2022 KLC Legislative Update

KENTUCKY LEAGUE OF CITIES 2022 

LEGISLATIVE 

UPDATE 

KLC.ORG

2022 KLC LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Alcoholic Beverages ------------------------------------------------------------ 

HB 252 Minimum Age for Service of Alcoholic Beverages 

HB 500 Sale of Distilled Spirits 

HB 536 Limited-Sale Precincts and Caterer Licensure 

Section 1 

Building & Electrical Inspections --------------------------------------------- 

HB 33 Local Plan Review for School Construction 

HB 192 Electrical Inspectors on State Highway Projects 

Section 2 

Controlled Substances --------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 92 Opioid Abatement Trust Fund 

HB 604 Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research 

SB 56 Opioid Antagonists 

SB 90 Pilot Program for Behavioral Health Offenders 

Section 3 

Crimes and Punishment -------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 48 False Reporting of an Incident 

HB 154 Driving Under the Influence 

HB 215 Importing or Trafficking in Fentanyl 

SB 179 Criminal Offenses Committed During Declared Emergency 

Section 4 

Declared Emergencies --------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 43 Religious Organizations and Declared Emergencies 

SJR 150 Termination of COVID-19 Emergency Declaration 

Section 5 

Disaster Relief ------------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 5|SB 5 State Aid for Tornado and Storm-Damaged Communities 

SB 150 Disaster Recovery Funds 

Section 6 

Economic Development -------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 274 Transportation Improvement Districts 

HB 315 Broadband Deployment 

SB 111 Local Development Area for Tax Increment Financing 

Section 7

Emergency Services ----------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 363 Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) Fund 

HB 512 Heart Attack Response and Treatment 

HB 777 Ground Ambulance Services 

Section 8 

Fire Departments -------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 372 Fire Districts and Nonprofit Fire Departments 

SB 189 Volunteer Fire Department Aid 

Section 9 

Fiscal Matters ------------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 1 Executive Branch Biennial Budget 

HB 482 Area Development District Funds 

Section 10 

Law Enforcement -------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 206 Peace Officer Certification 

HB 239 Constable Peace Officer Powers 

HB 565 Police Officer Virtual Training 

SB 96 Law Enforcement Council Seat for Bowling Green 

SB 176 Use of Facial Recognition Technology 

SB 241 Hunter Education Exemption for Peace Officers 

Section 11 

Local Government Administration ------------------------------------------ 

HB 307 

HB 314 

HB 335 

HB 345 

HB 351 

HB 399 

HB 594 

SB 42 

SB 106 

SB 112 

Self-Insurance Liability & Workers’ Comp. Group Investments 

Operation of Consolidated Local Government 

City Representation on the KY Law Enforcement Council & 

Recovery Ready Communities Advisory Council 

Military Leave 

Local Records Affidavits 

Municipal Audit Procedures 

Cost Analysis of State Administrative Regulations 

Local Government Procurement 

Administrative Dissolution of Inactive Cities 

Interlocal Agreement Amendments 

Section 12

2022 KLC LEGISLATIVE UPDATE 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Open Meetings ------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 13 

HB 399 Public Meeting Requirement for Municipal Road Aid and LGEA Funds 

HB 453 Open Meeting Exceptions and Video Teleconferencing 

Planning and Zoning ----------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 195 

Natural Gas Pipeline Location Notification 

Section 14 

Public Safety Personnel -------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 79 Mental Health Training for Telecommunicators 

HB 414 Police Officer and Firefighter Personnel Policies 

HB 562 Peace Officer or Firefighter-Involved Critical Incident 

SB 64 Peer Counseling for Public Safety Employees 

Section 15 

Retirement ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 49 Anti-Spiking Limitations 

HB 76 Actuarial Analysis 

HB 297 Kentucky Public Pensions Authority Reforms 

SB 209 CERS Retiree Health Insurance Benefits 

Section 16 

School Resource Officers ------------------------------------------------------ 

HB 63 

School Resource Officers 

Section 17 

Solid Waste Management ----------------------------------------------------- 

HB 45 Advanced Recycling 

HB 758 Water and Wastewater Systems 

SB 152 Solid Waste Management Franchise Notification Exceptions 

Section 18 

Taxation -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 6 Valuation of Motor Vehicles for Property Tax 

HB 8 State Tax Reform Measures 

HB 607 Occupational License Fees at Racetrack Extensions 

Section 19

Transportation ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

HB 241 Transportation Cabinet Budget Appropriations 

SB 124 Overweight Trucks 

SB 174 Slow-Moving Public Safety Vehicles 

Section 20 

Unemployment Insurance ---------------------------------------------------- 

HB 4 Unemployment Insurance Reform 

HB 144 Unemployment Insurance Employer Rates 

Section 21 

Flip to Page 73 to look up House and 

Senate bills by page number. 

NOTE 

The effective date of all legislation enacted by the 2022 Regular Session of the General Assembly 

is July 14, 2022, except for measures containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions. (OAG 22-04) 

If a bill reported in this update becomes effective on a date other than July 14, 2022, it is noted 

in the summary of the bill.

1) ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES 

House Bill 252 – Alcohol Server Age Requirements 

Representative Killian Timoney (R–Lexington) 

House Bill 252 amends KRS 244.090 to lower the age requirement for selling and serving 

alcoholic beverages from 20 to 18 if he or she is under the supervision of a person at least 20 

years of age or older. Any individual employed under the age of twenty (20) shall not have 

any duties that include bartending or commercial sexual activity under KRS 529.010(3). 

House Bill 252 also permits a person at least 18 years old whose employment does not include 

the sale or service of alcoholic beverages to work in a warehouse of a wholesaler or distributor 

if there is an employee on the premises who is at least 21 years of age. 

Rep. Killian Timoney (R-Lexington) testifies 

before a House committee. 

House Bill 500 ‒ Sale of Distilled Spirits 

Representative Chad McCoy (R–Bardstown) 

House Bill 500 amends or creates new sections of KRS Chapters 241 and 243 to establish a 

legal framework for existing private selection events and expand other sales and program 

opportunities for distilled spirits. 

The bill amends KRS 241.010 to define a “private selection event” as a private event with 

a licensed distiller during which participating consumers, retail licensees, wholesalers, 

distributors, or a distillery’s representatives select a single barrel or a blend of barrels of the 

distiller’s products to be specially packaged for the participants. “Private selection package” 

is defined as bottle of distilled spirits sourced from the barrel or barrels selected by 

participating consumers, retail licensees, wholesalers, distributors, or a distillery’s 

representatives during a private selection event. 

6 www.KLC.org


House Bill 500 amends KRS 243.0305 to allow a distiller to conduct private selection events 

and sell private selection packages at retail as follows: 

1. To consumers who participate in a private selection event only by selling the private 

selection packages through a wholesaler and to a licensed retailer of the consumer’s 

choice; 

2. To retail licensees that participate in a private selection event only through a licensed 

wholesaler; 

3. Distillers may sell private selection packages to wholesalers and distributors that 

participate in a private selection event if the private selection packages resulting from 

the event are sold only through a licensed retailer; and 

4. Directly from the distillery premises to distillery visitors, limited to three liters per 

person per day. There is no limit on the number of single barrels a distillery may sell per 

year. 

The bill creates a new section of KRS Chapter 243 to permit a limited non-quota package 

license to be issued as a supplemental license to a licensee with an NQ1 or NQ2 retail drink 

license or a limited restaurant license in a jurisdiction that has authorized the sale of distilled 

spirits and wine by the package. The limited non-quota package license authorizes the 

licensee to purchase private selection packages in the original manufacturer’s unopened 

containers and sell private selection packages at retail in the original manufacturer’s 

unopened container for consumption off the licensed premises. 

Additionally, the legislation permits a distiller that sells souvenir packages and serves 

complimentary samples at its licensed premises to maintain one separately licensed offpremises 

retail sales outlet to sell souvenir packages and serve complimentary samples. The 

off-site premises must be located in a wet territory or in a precinct that authorizes alcoholic 

beverage sales by the distillery ‒ potentially downtowns and communities without a local 

distillery. 

The bill also does the following: 

• Allows distillers to offer complimentary samples and sell bottles at fairs, festivals, and 

farmers markets. 

• Allows retailers to offer free samples and sell bottles of wine and spirits at fairs, festivals, 

and farmers markets in the county where they are licensed. 

• Legalizes current sales of barrel-aged and batched cocktails not previously authorized in 

Kentucky law because the alcohol was not poured from its original container. 

An emergency is declared. House Bill 500 became law when the governor signed it on March 

29, 2022. 

www.KLC.org 

7


House Bill 536 – Limited-Sale Precincts and Caterer Licensure 

Representative Scott Sharp (R–Ashland) 

House Bill 536, a KLC initiative, repeals and re-enacts KRS 242.1242, which only applied to 

the City of Ashland with its limited-sale precincts. The bill ensures Ashland has the same 

powers and authorities as other Kentucky cities, including the ability to issue non-quota 

licenses and seek an amendment to the number of quota package license limitations through 

Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control administrative regulations. House Bill 

536 maintains the validity of any license issued by the city before the Act’s effective date, 

continues to permit the city to impose a regulatory fee within the precincts, and expands the 

ability to impose the fee throughout the city. 

House Bill 536 also amends KRS 243.033 to permit those holding a caterer’s license to 

transport, sell, serve, and deliver alcoholic beverages to precincts established as moist 

territories if at least 10% of the caterer’s gross receipts are from food purchases. In addition, 

the bill repeals the prohibition on a caterer serving alcoholic beverages at an event hosted 

by or jointly with a caterer licensee, allowing a caterer to transport, sell, serve, and deliver 

alcoholic beverages in moist precincts at events hosted or co-hosted by the caterer. 

(From L to R) Rep. Scott Sharp (R-Ashland), Ashland Mayor Matt Perkins, and City Attorney 

Jim Moore testify before the House Local Government Committee in support of House Bill 536. 


2) BUILDING & ELECTRICAL INSPECTIONS 

House Bill 33 – Local Government School Facilities Inspection 

Representative Josh Branscum (R–Russell Springs) 

House Bill 33 amends KRS 198B.060 to permit local governments jurisdiction over plan 

review, inspection, and enforcement responsibility of educational buildings other than 

licensed day care centers when the local government and Department of Housing, Building, 

and Construction have a written agreement for such expanded jurisdiction. Before House 

Bill 33, local governments did not have jurisdiction over these educational buildings. Copies 

of documentation related to a local government’s plan review, inspection, and enforcement 

must be provided to the Kentucky Department of Education when they are issued to a school 

district. 

House Bill 192 ‒ Electrical Inspectors on State Highway Projects 

Representative Sal Santoro (R‒Union) 

House Bill 192 amends KRS 227.460 to allow the electrical contractor on a state highway 

project by or on behalf of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to have the option of selecting 

an electrical inspector approved by the Cabinet or appointed by a local government pursuant 

to KRS 227.480 for inspections between the service disconnect and a facility owned or 

operated by an electric utility within the public right-of-way. The inspection could not be 

related to buildings for human occupancy. 


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3) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES 

House Bill 92 ‒ Opioid Abatement Trust Fund 

Representative Danny Bentley (R‒Russell) 

House Bill 92 amends KRS 15.293 relating to the opioid abatement trust fund established in 

the State Treasury as a trust and agency account for receiving funds from settlements or 

judgments against named defendant drug manufacturers. The amendment adds 50% of all 

funds from bankruptcy proceedings involving the named defendants and funds from any 

named defendant in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation to the opioid abatement 

trust fund. 

The remaining 50% of all proceeds received from settlements, judgments, or bankruptcy 

proceedings not included in the fund must go to local governments per the negotiation 

class distribution metrics established in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation in the 

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. 

If the negotiation class distribution metrics would result in a city receiving less than 

$30,000 in any individual settlement, judgment, or bankruptcy proceeding, the payment 

shall go to the county, consolidated local government, or urban county government in 

which the city is located. 

Nothing in the Act establishes or precludes establishing a state backstop agreement as 

defined in the National Prescription Opiate Litigation. 

An emergency is declared. House Bill 92 became law when the governor signed it on April 


Rep. Danny Bentley (R-Russell) speaks 

on the House floor on Feb. 8. 



House Bill 604 ‒ Kentucky Center for Cannabis Research 

Representative Kimberly Moser (R–Taylor Mill) 

House Bill 604 creates a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to establish the Kentucky Center for 

Cannabis at the University of Kentucky to advance the study of cannabis and its derivatives 

to treat certain medical conditions and diseases as recommended by the center’s advisory 

board. The university president will appoint members to the board, which will oversee 

the center’s activities, research agenda, and finances. The board will report its activities 

and expenditures to the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the 

Legislative Research Commission by Sept. 1 each year for the preceding fiscal year. 

Clinical research conducted by the center will include but not be limited to the effectiveness 

of cannabis and cannabis derivatives for the treatment of certain medical conditions and 

diseases, the potential risks or side effects from the use of cannabis or cannabis derivatives, 

and the efficacy and potential health effects of various cannabis delivery methods, including 

vaporizing, ingestible, topical applications, and combustion. 

The center shall: (1) employ a director and necessary staff; (2) seek, accept, and expend 

gifts, grants, or donations from private or public sources to support the role and mission 

of the center; (3) conduct clinical research, clinical studies, and clinical trials as approved 

by appropriate federal agencies; (4) establish an application for individuals interested in 

participating in cannabis-related clinical research, clinical studies, or clinical trials and a 

screening protocol to place interested applicants in appropriate research participant pools; 

(5) publicly disseminate the research conducted or funded by the center; (6) host an annual 

cannabis research symposium; and (7) upon request from the Cabinet for Health and Family 

Services, enter into a memorandum of understanding with the cabinet for data collected by 

the center or any researcher associated with or funded by the center. 

