not disqualify the victim from a claim; create a new section of KRS Chapter 183 to require airports to post a human trafficking hotline in publicly accessible bathrooms; create a new section of KRS Chapter 277 to require passenger train stations to post a human trafficking hotline in publicly accessible bathrooms; create a new section of KRS Chapter 281 to require truck stops to post a human trafficking hotline in publicly accessible bathrooms; amend KRS 529.010 to create new definitions related to human trafficking; amend KRS 529.100 to specifically list the elements of human trafficking; amend KRS 529.130 to state that $10,000 is the minimum fine to be paid to the human trafficking victims fund for a conviction of human trafficking; amend KRS 529.140 to add to the list of functions that may be funded by the human traffikcing victims fund; amend KRS 529.180 to list defenses that are not available to a defendant charged with human trafficking. | 33-0 | 87-0 | 4/2/2020 |
| HB 135 | S. Sheldon (R )(17), J. Blanton, T. Bojanowski, K. Bratcher, J. DuPlessis, D. Elliott, K. Flood, D. Graham, R. Huff, D. Lewis, C. Massey, R. Palumbo, P. Pratt, J. Raymond, R. Roberts, D. Schamore, J. Sims Jr, A. Tackett Laferty, L. Yates | AN ACT relating to licensees of the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure. | Amend KRS 311.842 to require the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure to promulgate administrative regulations relating the prescribing of controlled substances by physician assistants; amend KRS 311.844 to establish continuing education requirements for physician assistants who are authorized to prescribe controlled substances; amend KRS 311.850 to permit the board to take action against the license of a physician's assistant for certain sexual offenses, for being unable to practice medicine due to physical or mental illness, or for engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct; amend KRS 311.854 to permit the executive director of the board to temporarily approve an application for licensure and to require the board to review and approve or deny the application; 311.856 to conform; amend 311.858 to establish the process by which a physician assistant can apply for authorization to prescribe and administer controlled substances and to establish limitations on prescriptions for controlled substances issued by a physician assistant; create a new section of KRS 311.840 to 311.862 to permit a hearing or inquiry panel to order a physician assistant to undergo a physical or mental examination; create a new section of KRS 311.840 to 311.862 to permit a hearing or inquiry panel to order a physician assistant to complete a clinical competency examination or clinical skills assessment; amend KRS 311.616 to expand the impaired physicians program to include physician assistants; amend KRS 311.617 to expand the Kentucky Physicians Health Foundation to include physician assistants; amend KRS 311.619 to provide confidentiality to physician assistants participating in the impaired physician and physician assistants program; and amend KRS 218A.010 to amend the definition of practitioner. | 32-0 | 91-1 | 3/27/2020 |
| HB 153 | Kim Moser (R )(64), K. Banta, L. Bechler, D. Bentley, T. Bojanowski, D. Frazier, C. Freeland, A. Gentry, D. Graham, J. Graviss, R. Heath, R. Huff, T. Huff, J. Jenkins, A. Koenig, S. Lewis, C. Massey, R. Meeks, C. Miller, P. Minter, J. Nemes, R. Palumbo, M. Prunty, S. Riley, R. Roberts, S. Santoro, S. Sheldon, N. Tate, W. Thomas, S. Westrom, B. Wheatley, L. Willner | AN ACT relating to mental health first aid training and making an appropriation therefor. | Create a new section of KRS Chapter 210 to establish the Kentucky Mental Health First Aid Training Program or similar program to be administered by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly or funding from other sources; list objectives of the training program; direct how grants are to be awarded; require the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to implement the program; create the Kentucky Mental Health First Aid Training fund; require moneys from the fund to be used for the training program. | 34-0 | 93-0 | 3/17/2020 |
| HB 204 | S. Maddox (R )(61), M. Hart, K. King | AN ACT relating to sex offender registrants. | Amend KRS 17.545 to prohibit sex offender registrants from living within 1,000 feet of a publicly leased playground and from being on the grounds of a publicly leased playground. | 36-0 | 86-9 | 3/17/2020 |
| HB 256 | Joseph Fischer (R )(68), K. Banta, J. Blanton, C. Harris, K. King, S. Lee, C. Massey, S. Santoro | AN ACT relating to the rights of victims of sexual offenses. | Amend KRS 403.322 to specify that a felony offense from another jurisdiction that leads to the conception and delivery of a child eliminates custody and visitation rights for the offender; amend KRS 405.028 to specify that a felony offense from another jurisdiction that leads to the conception and delivery of a child eliminates custody and visitation rights for the offender; amend KRS 625.050 to allow a de facto custodian of a child born as a result of a felony offense of KRS Chapter 510 to initiate an action for involuntary termination of parental rights; create a new section of KRS Chapter 625 to require the circuit court to involuntarily terminate the parental rights of a person convicted of a felony offense of KRS Chapter 510 that leads to a child. | 34-0 | 84-0 | 3/24/2020 |
| HB 266 | M. Koch (R )(72), A. Gentry, C. Massey, C. Miller, D. Schamore | AN ACT relating to children of military families. | Amend KRS 159.075 to include parents or guardians who are transferring to a reserve component or separating from the military under honorable conditions; include a home under contract to be built as a qualifying residence; allow qualifying students to temporarily reside outside of district if the housing is unavailable and be included in the attending district's average daily attendance. | 34-0 | 86-0 | 3/24/2020 |
| HB 312 | D. Meade (R )(80) , K. Banta, C. Freeland, S. Heavrin, R. Huff, K. King, R. Palumbo, P. Pratt, S. Westrom | AN ACT relating to children. | Amend KRS 158.448 to require the Kentucky Department of Education(KDE) to develop processes to promote more expeditious enrollment of students in foster care who are transferring to a new school or district, and the sharing of information among schools, school districts, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services(CHFS), and a child’s caseworker; amend KRS 159.170 require that KDE allow a school district’s foster care liaison to directly obtain a student’s records without requiring staff at the former district to release them first; create a new section of KRS Chapter 199 to provide that educational records released from a school to CHFS, a private agency, or a child’s caseworker, shall be limited to the purpose of serving the needs of the student and shall only be released to persons authorized by statute to receive the records; amend KRS 199.640 to require child-placing agencies to have written policies and procedures to explain their outreach activities undertaken to develop cooperative relationships with local school districts and allow the agencies to release information to authorized school staff where a child is enrolling; amend KRS 199.660 to require child-placing agencies to notify CHFS and each other through a registry when a foster family home is closed and require child-placing agencies to ensure that their homes understand and actively support the educational needs of their children through training and support; amend KRS 199.801 to conform; amend KRS 199.802 to require that the child’s caseworker shall accompany the child to the new school to enroll the child or contact the school via telephone during the day of enrollment and provide as much information as is known; require a new enrolling school to immediately obtain all school records of an enrolling foster child without needing to first request a release from prior district; require all educational records to be shared with CHFS and the child’s caseworker on a confidential basis; allow CHFS, private agencies, and the caseworker to share information with the school and teachers as to a child’s unique needs. | 31-0 | 91-0 | 3/27/2020 |