The center may award research funds to any nonprofit Kentucky-based research entity or any 

Kentucky institution of higher education. If the center awards research funds to any other 

entity, the center shall use an open, competitive grant application process using national best 

practices. Any entity or institution that receives research funds from the center shall present 

the results of its research in the year after the research is concluded or an update on any 

ongoing research at the center’s annual research symposium. 

House Bill 604 appropriates up to $2 million in Fiscal Year 2023 General Fund money to the 

University of Kentucky to create and operate the Kentucky Center for Cannabis, including 

expenses related to conducting clinical research and participant recruitment. 

The University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Center for Cannabis shall prepare and submit an 

application to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency for registration as a marijuana grower. 

An emergency is declared. House Bill 604 became law when the governor signed it on April 



11


Senate Bill 56 ‒ Opioid Antagonists 

Senator Donald Douglas (R–Nicholasville) 

Senate Bill 56 amends KRS 15.291, 217.177, and 217.186 to replace references to naloxone 

with the words opioid antagonist due to additional approved options to combat opioid 

overdoses. “Opioid antagonist” is defined in KRS 217.186 as naloxone or any U. S. Food and 

Drug Administration-approved opioid antagonist designed to reverse the effects of an opioid 

overdose. 

KRS 217.186 is further amended to authorize a peace officer, jailer, firefighter, paramedic, 

emergency medical technician, or a school employee permitted to administer medication 

under KRS 156.502 to, in addition to current authority, receive, possess, and administer an 

opioid antagonist. The measure also gives authority to administer an opioid antagonist to 

anyone trained on the mechanisms and circumstances of its administration as part of a harm 

reduction program. 

Likewise, the measure broadens a pharmacist’s authority to dispense an opioid antagonist 

to any person or agency who, as part of a harm reduction program, trains the public on the 

mechanisms and circumstances of administering an opioid antagonist to include any licensed 

health care provider. 

Senate Bill 90 ‒ Pilot Program for Behavioral Health Offenders 

Senator Whitney Westerfield (R‒Crofton) 

Senate Bill 90 creates new sections of KRS Chapter 533 to establish a behavioral health 

conditional dismissal pilot program beginning Jan. 1, 2023. The program will allow eligible 

individuals to receive treatment for a behavioral health disorder instead of incarceration. 

Successful completion of the program would result in the dismissal of the original charges. 

“Behavioral health disorder” means a mental health and/or substance use disorder, or both. 

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall establish pilot programs in at least 10 counties 

and each will continue for four years unless extended or limited by the General Assembly. The 

legislation includes detailed program requirements, including access to medical treatment, 

counseling, education, and vocational counseling and training. 

Any person may utilize the program: 

1. Who is at least 18 years old and a Kentucky resident; 

2. Whose clinical assessment indicates the presence of a behavioral health disorder; 

3. Who is charged with a qualifying offense; 

4. Who does not have a previous conviction for a Class A, B, C, or D felony or a 

misdemeanor that is not a qualifying offense; and 

5. Who has been assessed by pre-trial services as a low-risk, low-level offender, or the 

commonwealth’s attorney or defense attorney identifies as a viable participant. 



“Qualifying offense” means a misdemeanor or Class D felony that is not: (1) an offense that would 

qualify the person as a violent offender; (2) a sex crime; (3) an offense under KRS 189A.010 

(driving under the infuence); (4) an offense against a victim who has a protective order against 

the defendant when the offense is charged; or (5) an act of domestic violence and abuse. 

Following arrest and within 72 hours of getting booked into a jail or detention facility, any person 

charged with a qualifying offense shall undergo a clinical assessment to determine if he or she 

may have a behavioral health disorder. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall provide 

a list of approved assessors for each county participating in a pilot program. If a person charged 

with a qualifying offense is released before receiving a clinical assessment, he or she individually 

or through counsel may request at any time during the proceedings a clinical assessment by a 

qualified mental health professional from the list of approved assessors. 

The measure creates the Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program Implementation 

Council to help implement the pilot program. The membership of the council shall include: (1) 

the executive director of the Office of Drug Control Policy; (2) the director of the Administrative 

Office of the Courts; (3) the commissioner of the Department for Behavioral Health, 

Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities; (4) the commissioner of the Kentucky Department 

for Medicaid Services; (5) the public advocate; (6) a member of the Kentucky Commonwealth’s 

Attorneys’ Association elected by its membership; (7) a member of the Kentucky County 

Attorney’s Association; (8) one judge elected by the Circuit Judges Association; (9) one judge 

elected by the District Judges Association; (10) the executive director of the Kentucky Jailers 

Association; and (11) two individuals selected by the Kentucky Association of Regional Programs, 

one of whom shall be in recovery from a substance use disorder and one of whom is being 

treated or has been treated for a mental health disorder. 

Senate Bill 90 creates the Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program trust fund, which the 

Department for Behavioral Health, Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities will administer 

within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The fund may contain appropriations by the 

General Assembly for the behavioral health conditional dismissal program. The bill appropriates 

$10.5 million each fiscal year from the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund to the Behavioral Health, 

Developmental, and Intellectual Disabilities budget unit for the behavioral health conditional 

dismissal pilot program. 

Sen.Whitney Westerfield 

(R-Crofton) rises to speak 

in the Senate. 


13

4) CRIMES & PUNISHMENT 

House Bill 48 ‒ False Reporting of an Incident 

Representative Phillip Pratt (R–Georgetown) 

House Bill 48 amends KRS 519.040 to create a new Class D felony for falsely reporting an 

incident that results in an emergency response. “Emergency response” means a response by 

two or more first responders to a reported incident that: (1) is of such an emergent nature that 

the exemptions from traffic regulations for emergency vehicles provided under KRS 189.940 

would apply; and (2) jeopardizes or could jeopardize public safety. 

A person is guilty of falsely reporting an incident that results in an emergency response 

when the person: (1) knowingly causes a false alarm of a fire or another emergency with any 

organization, official, or volunteer that deals with emergencies involving danger to life or 

property, and the false report results in an emergency response; or (2) initiates or circulates 

a report or warning of an alleged occurrence or impending occurrence of a fire or another 

emergency under circumstances likely to cause public inconvenience or alarm when the 

person knows the information reported, conveyed, or circulated is false or baseless, and the 

false report results in an emergency response. 

Authorities may prosecute any violation in the county where the defendant resides, the false 

report was communicated, or an emergency response occured. A court imposing a sentence 

on a defendant convicted of falsely reporting an incident that results in an emergency 

response shall order restitution to any agency or organization for the reasonable costs of the 

emergency response and to any person who suffered damages caused by the emergency 

response. An order of restitution shall be treated as a civil judgment for the purposes of 

enforcement. 

The bill creates a new section of KRS Chapter 411 to provide a civil cause of action against the 

alleged perpetrator by any person who suffers harm because of a false report that results in 

an emergency response. The cause of action is in addition to any restitution ordered by the 

court. 

House Bill 154 ‒ Driving Under the Influence 

Representative Patrick Flannery (R–Olive Hill) 

HB 154 amends several statutes related to driving under the influence. The bill amends KRS 

189A.085 to make impoundment of license plates upon conviction of an offense under KRS 

189A.010 discretionary rather than mandatory. If a person fails to surrender his or her license 

plate or plates at the final hearing or within 45 days after court-ordered, the court may issue 

an order directing the sheriff or any other peace officer to seize the license plate or plates and 

deliver them to the court. 

The bill also amends KRS 189A.103 to require a breath test to be performed in accordance 

with the manufacturer’s instructions or instructions adopted by the Department of Criminal 


4) CRIMES & PUNISHMENT 

Justice Training and approved by the manufacturer. The secretary of the Justice and Public 

Safety Cabinet shall keep available for public inspection and provide upon request and 

without charge copies of the manufacturer’s instructions or instructions adopted by the 

Department of Criminal Justice Training and approved by the manufacturer for all models of 

breath-testing instruments in use by the commonwealth. 

Additionally, House Bill 154 amends KRS 189A.105 to authorize a judge to issue a search 

warrant for a defendant’s blood or urine test when charged with a violation of KRS 189.010, 

rather than limiting warrants to instances where authorities charge a person after someone 

is killed or suffers physical injury. If the incident involves a deadly motor vehicle accident, the 

investigating peace officer shall seek a warrant for blood testing unless the testing has already 

been completed by consent. 

An emergency is declared. House Bill 154 became law on April 5, 2022, when delivered to the 

secretary of state. 

House Bill 215 ‒ Importing or Trafficking in Fentanyl 

Representative Chris Fugate (R–Chavies) 

House Bill 215 amends KRS 218A.1410 to enhance the penalty for importing carfentanil, 

fentanyl, or fentanyl derivatives from at least 50% of the imposed sentence to 85% with no 

eligibility for pretrial diversion. 

The bill also amends KRS 218A.142 to enhance the penalty for aggravated trafficking in 10 

grams or more of carfentanil or fentanyl derivatives from the current required service of at 

least 50% of the imposed sentence to at least 85% with no eligibility for pretrial diversion. 

Senate Bill 179 ‒ Criminal Offenses Committed During a Declared Emergency 

Senator Danny Carroll (R–Paducah) 

Senate Bill 179 amends KRS 508.025, 511.020, 511.030, 511.040, 511.060, 511.070, 511.080, 

512.020, 512.030, 512.040, 514.030, 514.040, 514.110, and 515.020 relating to the criminal 

offenses of assault in the third degree; burglary in the first, second, and third degree; criminal 

trespass in the first, second, and third degree; criminal mischief in the first, second, and third 

degree; theft by unlawful taking; theft by deception; receiving stolen property; and robbery 

in the first degree. The bill charges the offenses one level higher than the level otherwise 

required if the offense occurs during a declared emergency as defined in KRS 39A.020 arising 

from a natural or man-made disaster within the area covered by the emergency declaration 

and within the area impacted by the disaster. 


15

5) DECLARED EMERGENCIES 

The bill also amends KRS 500.080 to define “natural or man-made disaster” to mean a 

tornado, storm, other severe weather, earthquake, flood, or fire that poses a significant threat 

to human health and safety, property, or critical infrastructure. “Impacted by the disaster” 

means the location or in reasonable proximity to the location where a natural or man-made 

disaster has caused physical injury, serious bodily injury, death, or substantial damage to 

property or infrastructure. 

House Bill 43 ‒ Religious Organizations and Declared Emergencies 

Representative Shane Baker (R–Somerset) 

House Bill 43 amends KRS 39A.100 to limit the powers of a governmental entity to act during 

a declared state of emergency relating to religious organizations. The term “governmental 

entity” includes the commonwealth and any of its political subdivisions, any agency of the 

state, and any person acting under the color of state law. 

A governmental entity shall not prohibit or restrict a religious organization from operating 

or engaging in religious services during a declared emergency to any greater extent than 

imposed on other organizations or businesses that provide essential services necessary 

and vital to the health and welfare of the public. The governor may require religious 

organizations to comply with neutral health, safety, or occupancy requirements applicable 

to all organizations and businesses that provide essential services if the requirements do not 

impose a substantial burden on a religious organization or its services unless essential to 

further a compelling governmental interest in the least restrictive manner. 

A religious organization may assert a claim against a governmental entity or as a defense in 

any judicial or administrative proceeding for interference with the right to engage in religious 

services. Remedies available to a religious organization against a governmental entity include 

declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and 

costs, and any other appropriate relief. Sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity are 

waived to the extent of any liability. 

Senate Joint Resolution 150 ‒ Termination of COVID-19 Emergency Declaration 

Senator Donald Douglas (R–Nicholasville) 

Senate Joint Resolution 150 terminates the declaration of emergency regarding the SARS- 

COV-2 virus in Executive Order 2020-215 that the governor signed on March 6, 2020. The 

termination includes all subsequent executive orders, emergency administrative regulations, 

suspensions of statutes, and other directives that relied upon the declaration according to 

General Assembly authority to terminate emergency declarations by joint resolution under 

KRS 39A.090(4). 


5) DECLARED EMERGENCIES 

Upon expiration of the executive order, the governor shall not declare a new SARS-COV- 

2-related emergency or continue to implement any of the powers under KRS Chapter 

39A based upon the same or substantially similar facts and circumstances as the original 

declaration without the prior approval of the General Assembly. 

An emergency is declared. The resolution became effective upon adoption by the Senate and 

House of Representatives and delivery to the secretary of state on March 22, 2022. 

Sen. Donald Douglas (R-Nicholasville) 

stands in the Senate on the first day of the 

legislative session. 


17

6) DISASTER RELIEF 

House Bill 5/Senate Bill 5 – State Aid for Tornado/Storm Damaged Communities 

Representative Richard Heath (R–Mayfield)/Senator Jason Howell (R-Murray) 

House Bill 5 creates the West Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies (SAFE) Fund as 

a separate fund administered by the Department of Military Affairs, Division of Emergency 

Management to support recovery and provide financial assistance to those impacted by 

December 2021 storms and tornadoes. 

The legislation appropriates General Fund money in the amount of $200 million in Fiscal 

Year 2021-2022 to the fund with an initial allocation of $45 million directed as follows: (1) 

$30 million to the Kentucky Department of Education for school districts impacted by the 

December 2021 storms and tornadoes to assist schools in addressing additional transportation 

costs for children displaced from their district or county; after-school services and activities; 

tutoring; mental health counseling services; and (2) $15 million to the Department of Military 

Affairs, Division of Emergency Management to be used for procuring temporary FEMA-eligible 

housing units. 

The remaining $155 million will be set aside until the full extent of damages and needs in the 

region can be determined. Eligibility to receive financial support shall be limited to a city, 

county, nonprofit, public utility service provider, state agency, or school district with disasterrelated 

needs caused by the storms. 

Recipients may use the money for eligible expenses to support disaster and recovery relief, 

including, but not limited to: 

• Replacement or renovation of public buildings damaged by the storms and tornadoes; 

• Reimbursement for services, personnel, and equipment provided during the response and 

recovery to communities impacted by the storms and tornadoes; 

• Funding to cities, counties, and publicly owned utilities for the costs of replacement or 

repair of publicly owned buildings and their contents due to the damage from the storms 

and tornadoes; 

• Assistance to cities and counties for expenses related to planning efforts for rebuilding and 

recovering from the damage; 

• Assistance to utilities serving Graves, Caldwell, Muhlenberg, and Hopkins counties for 

resilient response and future risk reduction through the burying of utility wires that will 

enhance power reliability, reduce power loss, and lessen the risk to human life; and 

• Assistance to support disaster recovery and relief needs of local school districts, including 

but not limited to financial support for school districts that will experience a default in 

bond payments and financial support to assist school districts with building needs. 

House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 5 contained an emergency clause and became effective upon the 

governor’s signature on Jan. 13, 2022. 


6) DISASTER RELIEF 

Senate Bill 150 ‒ Disaster Recovery Funds 

Senator Robby Mills (R–Henderson) 

Senate Bill 150 amends House Bill 5 (2020) to appropriate additional funds from the West 

Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies (SAFE) fund to provide financial assistance and 

support to those impacted by the December 2021 storms and tornadoes. 

Eligibility to receive financial support from the funds is limited to local governments, nonprofit 

service providers, public utilities, state agencies, school districts, and qualified lenders with 

disaster-related needs resulting from the storms, but only to the extent of damage the storm 

directly caused. 

“Qualified lender” means a cooperative lender or a depository institution defined in 12 U.S.C. 

sec. 1813(c), which has a physical presence in Kentucky and maintains good standing as 

reported by the Department of Financial Institutions. 

The bill appropriates $121 million in Fiscal Year 2022 from the SAFE fund to the Department 

of Military Affairs budget unit for the Division of Emergency Management. Recipients include 

those who: (1) meet SAFE fund eligibility; (2) have applied or requested state assistance 

from the SAFE fund; and (3) have submitted a request from a local official that includes a 

description and cost estimate of immediate needs. 

Senate Bill 150 creates new sections of KRS Chapter 154 Subchapter 20 to establish a 

process for qualified lenders to make loans to an eligible company, defined as a business 

entity that has or had an existing business that experienced direct or indirect loss from the 

December 2021 storms and tornadoes. The measure establishes in the State Treasury a trust 

and agency account maintained by the Cabinet for Economic Development known as the 

Western Kentucky Risk Assistance Fund. The measure appropriates $25 million in FY 2022 

from the SAFE fund to the Western Kentucky Risk Assistance Fund. The fund will be used to 

pay a qualified lender on the unpaid principal balance of a commercial loan in a documented 

amount up to the lesser of the first 25% of the loss suffered on the unpaid principal balance on 

a commercial loan or $1 million. 

An emergency is declared. Senate Bill 150 became law when the governor signed it on April 


Sen. Robby Mills (R-Henderson) speaks 

on the Senate Floor on Feb. 10. 


19

7) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

House Bill 274 ‒ Transportation Improvement Districts 

Representative Sal Santoro (R–Union) 

House Bill 274 creates new sections of KRS Chapter 184 to establish a framework for local 

governments to create transportation improvement districts to coordinate and finance 

transportation infrastructure improvement projects in a specific area, generally for economic 

development purposes. A legislative body of a city with a population of at least 20,000, 

a county, or a group of up to three contiguous counties may create a transportation 

improvement district (TID) governed by a board of trustees. 

The TID board of trustees may provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, 

alteration, or repair of any road, highway, public place, or other infrastructure if the board 

determines the public improvement will benefit the area. Contracts for improvements may 

provide that the improvement may be owned by the district or by the person or corporation 

supplying it to the district under a lease in a public-private partnership. 

Rep. Sal Santoro (R-Union) testifies before the Senate 

Licensing and Occupations Committee on March 8. 

Photo courtesy LRC Public Information. 

A Board of Trustees shall govern a city-established TID. The city’s legislative body shall 

appoint five voting members, and the area planning commission shall appoint one nonvoting 

member. All members must be residents of the city establishing the district. A TID established 

by a single county shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of five voting members 

appointed by the legislative body of the county, one nonvoting member appointed by the 

legislative body of the largest city in the county, and one nonvoting member appointed by 

the area planning commission. The legislation also provides for the composition of a Board of 

Trustees for a TID established by two or three contiguous counties. 



All county-appointed members must be residents of one of the counties establishing the 

district. 

A TID board of trustees must hold a public hearing when proposing a public improvement. 

The board must provide notice of the hearing, indicate the area by metes and bounds in 

which the public improvement will occur, the area that will benefit from the improvement, 

and hear all testimony provided by any parties affected by the proposed improvement. After 

the hearing, the board shall present the proposal, including all relevant details of the proposal 

and the public hearing, to the body or bodies that established the district. Each of the bodies 

must approve the project before the district can proceed. 

If the board finds the improvement will result in general or special benefits to the area, it may 

request that the body or bodies that created the district establish a local development area 

in accordance with KRS 65.7041 to 65.7083 to allow for tax increment financing to defray 

project costs. In addition to bonds issued pursuant to KRS 65.7041 to 65.7083, the TID board 

of trustees may provide by resolution for the issuance of bonds to pay all or part of the cost 

of a project. The TID may pledge net revenues, including bond revenues, to secure payments 

to be paid by the district under a lease, lease-purchase agreement, or lease with the option to 

purchase. The district shall hold all titles to real and personal property. 

The legislation additionally permits the Transportation Cabinet to undertake a demonstration 

project to study, develop, and demonstrate ways to facilitate public-private cooperation 

and flexibility in financing, constructing, maintaining, or operating transportation projects. 

It may take all steps necessary and appropriate to facilitate the efforts of a transportation 

improvement district. Such steps may include advising and providing technical assistance to 

the district. They may also include designating Transportation Cabinet engineers to serve as 

the Cabinet’s agent to review project designs and determine if they meet state and federal 

specifications. 


21


House Bill 315 ‒ Broadband Deployment 

Representative Brandon Reed (R–Hodgenville) 

House Bill 315 creates a new section KRS Chapter 224A to establish the Office of Broadband 

Development within the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority. The office will serve as the central 

broadband planning and coordination entity for the state and the single point of contact 

and liaison to federal agencies and programs regarding broadband issues to develop and 

implement a statewide broadband plan. Alternatively, the Kentucky Infrastructure Authority 

may contract with a private nonprofit corporation with at least five years of broadband and 

telecommunications public policy research and mapping experience to fulfill the office’s 

purposes, duties, and responsibilities. The authority shall report the office’s activities to the 

Legislative Research Commission semiannually on Jan. 1 and July 1 each year. 

Additional duties of the Office of Broadband Development include administrating the state’s 

broadband deployment fund the State Treasury established pursuant to KRS 124A.112 in 

2020. The General Assembly appropriated $300 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act 

(ARPA) funds in Fiscal Year 2023 to provide grants to governmental agencies and private 

sector entities to construct the infrastructure needed to provide broadband to households 

and businesses in underserved and unserved areas. When awarding grant funds, the office 

shall award funding to addresses with no service first, then to unserved addresses, and lastly 

to underserved addresses. 

All funded projects require at least a 50% match of the total project cost unless the project 

area encompasses five locations or less per route mile, which may reduce the required match 

to 30% of the total project cost. Five-10 locations per route mile may reduce the required 

match to 40%. Matching funds shall be paid by: (1) a private source, including but not limited 

to financial institutions that serve rural electric cooperatives; (2) a city, county, urban-county 

government, or consolidated local government; or (3) any combination of matching money 

provided by a private source and a local government. 

The measure also establishes the following: 

1. The Rural Infrastructure Improvement Program for reimbursement of a portion of 

eligible pole replacement costs incurred for the construction of broadband networks 

for service to residences or businesses within a qualifying unserved or underserved 

area; and 

2. The Rural Infrastructure Improvement Fund within the State Treasury, administered by 

the Office of Broadband Development, to reimburse to qualified applicants under the 

Rural Infrastructure Improvement Program. 

House Bill 315 appropriates $20 million of Kentucky’s ARPA State Fiscal Recovery Funds in 

Fiscal Year 2022 to the Rural Infrastructure Improvement Fund. 

The bill also appropriates $182.8 million for Fiscal Year 2022 from Kentucky’s ARPA 

Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund and $67.2 million from the ARPA State Fiscal Recovery 



Fund to the Broadband Deployment Fund, with no more than $50 million to be awarded 

before May 1, 2022. 



KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney and Sen. Rick Girdler 

(R-Somerset) testify in support of Senate Bill 111. 

SB 111 – Local Tax Increment Finance & Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals 

Senator Rick Girdler (R–Somerset) 

Senate Bill 111, a KLC initiative, amends a law legislators enacted in the last minutes of 

the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly that required extensive reporting by 

local governments that established local-only tax increment financing districts without 

state participation. The bill amends KRS 65.7407 to permit a city or county that pledges 

occupational license fees as part of the local tax revenues to support the local development 

area to engage the services of an independent consultant or financial advisor to analyze the 

data and prepare a report related to the project. Senate Bill 111 also sets out the components 

that the report may include. If the city elects to engage these services, the developer 

requesting the establishment of the local development area shall pay the costs associated 

with the independent consultant or financial advisor and the preparation of the report unless 

the city or the county agrees to pay it. 

Senate Bill 111 amends another law legislators enacted in the final minutes of the 2021 Regular 

Session of the General Assembly that expanded the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Board of Tax 

Appeals to give it authority to hear appeals on city taxation matters. The measure amends 


23

8) EMERGENCY SERVICES 

KLC Director of Public Affairs Bryanna L. Carroll and Sen. Rick Girdler (R-Somerset) testify before 

the Senate State and Local Government Committee in favor of Senate Bill 111 on Feb. 3. 

KRS 49.020 to restore the Kentucky Board of Tax Appeals to its original jurisdiction by 

removing its authority to hear appeals from cities and special taxing districts. 

Senate Bill 111 contained an emergency clause and became effective upon the governor’s 

signature on March 25, 2022. 

House Bill 363 ‒ Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) Fund 

Representative Mark Hart (R–Falmouth) 

House Bill 363 amends KRS 65.7631 to revise the apportionment of money in Kentucky’s 

Commercial Mobile Radio Service (CMRS) fund. The Kentucky 911 Services Board in the Office 

of Homeland Security administers the fund. House Bill 363 increases funding for expanded 

Next Generation 911 (NG911) initiatives, services, and applications without increasing 911 fees 

on wireless communication devices. NG911 allows the public to send digital data such as texts, 

photos, and videos to 911 call centers, also known as public safety answering points (PSAPs). 

Wearable medical devices, car computers, and building alarms can also transmit data to 

PSAPs through NG911. 

House bill 363 apportions CMRS funds as follows until Aug. 1, 2022: 

1. 2.5% to pay administrative costs and expenses of the board; 

2. 2.5% to establish or maintain statewide 911 initiatives for the adoption and operation of 

NG911 services and applications; and 



3. 10% for direct grants, matching money, or other PSAP funds as determined by the 

board to establish and improve 911 services. 

The legislation increases the amount of funds apportioned to establish and maintain statewide 

911 initiatives from 2.5% to 5% on and after Aug. 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2024, to help adopt 

and operate NG911 services. The rate returns to 2.5% on July 1, 2024. 

To support the increase to 5% on and after Aug. 1, 2022, the amount of funds apportioned 

for direct grants, matching money, or funds to PSAPs is reduced from 10% to 7.5% on and 

after Aug. 1, 2022, and before July 1, 2024, when the rate returns to 7.5%. Additionally, the bill 

lowers the cap for direct grants, matching money, or other PSAP funds from $3 million to $2.5 

million in any fiscal year. 

When the balance of money collected and not yet obligated for permitted purposes exceeds 

$2.5 million in any fiscal year, the excess amount shall be distributed 5% to each state police 

dispatch center that previously qualified for PSAP pro rata formula funding, but now only 

provides backup services. Each post shall receive one-half of a pro rata share determined by 

dividing one-half by the total number of qualifying PSAPs that request funding. The remaining 

balance shall be distributed equally to all remaining qualifying PSAPs. 

The bill also amends KRS 65.7631 to increase eligibility requirements for a PSAP to receive 

CMRS funds. In addition to current requirements, a PSAP must adopt and participate in all 

board-funded statewide NG911 projects, programs, and initiatives required to meet federal 

directives and support or implement NG911 emergency services internet protocol networks, 

core services, and geographic information services components. 

The Act takes effect on Aug. 1, 2022. 

Rep. Mark Hart (R-Falmouth) rises to 

speak on the House floor before the 

day’s session on Feb. 8. 


25


House Bill 512 ‒ Heart Attack Response and Treatment 

Representative David Meade (R–Stanford) 

House Bill 512 creates new sections of KRS Chapter 211 to require the Department for Public 

Health to establish and implement a plan to achieve continuous improvement in the quality 

of care provided under a statewide heart attack response and treatment system. The bill 

designates licensed hospitals as a Level 1 Comprehensive Cardiac Center, Level 2 Primary 

Heart Attack Center, or Level 3 Acute Heart Attack Ready. A hospital may apply to the 

department to be a Level 1, 2, or 3 hospital. If a hospital applies for recognition, it must 

demonstrate to the department’s satisfaction that the hospital meets applicable criteria. 

• Level I ‒ A hospital certified as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center hospital by a nationally 

recognized guidelines-based organization that provides comprehensive cardiac center 

certification for heart attack care. 

• Level II ‒ A hospital certified as a Primary Heart Attack Center by a nationally recognized 

guidelines-based organization that provides primary heart attack center certification for 

heart attack care. 

• Level III ‒ A hospital certified as Acute Heart Attack Ready by a nationally recognized 

guidelines-based organization that provides acute heart attack ready certification for heart 

attack care. 

The department shall recognize any hospital as Level 1, 2, or 3 if it meets the established 

criteria and maintains an active certification. 

By June 1 of each year, the department shall: (1) send a list of recognized Level 1, 2, and 3 

hospitals to the medical director of each licensed emergency medical services provider in 

Kentucky and maintain a copy of the list on its website; and (2) establish pre-hospital care 

protocols related to the assessment, treatment, transport, and routing of heart attack patients 

by emergency medical services providers, which shall include protocols for the development 

and implementation of plans for the triage and transport of acute heart attack patients. 

All emergency medical services authorities in the state shall establish training requirements to 

ensure that licensed emergency medical services providers and 911 dispatch personnel receive 

regular training on assessing and treating heart attack patients. 

Within 120 days of the Act’s effective date, the department shall promulgate administrative 

regulations to implement the provisions of the Act. 

House Bill 777 – Ground Ambulance Services 

Representative Ken Fleming (R–Louisville) 

House Bill 777 amends KRS 216B.020 to create an exception for cities and counties from 

obtaining a certificate of need (CON) for the provision of ground ambulance services to 

provide emergency ambulance transport services to their respective jurisdictions. It also 



permits a city or county to contract with a hospital to provide these services under a CON 

exemption. The legislation prohibits the city or county from transferring any license obtained 

under the CON exemption and prohibits a county from providing services under the CON 

exclusion within the limits of a city unless the city agrees. 

In addition, House Bill 777 creates a CON exception for hospitals to provide transport from a 

hospital, both emergency and nonemergency. It also allows non-substantive review of CON 

applications for cities, counties, and hospitals, as long as a hospital receives a city and county 

response on their position before a Cabinet review. The bill prohibits the transfer of any 

license except among cities, counties, and hospitals obtained in non-substantive review. 

The CON exemptions and non-substantive review provisions expire on July 1, 2026, but any 

action taken under the sections while effective does not expire. 

House Bill 777 amends KRS 311A.015 to move the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical 

Services (KBEMS) from its administrative attachment to KCTCS to be an independent state 

government agency. It also changes KBEMS membership and requires the city appointment to 

come from a list of three nominees submitted by the Kentucky League of Cities. Additionally, 

the bill amends KRS 311A.190 to require data sharing between KBEMS and the Cabinet and 

gives the Cabinet the authority to investigate and hold hearings on ambulance complaints. 

The legislation creates a new technical advisory committee on emergency medical services 

with membership, including a mayor recommended by the Kentucky League of Cities. That 

committee is tasked with examining issues in ambulance transport and reviewing the overall 

need for the CON process in the provision of ambulance services. 

KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney, Rep. Ken Fleming (R-Louisville), and Kentucky Hospital 

Association (KHA) President Nancy Galvagni testify in support of House Bill 777 on March 3 before the 

House Health and Family Services Committee. 


27

9) FIRE DEPARTMENTS 

House Bill 372 ‒ Fire Districts and Nonprofit Fire Departments 

Representative Mark Hart (R–Falmouth) 

House Bill 372 amends KRS 95A.055 to encompass all fire departments in the current 

definition of “fire department.” The definition divides fire departments into “fire districts” 

and “nonprofit fire departments.” Thus, “fire district” means any fire protection district or 

volunteer fire department district operating under KRS Chapter 75 with higher annual receipts 

or annual expenditures of less than $100,000. “Nonprofit fire department” means any fire 

department incorporated under KRS Chapter 273. 

The bill amends the remaining provisions of KRS 95A.055 to refer to “fire district” or 

“nonprofit fire department” as appropriate in place of the term “fire department.” The 

amendments clarify that only fire districts provide administrative, budgetary, and fiscal 

information. The current requirement for fire departments to be subject to a financial review 

every four years is changed to every 12 months for both fire districts and nonprofit fire 

departments. 

Senate Bill 189 – Volunteer Fire Department Aid 

Senator Stephen Meredith (R–Leitchfield) 

Senate Bill 189 amends KRS 95A.520 and KRS 95A.540 to provide that for volunteer fire 

department mergers occurring before the effective date of July 14, 2022, the Fire Commission 

will continue to pay the merged district for the first through the third year following the 

merger the number of qualified shares of volunteer department aid equal to the total number 

that each department would have received before the merger and through the fourth through 

the sixth year half of the qualified share plus one full share. 

Senate Bill 189 removes the limitation for merged fire departments to the first three years 

following a merger to permit departments that merge after July 14, 2022, to receive the 

total number of qualified shares that were received before to merger indefinitely. For any 

department that merged after July 14, 2022, that falls out of compliance, the Fire Commission 

must suspend state aid payments until the department comes back into compliance. If a 

department returns to qualification within 90 days, the department shall be entitled to receive 

payment of multiple shares. However, if the department fails to become compliant within 90 

days and later returns to its qualified status, it shall only receive one share of aid and shall not 

be entitled to the multiple shares again. 


10) FISCAL MATTERS 

House Bill 1 ‒ Executive Branch Biennial Budget 

Representative Jason Petrie (R–Elkton) 

House Bill 1 provides $16 billion for the General Fund in each year of the 2022-2024 biennium. 

Provisions include: 

• $100 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for marketing and 

promotion of tourism, including $25 million to tourism commissions for local tourism 

grants. 

• Funds to increase the annual supplement paid to police officers and firefighters from 

$4,000 to $4,300 annually with an additional $1 million appropriated for reimbursement of 

administrative costs incurred by employers. 

• Funds to increase the annual volunteer fire department supplement from $11,000 to $11,500. 

• $28.5 million to the Department of Criminal Justice Training in Fiscal Year 2023 to 

construct a new indoor firing range. 

• $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2022 to conduct a feasibility study for a law enforcement training 

center in Madisonville. Subject to the results, the General Assembly intends to authorize 

a capital project for law enforcement training at the Western Kentucky Regional Training 

Center in Madisonville. 

• $2 million in each fiscal year for Operation UNITE to support drug abuse prevention 

and recovery efforts in 32 southern and eastern Kentucky counties. House Bill 604 

appropriated another $1 million in Fiscal Years 2022, 2023, and 2024. 

• $48 million each fiscal year to continue the state’s contractual payments to KentuckyWired 

to expand statewide broadband access. 

Additional provisions: 

• $150 million to maintain and renovate Kentucky state parks. 

• $7.8 million for additional mental health professionals in schools. 

• Pension contributions for the Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS), State Police 

Retirement System (SPRS), and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS). That 

includes $215 million in additional funds in Fiscal Year 2022 to SPRS and $135 million in FYs 

2023 and 2024 to the KERS nonhazardous pension fund to pay down unfunded liabilities. 

House Bill 604 provided an additional $135 million in FYs 2023 and 2024 to the KERS 

nonhazardous pension fund. 

• An 8% pay raise for all state workers in the first fiscal year, with the potential for up to a 

12% pay raises in the second fiscal year after a pay study. The bill also includes raises for 

social workers, the Kentucky State Police, and public defenders. 


29

10) FISCAL MATTERS 

• Full-day kindergarten and increases in per-pupil funding for local school districts from 

$4,000 to $4,100 in FY 2023 and $4,200 in FY 2024. 

• $250 million for the state’s rainy day fund. 

House Bill 482 ‒ Area Development District Funds 

Representative Chris Fugate (R–Chavies) 

House Bill 482 amends KRS 147A.100 to require the Department for Local Government to 

allocate area development district funds appropriated to the Joint Funding Administration 

Program in accordance with the following formula: 

1. 70% divided equally among all area development districts; 

2. 20% based on each area development district’s proportionate share of the total state 

population as identified by the most recent federal decennial census; and 

3. 10% based on each area development district’s proportionate share of total 

incorporated cities and counties as identified by the secretary of state’s land office 

records at the time of the allocation. 

Upon the unanimous written direction of all area development districts, the department shall 

reduce the allocation based on a proportionate share of total incorporated cities and counties, 

and instead allocate those funds to provide additional nonfederal dollars to area development 

districts to maximize federal awards. 

An emergency is declared. House Bill 482 became law when the governor signed it on April 8, 

2022. 


11) LAW ENFORCEMENT 

House Bill 206 ‒ Peace Officer Certification 

Representative Rachel Roberts (D–Newport) 

House Bill 206 amends KRS 15.382 and 15.386 to prohibit anyone convicted of a misdemeanor 

sexual offense under KRS 510.120, 510.130, or 510.140; a second or subsequent offense under 

KRS 510.148; or a criminal attempt, conspiracy, facilitation, or solicitation to commit any 

degree of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, or sexual misconduct from getting certified as a peace 

officer or returning to active certification from inactive status. 

The bill also amends KRS 15.391 to require revocation of a peace officer’s certification if he or 

she pleads guilty, is convicted, or enters an Alford plea to a sexual offense under KRS 510.120, 

510.130, 510.140, or 510.148; a criminal attempt, conspiracy, facilitation, or solicitation to 

commit any degree of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, or sexual misconduct; any criminal offense 

committed in another state that would, if committed in Kentucky, constitute a misdemeanor 

sexual offense under KRS 510.120, 510.130, or 510.140; or a criminal attempt, conspiracy, 

facilitation, or solicitation to commit any degree of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse, or sexual 

misconduct. 

House Bill 239 – Constable Peace Officer Powers 

Representative Adam Koenig (R–Erlanger) 

House Bill 239, a KLC initiative, amends KRS Chapter 70 to prohibit constables and deputy 

constables taking office after Jan. 1, 2023, who were not a constable or deputy constable in 

the preceding four-year term of office from exercising the general powers of a peace officer 

or police officer unless the individual has been Peace Officer Professional Standards (POPS) 

certified and maintains the certification through the required in-service training required of 

other police officers. Newly elected constables and deputy constables that are not trained still 

maintain the other duties of the office that existed prior to the enactment of House Bill 239, 

including the ability to serve legal process. 

House Bill 239 sets forth the qualifications of deputy constables and establishes the manner 

in which a judge/executive or mayor in a consolidated local government and urban county 

government must approve their authorization. 

Additionally, House Bill 239 requires authorized constables and their deputies to complete 

reports each calendar month to the fiscal court or county clerk in urban county governments 

or consolidated local governments in the form required by the office to which the report is 

due. At a minimum, the report must include the number and kind of civil processes and orders 

the constable and deputies handled, fees collected in civil processes, executed warrants, and a 

complete and detailed report on all other acts completed in their official capacity. In counties 

with a population of more than 70,000, the fiscal court or legislative body can collect a fee of 

25% of the total receipts. 


31


House Bill 239 permits constables that have been POPS certified to equip their vehicles with 

blue lights without fiscal court authorization but still permits counties to authorize untrained 

constables to use blue lights. 

House Bill 239 also provides that constables may apply for admission to basic training for 

peace officers at any of the schools authorized by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, 

and it requires the Department of Criminal Justice Training to hold one seat per class for a 

qualified constable. 

House Bill 239 has a delayed effective date of Jan. 1, 2023, except for the provision requiring 

the Department of Criminal Justice Training to reserve a seat for a constable to receive 

training, which does not become effective until July 1, 2023. 

(From L to R) Morehead Police Chief William Hunt, Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), and KLC Director of Public Affairs 

Bryanna L. Carroll testify in support of HB 239 at the Senate State & Local Government Committee hearing on March 24. 

House Bill 565 – Police Officer Virtual Training 

Representative Kimberly Moser (R–Taylor Mill) 

House Bill 565 amends KRS 15A.070 to require the Department of Criminal Justice Training 

to promulgate an administrative regulation by Sept. 1, 2022, to establish procedures and 

participation requirements for basic training and annual in-service course instruction for police 

trainees and officers to be offered electronically and online through remote instruction. The 

Department of Criminal Justice Training has discretion in how to establish the administrative 

regulation, but the regulations must comply with the following minimum requirements: 



• By no later than Jan. 1, 2024, at least 10% of the total course instruction required for basic 

training to be electronic and online; 

• By no later than Jan. 1, 2025, at least 30% of the total course instruction required to 

complete annual in-service training be offered online through remote learning; 

• Instruction for in-service training made available over the entire calendar year and spread 

over a reasonable time so as not to require attendance or participation for an entirety of a 

single work week; 

• None of the remote training in subject areas that requires the demonstration or use of 

physical proficiency or skill; and 

• Contain other reasonable procedures and rules to ensure attendance, active participation, 

and successful mastery of the subject matter. 

In addition, House Bill 565 ensures that by moving some portion of the basic training 

online, veterans would not lose access to their GI benefits for education under federal law. If 

Kentucky’s state approving agency determines that a portion of basic training being online 

constitutes independent study and disqualifies veterans from benefits, then the state agency 

must get an official opinion from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. If that 

is unsuccessful, the bill requires the Department of Criminal Justice Training to provide the 

training in-person for GI beneficiaries. If it does not qualify, the Kentucky Law Enforcement 

Foundation Program Fund would pay GI benefits. If there are insufficient funds in the 

program, the employing agency shall pay the benefits to which the veteran would otherwise 

be entitled. 

Rep. Kimberly Moser (R-Taylor Mill) answers questions on House Bill 565 before 

representatives voted 61-31 to pass the measure on March 8. 


33


Senate Bill 96 – Kentucky Law Enforcement Council Seat for Bowling Green 

Senator Mike Wilson (R–Bowling Green) 

Senate Bill 96 amends KRS 15.315 to add the chief of police of the City of Bowling Green 

Police Department to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council. The City of Bowling Green 

established a police training academy after authorization from the Kentucky Law Enforcement 

Council, and the chief of any department that conducts an academy has a seat on the Council. 

Senate Bill 176 ‒ Use of Facial Recognition Technology 

Senator Whitney Westerfield (R–Crofton) 

Senate Bill 176 creates a new section of KRS Chapter 61 to establish a working group on facial 

recognition technology attached to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet. The secretary of 

the Cabinet shall serve as chair of the working group composed of representatives from the 

following organizations nominated by the secretary and appointed by the governor: Kentucky 

Association of Chiefs of Police, Department of Criminal Justice Training, Kentucky League of 

Cities, Kentucky Association of Counties, and Kentucky Sheriff’s Association. 

“Facial recognition technology” means the algorithmic comparison of images of an individual’s 

facial features for verification or identification, unless used for authentication to access a 

secure device or secure premises. 

On or before Jan. 1, 2024, the working group shall create and make publicly available a model 

policy for use by law enforcement agencies which shall: 

1. Specify the authorized uses of facial recognition technology consistent with the law, 

including but not limited to how search results using facial recognition technology 

relate to establishing probable cause for arrests; 

2. Prohibit the use of facial recognition technology to identify a person participating in 

constitutionally protected activities in public spaces unless there is probable cause to 

believe that an offense has been committed; 

3. Specify requirements for persons within a law enforcement agency that are authorized 

to use facial recognition technology; 

4. Require a law enforcement agency to specify a process for the agency to document 

instances when it uses facial recognition technology; 

5. Provide procedures for the confirmation of any initial findings generated by facial 

recognition technology by a secondary examiner; and 

6. Specify data integrity and retention policies applicable to the data collected by the 



organization, including processes that address maintenance and update of records 

used, a routine audit schedule to ensure compliance with the policy, how long the 

organization will keep the data, and the processes by which the department will delete 

data. 

The model policy shall additionally: 

1. Specify data security measures, including how data collected will be securely stored, 

accessed, and shared with other entities, if applicable, in compliance with the model 

policy; 

2. Specify training procedures and processes to ensure all personnel who utilize facial 

recognition technology or access its data are knowledgeable about and able to ensure 

compliance with the policy; 

3. Specify a process that requires a law enforcement agency utilizing facial recognition 

technology to compare a publicly available or lawfully acquired image against a 

database of publicly available or lawfully acquired images; 

4. Specify a minimum accuracy standard for face matches in all demographic groups to 

ensure nondiscrimination against any demographic group; 

5. Provide a mechanism to produce a record of prior uses of facial recognition technology 

that can be used to audit and verify images and information used to make a match of a 

person; and 

6. Provide a process that addresses the privacy of persons by excluding, redacting, 

blurring, or otherwise obscuring nudity or sexual conduct involving any identifiable 

person. 

A law enforcement agency that uses facial recognition technology shall have a policy in place 

before using the technology and file a copy and any revisions with the Justice and Public 

Safety Cabinet within 30 days of its adoption or revision. 


35


Senate Bill 241 ‒ Hunter Education Exemption for Peace Officers 

Senator Jimmy Higdon (R–Lebanon) 

Senate Bill 241 amends KRS 150.170 to exempt from the live-fire exercise component of the 

Department of Fish and Wildlife required hunter education course for purchasing a hunting 

license, peace officers certified pursuant to KRS 15.380-15.404, current members of the Armed 

Forces of the United States, and former members of the Armed Forces discharged under 

conditions other than dishonorable. 

Rep. Bart Rowland (R-Tompkinsville) and KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney testify in 

support of House Bill 307 before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on March 15. 


12) LOCAL GOV. ADMINISTRATION 

HB 307 ‒ Self-Insurance Liability & Workers’ Compensation Groups Investments 

Representative Bart Rowland (R–Tompkinsville) 

House Bill 307, a KLC initiative, amends KRS 304.48-090 and KRS 304.50-055 related to 

liability and workers’ compensation self-insurance groups like Kentucky League of Cities 

Insurance Services. The amendments modernize the investment options available to insurance 

pools to permit additional investments, diversification of risks, and consideration of alternative 

credit rating agencies in evaluating the grade of investments permitted under the statute. The 

purpose of the amendment is to allow self-insurance groups to earn more from investments to 

benefit their participants. 

House Bill 307 permits investments in taxable obligations issued by state and local 

governments and removes the restriction that any such investment be made in the 

commonwealth, its agencies, or political subdivisions, and permits up to half of the 

investments made in these types of obligations to be out of state government obligations. In 

addition, the bill changes the minimum investment grade from “A” or “AA” to “BBB.” 

House Bill 307 changes the minimum investment grade for corporate bonds from “A” to 

“BBB.” It permits up to 10% of the investment portfolio in asset-backed securities with a 

minimum grade of “BBB” if the bond is issued, assumed, or guaranteed by a solvent institution 

created or existing under the laws of the United States or one of its states or territories. 

Additionally, House Bill 307 provides that if any security investment is downgraded below 

“BBB,” the liability self-insurance group shall divest itself of the investment as soon as 

prudently possible without incurring unnecessary losses. 

House Bill 314 ‒ Operation of Consolidated Local Government 

Representative Jason Nemes (R–Louisville) 

House Bill 314 amends several provisions of KRS Chapter 67C relating to the operation of 

consolidated local governments. The legislation applies only to the Louisville/Jefferson 

County Metro Government. 

Term of Office and New Cities 

The bill amends KRS 67C.105 to limit the mayor of a consolidated local government to two, 

rather than three, consecutive terms after Jan. 1, 2023. It amends KRS 67C.111 to allow qualified 

voters of a consolidated local government to establish new cities pursuant to KRS 81.050 and 

81.060 with the approval of the consolidated local government’s legislative council effective 

after July 15, 2024. Any proposed city must have a population of at least 6,000. The territory 

shall not be within any urban services boundary of the consolidated local government or 

include any territory currently incorporated within an existing city. As originally adopted, KRS 

67C.111 prohibited further incorporation of cities within the boundaries of the consolidated 

local government. 


37


If 66% or more of the registered voters in the area proposed to be incorporated sign a 

petition, the consolidated local government’s legislative council shall approve by resolution 

the proposed incorporation. If the legislative council does not act upon the request within 60 

days of receipt of the petition, incorporation of the new city shall be deemed approved. 

The consolidated local government’s legislative council may, but is not required to, incorporate 

a new city if less than 66% of the voters in the area proposed to be incorporated sign the 

petition. 

Annexation 

Cities within a consolidated local government currently may only annex territory under KRS 

67C.111 with the approval of the consolidated local government’s legislative council. 

House Bill 314 amends KRS 67C.111 to require after July 15, 2024, the consolidated local 

government’s legislative council to approve a proposed annexation if the ordinance requesting 

the annexation has a petition supporting the move with 66% or more of the voters in the 

proposed area. The mayor of the consolidated local government may not veto an ordinance 

approving annexation passed by the legislative council. 

Legislative Council 

House Bill 314 amends KRS 67C.139 to give the consolidated local government’s legislative 

council 60 days to approve appointments by the mayor to agencies, boards, and commissions 

established by statute if approval is required. 

The bill also amends KRS 67C.147 to require a consolidated local government to provide a 

report at least annually to the legislative council and the urban service tax district board 

containing but not limited to an accounting of operating and capital expenditures for each 

service performed by the consolidated local government. 

Louisville Metro Comprehensive Review Commission 

The bill includes a noncodified section to require the mayor to establish the Louisville 

Metro Comprehensive Review Commission to receive input from stakeholders, including 

business and community leaders, regarding the statutory framework of the consolidated 

local government form of government. The commission shall submit its findings and 

recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the appropriate 

committee or committees by Sept. 15, 2023. 

The Louisville Metro Comprehensive Review Commission shall include: (1) the mayor of the 

consolidated local government; (2) the president of the Jefferson County League of Cities; 

(3) three members each of the Senate and House of Representatives selected by House and 

Senate leadership; (4) three members of the legislative council of Louisville Metro Government 

recommended by the president of the council; (5) three members of Greater Louisville 



Incorporated recommended by the executive officer; (6) one member of the Jefferson County 

Fire Chiefs Association recommended by the president of the association. The Legislative 

Research Commission has final membership approval. 

House Bill 335 – City Representation on the Kentucky Law Enforcement 

Council & Recovery Ready Communities Advisory Council 

Representative Adam Bowling (R–Middlesboro) 

House Bill 335, a KLC initiative, amends KRS 15.315 to provide that the Kentucky League of 

Cities will provide three nominees that are either mayors or city managers for the governor 

to make appointments to the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council. It also provides the same 

requirement for the Kentucky Association of Counties to provide three judge/executive 

nominees to the governor for appointment to the Council. All current appointees are 

permitted to serve the remainder of their terms as long as they meet the qualifications for 

service. Before the amendment, the governor selected appointees without a list of nominees. 

In addition, House Bill 335 amends KRS 222.480 related to appointments to the Recovery 

Ready Communities Advisory Council to require that the Kentucky League of Cities submit 

three nominees to the governor. Likewise, it requires the Kentucky Association of Counties, 

the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Kentucky School Boards Association, and the 

Recovery Consortium of Kentucky to make three nominees each to the governor for 

appointees that serve their organizations. Prior to House Bill 335, the governor was able to 

select appointees to represent these organizations without a list of nominees. 

KLC Director of Public Affairs Bryanna L. Carroll and Rep. Adam Bowling (R-Middlesboro) testify on March 10. 


39


House Bill 345 ‒ Military Leave 

Representative Matthew Koch (R–Paris) 

House Bill 345 amends KRS 61.394 which required employers to grant leave of absence from 

their respective duties without loss of time, pay, regular leave, impairment of efficiency rating, 

or of any other rights or benefits to which they are entitled while in the performance of activeduty 

or active-duty training to employees who serve in the National Guard or any reserve 

component of the Armed Forces of the United States, or of the reserve corps of the United 

States Public Health Service. The bill broadens KRS 61.394 to require a leave of absence for an 

employee who is a member of a reserve component while: (1) physically disabled because of 

an injury, illness, or disease incurred or aggravated in the line of duty while performing activeduty 

or inactive-duty training; or (2) entitled to incapacitation pay pursuant to 37 U.S.C. § 204. 

Leave due to military disability or incapacity shall not exceed six months unless approved by 

the employee’s appointing authority. Employers must pay employees on military leave, upon 

request, their salaries or compensation for a period or periods not exceeding 21 days in a 

federal fiscal year. 

The provisions of KRS 61.394 apply to counties, municipalities, school districts, or other 

political subdivisions of the state pursuant to KRS 61.396. 

House Bill 351 – Local Records Affidavits 

Representative Deanna Frazier Gordon (R–Richmond) 

House Bill 351 creates a new section in KRS Chapter 65 to provide a process for local 

governments, including cities, to file an affidavit with state government entities regarding 

the contents of a lost or damaged record in lieu of filing the original form when it cannot be 

produced. It excludes records related to real property transitions, tax collection, elections, 

death and disease reporting, and correctional facility reporting requirements. 

House Bill 351 provides that when a qualified record is lost, damaged, or destroyed other 

than in circumstances where there is intentional tampering to avoid filing requirements a 

local government legislative body can present an affidavit of the record’s contents in lieu of 

presenting the record itself. A local government following this process shall be deemed in 

compliance with the state law or regulation and shall not be penalized. 

Prior to submitting an affidavit in accordance with House Bill 351, the local government must 

make a good-faith attempt at replacing or recreating the record, including bona fide attempts 

to contact the individual or entity in charge of producing or storing the records, reproduction 

of the data that constituted the record or recreation of the record, and contact with an 

individual or entity that possesses a copy or additional original of the record. If these attempts 

are unsuccessful, a local government may submit an affidavit that contains the following 

information: 



• The statutory citation requiring submission of the record and a description of the general 

contents of what was required to be submitted; 

• A description of the circumstances surrounding the loss, damage, or destruction of the 

record; 

• A detailed description of specific efforts the local government used to reconstruct the 

record; and 

• A citation of any data or information that the local government has been able to replace or 

reconstruct from the original record and the data or information itself. 

House Bill 351 also contains a provision that allows a state government entity to require a local 

government to reproduce information contained in the record if the state government entity 

determines that the information is necessary for governmental operations. 

Rep. Deanna Frazier Gordon 

(R-Richmond) rises to speak on 

House Bill 351. Representatives 

voted 82-15 to pass the measure 

on Feb. 8. 

House Bill 399 – Municipal Audit Procedures 


House Bill 399, a KLC initiative, amends KRS 91A.040 to adjust the dates on which municipal 

audits must be completed and submitted to the Kentucky Department for Local Government 

(DLG). The date a city must complete an audit is moved from Feb. 1 to March 1 immediately 

following the audited fiscal year. The date of submission of audits to DLG is changed from 

March 1 to April 1 immediately following the audited fiscal year. The date for audit-exempt 

cities to submit financial statements remains unchanged and is Oct. 1, immediately following 

the conclusion of the fiscal year. 


41


House Bill 399 also amends KRS 91A.040 to provide new rules regarding cities exempt from 

municipal audits based on how much the city receives and expends in a single fiscal year. 

Prior to the amendment, the state exempted cities with no long-term debt that received 

and expended less than $75,000 from preparing an audit for that fiscal year. House Bill 399 

raises the threshold from $75,000 to $150,000. In addition, House Bill 399 requires that cities 

that have claimed the amount exemption for four consecutive fiscal years occurring after 

July 1, 2022, have an independent auditor prepare an attestation engagement for the fourth 

fiscal year in which the city qualified for the exemption. If an exempted city must have an 

attestation engagement completed, the attestation engagement must: 

• Be prepared by an independent certified public accountant or by the auditor of public 

accounts pursuant to a contract; 

• Use generally accepted attestation standards as promulgated by the American Institute of 

Certified Public Accountants and any additional procedures established by DLG; 

• Be completed by March 1 immediately following the conclusion of the fiscal year in which 

the attestation engagement is required and submitted to DLG electronically no later than 

April 1 after its completion; 

Rep. Josh Branscum (R-Russell Springs) and KLC Director of Public Affairs 

Bryanna L. Carroll testify in favor of House Bill 399. 



• Advertised to the public within 30 days following its completion through a legal 

advertisement of not less than six column inches in a qualified newspaper stating that the 

attestation has been completed and provided to the media. This advertisement is in lieu of 

the requirement to publish financial statements; and 

• Be provided to the auditor of public accounts upon request for review of the final report 

and all related work papers and documents regarding the attestation engagement. 

House Bill 594 ‒ Cost Analysis of State Administrative Regulations 

Representative Phillip Pratt (R–Georgetown) 

House Bill 594 amends KRS 13A.250 relating to the promulgation of administrative regulations 

to require a two-part cost analysis when considering the cost that an administrative regulation 

may cause the state, local governments, or regulated entities. The administrative body must 

complete a two-part analysis for each administrative regulation. The first part of the cost 

analysis shall include the projected cost or cost savings to the state and each of its affected 

agencies and local governments, including cities, counties, fire departments, and school 

districts. The second part of the cost analysis shall include the projected cost or cost savings 

to regulated entities affected by the administrative regulation. 

The fiscal note for the administrative regulation must state whether the regulation will have 

a major economic impact on the state, local governments, or regulated entities. House Bill 

594 amends KRS 13A.010 to define “major economic impact” as an overall adverse economic 

impact from an administrative regulation of $500,000 or more on state or local governments 

or regulated entities, in aggregate, as determined by the promulgating administrative body. 

The bill also amends KRS 13A.280 to require the administrative body, following the last day 

of the comment period, to consider comments submitted by agencies, local governments, or 

regulated entities regarding the economic impact of an administrative regulation. 

Additionally, the bill amends KRS 13A.030 to allow the Administrative Regulation Review 

Subcommittee to consider any administrative regulation deficient if it does not provide an 

adequate cost analysis. 




43


Senate Bill 42 ‒ Local Government Procurement 

Senator Stephen Meredith (R–Leitchfield) 

Senate Bill 42 amends KRS 45A.380 of the Local Government Model Procurement Code to 

expand food items exempted from competitive negotiation requirements, including contracts 

for purchasing food such as meat, fish, poultry, egg products, fresh vegetables, and fresh 

fruits. The bill also deletes the requirement that contracted perishable items be purchased 

weekly or more frequently. The amendment applies only to cities that have adopted the Model 

Procurement Code. 

The bill also amends KRS 424.260, the general bidding statute applicable to all other cities, 

to exempt contracts for the purchase of perishable food such as meat, fish, poultry, egg 

products, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits from a newspaper advertisement and competitive 

bidding requirements for procurement by a local government of items involving an 

expenditure greater than $30,000. 

Senate Bill 106 ‒ Administrative Dissolution of Inactive Cities 

Senator Robby Mills (R–Henderson) 

Senate Bill 106, a KLC initiative, creates a new section of KRS Chapter 81 to provide an 

administrative dissolution process for cities that do not collect funds and have no elected 

officials. The legislation requires all incorporated cities listed in the secretary of state’s office 

and every city operating as a public corporation and unit of local government to file the 

following information with the Department for Local Government by Sept. 1, 2022: (1) name 

of the city; (2) the address and phone number of its headquarters; (3) year of incorporation, if 

known; (4) its form of government. 

Any city that filed with the Department for Local Government as required pursuant to KRS 

83A.085 after Jan. 1, 2022, shall be deemed in compliance without any further action. 

If a city does not file the information by Sept. 1, 2022, the Department for Local Government 

shall notify the city of the filing requirement by first-class mail return receipt requested at 

its last known address no later than Oct. 15, 2022. The notice shall include a statement that 

failure to comply with the requirement by Dec. 1, 2022, shall subject the city to administrative 

dissolution proceedings. 

If a city does not respond by Dec. 1, 2022, the department shall publish in a newspaper of 

general circulation serving the residents in the area of the city pursuant to KRS Chapter 424 

and in a prominent place on the department’s website a notice stating: 

• The city has failed to respond to Department for Local Government filing requirements and 

is therefore subject to dissolution proceedings if the city fails to respond or any citizen, 

resident, or creditor fails to enter a defense by Jan. 1, 2023; 



• Creditors of the city are hereby notified that the debts of the city shall be extinguished 

if they are not otherwise discoverable in an administrative hearing or unless a successful 

defense is entered in an administrative hearing; and 

• Citizens, residents, or creditors of the city may enter a defense against the administrative 

dissolution by sending a written notice to the Department for Local Government by Jan. 1, 

2023, that includes the name of the citizen, resident, or creditor; their contact information; 

the name of the city in question; a preliminary statement of their legal claim against the 

city; and any other information requested by the Department for Local Government. 

After Jan. 1, 2023, the Department for Local Government shall set an administrative hearing 

pursuant to KRS Chapter 13B to determine whether the city shall be administratively dissolved 

for failure to comply with filing requirements. DLG must conduct the hearing within the 

boundaries of the city being administratively dissolved. If no place within the city is suitable, it 

must hold the administrative hearing in a place as close as possible to the city to provide easy 

access to the hearing for persons living within the city. If a citizen, resident, or creditor of the 

city has entered a defense by Jan. 1, 2023, the defense shall be heard at the hearing, and the 

hearing officer shall decide whether the city shall be administratively dissolved. 

If no citizen, resident, or creditor enters a defense to administrative dissolution, the city shall 

be declared administratively dissolved. Any elected official of the city, any citizen or resident 

of the city, or any creditor may appeal the hearing officer’s decision in accordance with KRS 

Chapter 13B. 

No city shall be dissolved if: 

1. The city maintains a city government by both the election or appointment of officers 

and the levying and collection of taxes; 

2. The city provides the information required by the Department for Local Government 

before Jan. 1, 2023; or 

3. A successful defense is made to the petition for dissolution. 

If the city is dissolved, the Department for Local Government shall notify the secretary of state 

and the clerk of the county in which the city was located of the dissolution. The county clerk 

shall index and file the notice as a permanent office record. 

Any debts of the city shall be satisfied on a pro rata basis. Any city assets remaining after 

dissolution shall be transferred to the county or counties in which the city was located. If the 

creditors agree to a pro rata share of the city’s remaining assets, or if no creditors appear after 

notification occurs or the time for entry of a defense elapses, then the remaining debts of the 

city shall be extinguished. In no event shall the county be liable for any remaining city debts 

after the assignment of any remaining assets. 

Any judgment granting dissolution of a city shall not prevent the incorporation of a city at a 

future date under the provisions of KRS 81.050 and 81.060 that may include all or a portion of 

the boundaries of the former city. 


45


If a dissolved city has an operating utility, it shall remain operational pursuant to the authority 

under which it was created unless the utility is declared part of the county or reorganized as a 

special district. However, the judge/executive of the county in which the utility operates shall 

make appointments to replace any board members whose terms expire after the dissolution 

of the city. With the agreement of the city utility board, or in the absence of a board at the 

discretion of the county judge/executive, the judge/executive may declare the city utility 

a department of the county or reorganize it as a special district, either standing alone or 

combining it with an existing special district in operation in the county under the provisions of 

KRS 67.715. 

Senate Bill 112 – Interlocal Agreement Amendments 

Senator Wil Schroder (R–Wilder) 

Senate Bill 112 amends KRS 65.242 to clarify that when an interlocal agreement is not being 

substantively amended and only changed to join new or remove parties that public agencies 

shall not be required to file a copy of the amended agreement with the secretary of state in 

order for the amendment to become effective. 

KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney and Sen. Wil Schroder (R-Wilder) testify in support of Senate Bill 112 . 


13) OPEN MEETINGS 

HB 399 – Public Hearing Requirements for Municipal Road Aid & LGEA Funds 


House Bill 399 amends the requirement for cities and counties to conduct separate 

public hearings before the expenditure of state funds on local streets and roads and 

before spending funds received through the Local Government Economic Assistance Program 

(LGEA). The bill amends KRS 42.455 and KRS 174.100 to eliminate the requirement for a full 

public hearing on LGEA and municipal road aid fund expenditures that require a publication of 

notification about the hearing. 

Instead, House Bill 399 establishes identical processes for LGEA funds and municipal road aid 

funds that require local governments to allow an opportunity for public input and comments 

at a meeting of the local government that it has noticed as required for special meetings 

under the Kentucky Open Meetings Act. No publication is required. Local governments 

must have the topic listed on the agenda of the meeting where the public may comment 

and provide input. While local governments are not bound by any public comment, a local 

government cannot begin construction or utilize the funds until it has held a meeting allowing 

public comment. 

House Bill 453 – Open Meetings Exceptions and Video Teleconferencing 

Representative Jonathan Dixon (R–Corydon) 

House Bill 453 creates an additional exception to the Kentucky Open Meetings Act at KRS 

61.810 to permit a selection committee, evaluation committee, or another similar group to 

select a successful bidder for the award of a local contract. 

House Bill 453 also amends the Kentucky Open Meetings Act at KRS 61.826 to codify the 

practices of public agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic permitted under Senate Bill 150 

(2020) in conducting public meetings via video teleconference. Under House Bill 453, a public 

agency that wishes to conduct a video teleconferenced meeting shall follow these procedures: 

• Provide notification that the public agency is holding the meeting via video teleconference, 

including: 

• Compliance with the Kentucky Open Meetings Act requirements for notice of special 

meetings, when applicable; 

• A clear statement that the meeting will be a video teleconference; 

• Specific information on how any member of the public or media may view the meeting 

electronically; and 

• Identification of a physical location for the public to attend the meeting when the 

public agency elects to provide a physical location or in any situation where two or 

more public agency members are attending from the same physical location. 


47

13) OPEN MEETINGS 

• Members of a public agency participating in the video teleconference must remain visible 

and on camera at all times when the agency is discussing business. 

• Public agencies may transition a regular meeting to video teleconference without 

having to treat it as a special meeting if the meeting occurs on the same date and 

time as originally scheduled and if the public agency complies with requirements for 

providing notice for a special meeting and notification provisions applicable for video 

teleconferenced meetings as set out above. 

Additionally, House Bill 453 amends KRS 83A.150 to permit city governments organized 

under the city manager form of government to conduct a closed session no more than two 

times per year for a performance evaluation of the city manager. The Board of Commissioners 

must follow procedures for going into closed sessions provided in KRS 61.815. House Bill 453 

also provides that any records related to the performance evaluation shall be subject to the 

provisions of the Kentucky Open Records Act. 

Rep. Johnathan Dixon (R-Corydon) and KLC Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney testify before 

the House Local Government Committee on Feb. 10 in support of House Bill 453. 


14) PLANNING & ZONING 

House Bill 195 ‒ Natural Gas Pipeline Location Notification 

Representative DJ Johnson (R–Owensboro) 

House Bill 195 creates a new section of KRS 100.273 to 100.292 relating to the approval of new 

residential or nonresidential developments by a planning commission in a city or county that 

has adopted the provisions of KRS Chapter 100. If a developer filed preliminary development 

plans for a new residential or nonresidential development located whole or in part within 

660 feet of the center point of a natural gas transmission pipeline or interstate hazardous 

liquid pipeline facility that was constructed or operated before the planned development, 

a developer in a city or county that has adopted the provisions of KRS Chapter 100 for 

purposes of approving residential and nonresidential developments must notify the operator 

of the natural gas transmission pipeline or interstate hazardous liquid pipeline facility of the 

planned development no later than 10 days from the date of application for approval of the 

development or 90 days before construction, whichever is earlier. 

Upon receiving notice of the filing of a preliminary development plan, a pipeline operator 

shall provide pipeline location information to the developer within 45 days, including but 

not limited to documents reflecting the actual location of the pipeline, marking facilities on 

design drawings, and maps. The developer shall state on the final plat filed with the planning 

commission the following: “The developer has utilized reasonable means to notify the 

operator of the pipeline to verify the location of the pipeline and the pipeline easement. The 

developer has reviewed, or attempted to review, preliminary information about the proposed 

development with the pipeline operator.” 

Pipeline operators must file point of contact information with the planning commission or 

commissions having jurisdiction in areas of existing gas transmission pipelines by Aug. 15, 

2022, and update the information as changes occur. Within 60 days of the effective date 

of the act, planning commissions are required to gather and confirm the National Pipeline 

Mapping System geospatial data regarding the location of pipelines in their jurisdictions 

from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration within the United States 

Department of Transportation. 

A planning commission shall not give final approval to a development located in whole or 

in part within 660 feet of the center point of a natural gas transmission pipeline until the 

requirements of the Act have been satisfied. A planning commission may rely solely upon 

the following without being subject to liability when determining whether requirements have 

been satisfied for purposes of granting final approval of a development: (1) the developer’s 

statement on the final plat; (2) the geospatial data gathered from the Pipeline and Hazardous 

Materials Safety Administration; (3) the filing of point of contact information by pipeline 

operators with the planning commission. 

Compliance with the Act shall not exempt developers or operators from the requirements of 

the Underground Facility Damage Prevention Act of 1994, KRS 367.4901 to 367.4917. 


49

15) PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL 

House Bill 79 ‒ Mental Health Training for Telecommunicators 

Representative Bill Wesley (R–Ravenna) 

House Bill 79 amends KRS 15.518 to include telecommunicators as eligible participants in the 

Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program that currently offers peer 

support and counseling services to law enforcement officers. 

The measure also amends KRS 15.550 to require the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council to 

(1) incorporate mental health training with a primary focus on post-traumatic stress disorder 

(PTSD) into the telecommunicators training program and (2) maintain a current resource list 

for all telecommunicators and their supervisors related to the management and treatment of 

PTSD and work-induced stress. All telecommunicators who receive or dispatch emergency 

medical service calls shall be trained in recognizing and identifying PTSD symptoms. 

House Bill 79 amends KRS 15.560 and 15.565 to require each in-service training for 

telecommunicators to include a mental health component that highlights PTSD and workinduced 

stress. The training shall include symptom recognition, treatment, and available 

resources. 

Finally, House Bill 79 amends KRS 15.590 to require the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council 

to provide to all telecommunication supervisors after each in-service training a guide for 

recognizing the symptoms of and available treatment resources for PTSD or work-induced 

stress. 

House Bill 414 – Police Officer and Firefighter Personnel Policies 

Representative John Blanton (R–Salyersville) 

House Bill 414 makes several amendments to existing state laws related to the employment of 

public safety employees in city police and fire departments, including rehiring retired police 

officers and alternative work schedules for police departments. 

House Bill 414 amends KRS 90.330, which applies to certain cities that have elected to 

adopt a civil service system for their police departments to remove the requirement that an 

employee is not older than 46 years of age for initial employment. 

House Bill 414 also amends KRS 95.010 to clarify that chiefs of police and chiefs of fire 

departments, clerical staff, and maintenance employees are not considered “members” of the 

police and fire departments for purposes of the application of KRS 95.450, which requires a 

hearing before the legislative body of the city before any disciplinary action in former second 

or third class cities. This change means that chiefs and clerical and maintenance employees 

in police and fire departments are not entitled to disciplinary hearings before a city takes 

adverse personnel action. 

Additionally, the amendment to KRS 95.010 excludes clerical and maintenance employees 

from the definition of “member” for the application of KRS 95.495, which sets out the work 

schedule required for police departments and guarantees vacation leave for members of 

police departments in former second or third class cities. This change means that non- 



uniformed clerical and maintenance employees in police departments in these cities do not 

have to be scheduled in 8- or 10-hour shifts and are not guaranteed 15 vacation days with full 

pay. 

House Bill 414 amends KRS 95.450 to clarify that the provisions of the section only apply to 

members of a police department in designated cities in situations when the Police Officer Bill 

of Rights (KRS 15.520) does not apply. Further, the bill clarifies that KRS 95.450 applies to 

written instead of verbal reprimands and specifies that individuals may only file complaints 

instead of being able to prefer charges. Instead, for preferred charges to trigger the hearing 

process, the mayor, city manager, or legislative body shall decide only when probable cause 

appears that the officer has engaged in conduct that would justify his or her dismissal or 

punishment. 

The additional amendments to KRS 95.450 require the city to hold a hearing within 10 days 

after charges are filed instead of three days unless the officer and legislative body agree 

otherwise. House Bill 414 also requires the legislative body to serve the accused member with 

a copy of the charges and statement of the day, time, and place of the hearing at least five 

days before the hearing. Before the amendment, cities had to serve notice two days before 

the hearing. The process for appeal from a hearing conducted pursuant to KRS 95.450 is also 

changed in KRS 95.460 to provide that a circuit court review of the case shall no longer be 

tried as an original action and instead shall review the case solely upon the administrative 

record created before the legislative body and any new evidence offered by the officer 

regarding alleged arbitrariness on the part of the legislative body. 

The bill amends KRS 95.762, which applies to certain cities that have adopted civil service, to 

eliminate age requirements for police and fire applicants. In addition, it amends KRS 95.765 

to clarify the hearing process applicable in cities that have adopted its provisions to make 

clear that the provisions only apply to police officers in situations where the Police Officer Bill 

of Rights (KRS 15.520) does not apply and apply the same 10-day requirement for hearings 

and five-day notice requirement that is included within the amended version of KRS 95.450 

outlined above. 

House Bill 414 also provides an exception to KRS 95.495, which governs scheduling police 

departments in urban county governments and former second and third class cities by limiting 

the schedule to eight hours per day for five days a week or 10 hours per day for four days per 

week unless otherwise agreed to by the officer and the city. The exception contained in KRS 

337.285 permits a city of the home rule class to adopt an alternative work schedule of 80 

hours in a work period of 14 consecutive days. If a city of the home rule class has recognized 

a collective bargaining unit, the city and the collective bargaining unit must agree to the 

alternative work schedule authorized under the amended version of KRS 337.285. 

Lastly, House Bill 414 amends KRS 95.022, which governs the number of retired police officers 

a city may rehire without paying employer contributions or health insurance reimbursement 

for the retiree. Prior to the amendment, a city police department was limited based on the 

number of police officers the city had employed in calendar year 2015. House Bill 414 bases 

the cap on the average number of police officers the city employed in the immediately 

preceding calendar year. 


51


Cities that had five or fewer officers have no limit on the number of officers that may be 

rehired under KRS 95.022 exemptions. Cities that averaged more than five but less than 100 in 

the immediately preceding calendar year may hire up to five or a number equal to 25% of their 

average department membership, whichever is greater. Cities that averaged more than 100 

officers may hire up to 25 officers or 10% of their average department membership, whichever 

is greater. 

KLC Director of Public Affairs Bryanna L. Carroll, Rep. John Blanton (R-Salyersville), and KLC 

Executive Director/CEO J.D. Chaney testify on House Bill 414. 

House Bill 562 ‒ Peace Officer or Firefighter Involved Critical Incident 

Representative Ashley Tackett Laferty (D–Martin) 

House Bill 562 amends KRS 15.518 to allow a peace officer to take up to 48 hours of leave after 

being involved in a critical incident. “Critical incident” means any event that has a stressful 

impact sufficient to overwhelm a peace officer’s usual coping strategies. Events may include: 

(1) an officer-involved shooting; (2) a vehicle crash resulting in serious injury or death to 

an officer or citizen; (3) an officer being the victim of a felonious assault; (4) the death of 

a colleague or partner; (5) the death of, or serious injury to, a person in the custody of the 

officer; (6) a severe injury to, or death of, a child, particularly if the officer has a child of or 

near the same age; (7) an incident involving multiple deaths or injuries in a short amount of 

time. 

Any peace officer involved directly in a critical incident may take up to 48 hours of leave 

immediately following a critical incident. The leave may commence upon completion of 

the officer’s shift encompassing the critical incident or when all necessary administrative 

procedures relating to the critical incident have been completed and the officer has 

informed his or her supervisor. The leave may be paid or unpaid, determined by the officer’s 

employment contract, collective labor agreement, if any, or by written departmental policy. 



Firefighter 

House Bill 562 amends KRS 95A.292 to allow a firefighter to take up to 48 hours of leave after 

being involved in a critical incident. “Critical incident” means any event that has a stressful 

impact sufficient enough to overwhelm a firefighter’s usual coping strategies. Events may 

include: (1) a fire or vehicle crash resulting in serious injury or death to a first responder or 

citizen; (2) a firefighter being the victim of a felonious assault; (3) death of a colleague or 

partner; (4) death of or serious injury to a person in the medical care of the firefighter; (5) 

a severe injury to, or death of, a child, particularly if the firefighter has a child of or near the 

same age; (6) an incident involving multiple deaths or injuries in a short amount of time. 

Any firefighter involved directly in a critical incident may take up to 48 hours of leave 

immediately following a critical incident. Leave may commence upon completion of the 

firefighter’s shift encompassing the critical incident or when all necessary administrative 

procedures relating to the incident have been completed and the firefighter has informed 

his or her supervisor. For regular and volunteer firefighters, leave may be unpaid or paid 

determined by the firefighter’s employment contract, collective labor agreement, or by 

departmental policy. 

The Act shall not be construed to set aside any employment contract, labor agreement, or 

departmental policies that grant more than 48 hours of leave following a peace officer- or 

firefighter-involved critical incident. 

Senate Bill 64 – Local Peer Support Counseling Programs 

Senator Mike Wilson (R–Bowling Green) 

Senate Bill 64, a KLC initiative, creates a new section in KRS Chapter 65 to provide a process 

for public agencies, including cities, counties, and taxing districts, to create peer support 

counseling programs for their public safety employees that have been in or exposed to an 

emotionally traumatic experience during their employment. Public safety employees are 

defined in Senate Bill 64 to include police officers, firefighters, dispatchers, and emergency 

medical service employees. 

Senate Bill 64 shields the communications occurring between peer support counselors and 

participants from disclosure in the same manner patient communications are protected 

with a psychiatrist or other type of psychotherapist by providing that the communications 

shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to any individual not a party to the peer 

support counseling session, including in any civil or criminal proceeding. However, the bar 

from disclosure does not apply in circumstances where the communication involves any of the 

following by a participant: 

• An explicit threat of suicide, which does not include any circumstance where the 

participant solely shares that he or she is experiencing suicidal thoughts without additional 

specifics; 


53


• An explicit threat of imminent and serious physical injury or death to a clearly or 

reasonably identified victim; 

• Information related to the abuse or neglect of a child, older adult, or vulnerable individual 

that is required by law to be reported; 

• An admission of criminal conduct; or 

• Information required by any other law to be reported or disclosed. 

Senate Bill 64 also provides that the requirements for confidentiality do not extend to 

circumstances where the public agency is sharing anonymous data for research, statistical 

analysis, or educational purposes or to disclosures of observation or knowledge obtained 

outside of the peer support counseling process. 

In addition, Senate Bill 64 establishes a Task Force for Public Safety Peer Support Best 

Practices within the Department of Behavioral Health contained within the Cabinet for Health 

and Family Services to develop a report on best practices and professional standards for peer 

support counseling programs within one year of the effective date of the Act. Specifically, 

the task force report shall include advice on establishing and operating successful peer 

support programs, recommendations on minimum standards for the training and certification 

of peer support counselors, recommendations on ethical standards and protocols for peer 

support counselors and advice on appropriate disclosures related to confidentiality rights of 

participants. The commissioner for the Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental, and 

Intellectual Disabilities or his or her designee will chair the task force, which will include the 

following appointees: 

• A representative of the Kentucky Fraternal Order of Police; 

• A representative of the Kentucky Professional Firefighters Association; 

• A representative of the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training; 

• A representative of the Kentucky Fire Commission; 

• A representative of the Kentucky League of Cities; 

• A representative of the Kentucky Association of Counties; 

• A representative of the Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services; 

• A representative of the Kentucky Association of Public Safety Communications Officials 

and Kentucky Emergency Number Association; 

• An individual licensed to provide emergency medical services under KRS Chapter 311A; 

and 

• Three individuals with experience and expertise in peer counseling services. 


16) RETIREMENT 

House Bill 49 – Anti-Spiking Limitations 

Representative Jerry Miller (R–Louisville) 

House Bill 49 amends KRS 61.598 to exempt from anti-spiking provisions any overtime worked 

by an employee participant in any of the state pension plans administered by the Kentucky 

Public Pension Authority that meets either of the following criteria: 

• The first 100 hours of mandatory overtime hours that the employee is individually required 

to work by an employer during a fiscal year. This exemption does not apply to any 

overtime hours voluntarily worked by the employee or in any situation where the employee 

could elect not to work the overtime hours. This exemption is in addition to any other 

overtime exemptions provided in KRS 61.598. 

• In addition, overtime exempted during states of emergency declared by the President of 

the United States or the governor of the commonwealth, any increase in compensation 

related to overtime that is worked as a result of a state of emergency declared by a local 

government in which the governor authorizes the mobilization of the Kentucky National 

Guard during such time as the National Guard is mobilized. 

House Bill 49 contains an emergency clause and became effective when the governor signed 

it on April 8, 2022. 

House Bill 76 ‒ Actuarial Analysis 


House Bill 76 amends KRS 21.440, 61.670, 78.784, and 161.400 to require the boards of 

the Legislators’ Retirement Plan, the Judicial Retirement Plan, the Kentucky Retirement 

Systems, the County Employees Retirement System, and the Teachers’ Retirement System 

to perform an actuarial investigation of economic assumptions and funding methods once 

every two years rather than once every five years. The investigation shall review the economic 

experience under the respective plans, including but not limited to the inflation rate and 

investment return assumptions relative to the economic assumptions and funding methods 

previously adopted by the board. The investigation shall additionally include, at a minimum, 

a summary of the changes in actuarial assumptions and funding methods recommended in 

the investigation and the projected impact of the recommended changes on funding levels, 

unfunded liabilities, and actuarially recommended contribution rates for employers over 30 

years. 

The first actuarial investigations of economic assumptions and funding methods under 

House Bill 76 shall take place before the completion of the 2023 actuarial valuations for each 

system so that any changes in economic assumptions shall be reflected in the 2023 actuarial 

valuations. 


55


The bill retains the requirement for a review of demographic experiences under the retirement 

plan or system once every five years, including but not limited to mortality tables, withdrawal 

rates, and retirement rate assumptions relative to the demographic actuarial assumptions 

previously adopted by the respective boards. 

The bill also amends KRS 78.784 to require the County Employees Retirement System to 

provide a 30-year rather than a 20-year projection of the funding levels, unfunded liabilities, 

and actuarially recommended contribution rates for employers based upon the actuarial 

assumptions, funding methods, and experience of the system as of the valuation date. 

Rep. Jerry Miller (R-Louisville) delivers 

remarks on the House floor on the Regular 

Session’s second day. 

House Bill 297 – Kentucky Public Pensions Authority Reforms 


House Bill 297 amends KRS 61.505 to provide a three-year limitation on the time that the 

County Employees Retirement System (CERS) can be charged for expenses incurred by the 

Kentucky Retirement Systems (KRS) as a result of the separation of the two systems, but 

requires annual reporting by the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA) of administrative 

costs attributable to separation for each of the systems. 

The legislation removes a requirement for employers to report to KPPA nominal fees paid to 

volunteers by amending KRS 61.510 and 78.510 to provide that the nominal fees shall not be 

aggregated among multiple participating employees. 



In addition, House Bill 297 amends KRS 61.505 to add a new requirement for KPPA to conduct 

an annual performance evaluation of the executive director, pre-approve the hiring of up 

to six investment employees in unclassified positions, create pay and classification plans 

for employees, approve annual personnel reports before submission to the Public Pension 

Oversight Board, and require KPPA to approve any budget requests before submitting it to 

the legislature. 

Because it contained an emergency clause, House Bill 297 became effective on April 14, 2022, 

when the General Assembly overrode the governor’s veto. 

Senate Bill 209 – CERS Retiree Health Insurance Benefits 

Senator Mike Nemes (R–Shepherdsville) 

Senate Bill 209 amends KRS 61.702 and KRS 78.5536 to increase the under age 65 retiree 

health subsidy for members of Kentucky Public Pensions Authority (KPPA) administered 

retirement systems who began participation after July 1, 2003, to provide an additional $5 in 

health insurance benefit for each year worked beyond the normal retirement service period, 

provided that the health trusts for each system are 90% or more funded. 

The legislation also permits a retiree to use their health benefit to purchase other health 

coverage besides the state health insurance plan beginning after Jan. 1, 2023. 

(From L to R) Rep. Kevin Bratcher, Kentucky Professional Fire Fighters Legislative Affairs Director Brian O’Neil, and Sen. Mike 

Nemes (R-Shepherdsville) testify before the House State Government Committee in support of Senate Bill 209 on March 10. 


57

17) SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS 

House Bill 63 ‒ School Resource Officers 

Representative Kevin Bratcher (R–Louisville) 

House Bill 63 amends KRS 158.4414 to require local boards of education, school district 

superintendents, administrators of state-controlled facilities, and local and state law 

enforcement agencies to cooperate in assigning by Aug. 1, 2022, one or more certified school 

resource officers to serve each campus where one or more school buildings are used to 

instruct students continuously, rather than to assign “as funds and qualified personnel become 

available” as currently required. 

Local boards of education shall ensure that at least one certified school resource officer is 

assigned to and working on-site full-time in the school building or buildings on the campus 

for each campus in the district. If sufficient funds and qualified personnel are not available for 

this purpose for every campus, the local board of education shall fulfill the requirement on a 

per campus basis as approved in writing by the state school security marshal until a certified 

school resource officer is assigned to and working on-site full-time on each campus in the 

district. 

Nothing in KRS 158.4414 shall be interpreted or construed to require a local government or 

its agencies or offices to fund school resource officer positions required of local boards of 

education. 


18) SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 

House Bill 45 ‒ Advanced Recycling 

Representative Adam Bowling (R–Middlesboro) 

House Bill 45 amends KRS 224.1-010 and KRS 109.012 to regulate advanced plastics recycling 

facilities as manufacturing operations instead of solid waste disposal facilities. “Advanced 

recycling” means a manufacturing process that breaks down used plastics into their chemical 

building blocks for manufacturers to develop new plastic-based products. It is an alternative 

to current mechanical recycling processes like sorting and shredding. Both processes help 

reduce plastic waste in landfills by creating a circular economy where plastics can be reused 

rather than discarded. Advanced recycling is capable through chemical processes of recycling 

more types and amounts of plastics that manufacturers can use to create new products, such 

as plastics approved for food-grade and medical-grade packaging, and therefore expand 

markets for used plastics. The legislation excludes the conversion of plastics for fuel for 

energy production from the definition of advanced recycling. 

Because advanced recycling involves chemical processes that can lead to public health 

hazards if improperly handled, KRS 224.1-010 is amended to make advanced recycling facilities 

subject to regulation by the Energy and Environment Cabinet to control environmental 

impact. 

The bill also amends KRS 224.1-010 and KRS 109.012 to exclude advanced recycling facilities 

from the definitions of “municipal solid waste disposal facility”, “solid waste”, “solid waste 

management”, and “solid waste management facility” and the respective regulatory 

requirements. 

Nothing in the Act shall be construed as creating additional entities, equipment, or processes 

eligible to receive tax credits pursuant to KRS 141.390. 


59


House Bill 758 ‒ Water and Wastewater Systems 

Representative Jim Gooch (R–Providence) 

House Bill 758 creates new sections of KRS Chapter 224A to require the Kentucky 

Infrastructure Authority to implement a program to assist governmental agencies that provide 

drinking water and wastewater services with the financial resources for both capital and 

non-capital expenses, including but not limited to: (1) developing technical, operational, and 

maintenance resources and expertise; (2) improving utility infrastructure planning, repair, 

maintenance, renovation, and management of plants and assets; (3) obtaining technical 

expertise in areas of rate-setting, cost-of-service, and proper utility accounting standards for 

the utility type; (4) performing and correcting deficiencies from drinking water, wastewater, 

and financial audits; (5) providing finance for financial inadequacies, including debt service 

coverage through relief or refinance of the drinking water or wastewater system’s debt; (6) 

payment assistance for other financial inadequacies such as excessive maintenance costs, 

fines and penalties from past violations, or consultants; (7) extending finance for inadequately 

maintained distribution, collection, or treatment works, including service extensions to 

unserved or underserved areas and the renovation of treatment works to conserve resources. 

There is established in the State Treasury a water management assistance fund as a dedicated 

fund administered by the authority. All money in the fund shall be allocated for and dedicated 

to providing financial assistance for both capital and non-capital expenses for governmental 

agencies that: (1) provide public drinking water or wastewater services to ratepayers in 

Kentucky; (2) are considered financially at risk. 

Rep. Jim Gooch (R-Providence) delivers remarks on the 

House floor on Jan. 12. Gooch sponsored House Bill 758, 

which unanimously passed both chambers. 



The fund may receive revenues or proceeds from the sale of bonds or other financial 

instruments and receive proceeds from the authority’s revolving fund if available and not 

contrary to requirements that govern the management and use of the funds. 

Senate Bill 152 – Solid Waste Franchise Notification Exceptions 

Senator Stephen West (R–Paris) 

Senate Bill 152 amends KRS 109.0417, which governs the process that must be followed by 

a city or county government when it takes any action related to solid waste management 

that would result in the displacement of a private waste hauler. Senate Bill 152 creates a 

new exemption from the notification and hearing process for any situation that involves the 

initial issuance of a new franchise following a period where the local government has been 

exclusively providing the waste services in the territory. 

Sen. Steve West (R-Paris) speaks 

on the Senate floor about Senate 

Bill 152. 


61

19) TAXATION 

House Bill 6 – Motor Vehicle Taxation 

Representative Sal Santoro (R–Union) 

House Bill 6 amends KRS 132.485 to require the average trade-in value and not the rough 

trade-in value or clean trade-in value to be used as the standard value of a motor vehicle to 

determine the owner’s property tax liability. The property valuation administrator may adjust 

the value of a motor vehicle when the registrant has provided evidence that the standard 

value does not reflect the motor vehicle’s condition, options, mileage, or certificate of title 

issued. By making this change, a lower value will be used for determining the fair market value 

of motor vehicles and result in less tax owed by taxpayers. 

Because House Bill 6 contained an emergency clause and became effective on March 10 when 

the governor signed it, taxpayers who paid their taxes before the Act’s effective date are 

entitled to a tax refund for any amount of overpayment. 

House Bill 8 ‒ State Tax Reform Measures 


House Bill 8 addresses various tax policy issues including the state’s individual income tax 

and sales tax. The bill reduces reliance on the state income tax and increases reliance on the 

state sales tax to fund state programs and services. The legislation proposes to reduce the 

individual income tax rate from its current 5% to 0% over several years if the state’s finances 

meet certain reduction conditions. 

The bill amends KRS 141.020 to reduce the individual income tax rate by half a percentage 

point (0.5%) per taxable year for taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2023, if the 

following reduction conditions apply: (1) the balance in the budget reserve trust fund at the 

end of a fiscal year is equal to or greater than 10% of receipts deposited into the General Fund 

for the fiscal year; and (2) General Fund money at the end of the fiscal year is equal to or 

greater than General Fund appropriations for the fiscal year, plus the anticipated amount of a 

half a percentage point (0.5%) reduction due to lowering the individual income tax rate. 

Beginning no later than Sept. 1, 2022, the Department of Revenue, with assistance from the 

Office of State Budget Director, must review the reduction conditions as they apply to for FYs 

2021 and 2022 and determine if they meet the reduction conditions for each fiscal year. If met, 

the individual income tax rate will lower by half a percentage point (0.5%) on or after Jan. 1, 

2023. Otherwise, the rate will remain unchanged. 

Future tax rate reductions will occur for taxable years beginning on Jan. 1 following each fiscal 

year in which General Fund receipts exceed the reduction conditions. However, no additional 

income tax rate reductions may occur without action by the General Assembly. 


19) TAXATION 

Expansion of Services Subject to Sales Tax 

House Bill 8 amends KRS 139.200 to expand the tax base by including additional services 

subject to sales tax as follows: 

(1) Photography and photo finishing services; (2) advertising and graphic design services; 

(3) marketing services; (4) telemarketing services; (5) public opinion and research polling 

services; (6) lobbying services; (7) executive employee recruitment services; (8) website 

design and development services; (9) website hosting services; (10) facsimile transmission 

services; (11) private mailroom services; (12) bodyguard services; (13) residential and 

nonresidential security system monitoring services; (14) private investigation services; (15) 

process server services; (16) repossession of tangible personal property services; (17) personal 

background check services; (18) parking services, including valet services and the use of 

parking lots and parking structures; (19) road and travel services provided by automobile 

clubs; (20) condominium time-share exchange services; (21) rental of space for meetings, 

conventions, short-term business uses, entertainment events, weddings, banquets, parties, 

and other short-term social events; (22) social event planning and coordination services; (23) 

leisure, recreational, and athletic instructional services; (24) recreational camp tuition and 

fees; (25) personal fitness training services; (26) massage services, except when medically 

necessary; (27) cosmetic surgery services; (28) body modification services, including 

tattooing, piercing, and any other modifications that are not necessary for medical or dental 

health; (29) testing services, except testing for medical, educational, or veterinary reasons; 

(30) interior decorating and design services; (31) household moving services; (32) specialized 

design services, including the design of clothing, costumes, fashion, furs, jewelry, shoes, 

textiles, and lighting; (33) lapidary services, including cutting, polishing, and engraving 

precious stones; (34) labor and services to repair or maintain commercial refrigeration 

equipment and systems when no tangible personal property is sold in the transaction, 

including service calls and trip charges; (35) labor to repair or alter apparel, footwear, 

watches, or jewelry when no tangible personal property is sold; (36) prewritten computer 

software access services. 

House Bill also amends KRS 139.470 to provide a threshold for applying the sales tax to the 

newly subjected services. For persons selling services before Jan. 1, 2023, gross receipts 

derived from the sale of those services remain exempt if the gross receipts collected totaled 

less than $6,000 during calendar year 2022. When gross receipts from the services exceed 

$6,000 in a calendar year, all gross receipts over $6,000 are taxable in that calendar year 

while all gross receipts are subject to the tax in subsequent years. 

Additionally, the bill amends KRS 139.470 to limit the current sales tax exemption on 

sewer, water, and fuel services to a resident for use in his or her place of legal domicile. The 

legislation amends KRS 139.482 to eliminate the sales tax exclusion on charges for admission 

to historical sites. 


63

19) TAXATION 

State and Local Transient Room Taxes 

House Bill 8 amends KRS 91A.390, 91A.392, 91A.394, 91A.400, 153.440,153.450, 

and 142.400 effective Jan. 1, 2023, to clarify statutory language for the state and 

local transient room tax to extend the scope of taxes to online travel companies such 

as Priceline.com and Airbnb by including “any person that facilitates the rental of the 

accommodations by brokering, coordinating, or in any other way arranging for the rental of 

the accommodations.” A new section of KRS Chapter 91A is additionally created to define 

“rent” as the total amount charged for the rental of an accommodation and any charges for 

any services necessary to facilitate the rental of accommodations, whether the amount is 

charged by the provider of the accommodations or by a person facilitating the rental of the 

accommodations by brokering, coordinating, or in any way arranging for the rental of the 

accommodations. 

The measure specifically includes cabins, campsites, or other accommodations charged 

by any hotel, motel, inn, tourist camp, tourist cabin, campgrounds, recreational vehicle 

parks, or any other place in which accommodations are regularly furnished to transients for 

consideration. 

(From L to R) House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chair Jason 

Petrie (R-Elkton) and Rep. Ken Fleming (R-Louisville) present House Bill 8, a 

tax reform bill, in committee. Photo courtesy LRC Public Information. 


19) TAXATION 

Excise Tax on Motor Vehicles for Rent or Sharing 

House Bill 8 creates a new section of KRS Chapter 138 effective Jan. 1, 2023, to impose 

an excise tax of 6% on gross receipts of motor vehicle rental companies, taxicab service 

providers, limousine service providers, transportation network companies such as Uber and 

Lyft, and companies providing peer-to-peer car-sharing services for the privilege of providing 

a motor vehicle for rent or sharing in Kentucky. The Department of Revenue will administer 

and collect the tax. 

Electric Vehicles 

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, a new section of KRS Chapter 138 imposes an excise tax with an initial 

base rate of $0.03 per kilowatt hour on electric vehicle power distributed in the state by an 

electric vehicle power dealer for the purpose of charging electric vehicles in the state. 

Another new section requires county clerks to collect an electric vehicle ownership fee from 

the registrants of electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and electric motorcycles at the time of 

initial registration and each year upon annual vehicle registration renewal. Effective Jan. 

1, 2023, the fees total $120 for electric vehicles and $60 for hybrid vehicles and electric 

motorcycles. The General Fund and the Road Fund will each receive half of the electric vehicle 

ownership fees. 

Prefabricated Homes 

House Bill 8 amends KRS 132.200 to exempt all prefabricated homes held for sale in a 

manufacturer’s or retailer’s inventory from local real property taxes. “Prefabricated home” 

means a manufactured home, mobile home, or modular home. Prefabricated homes held for 

sale in a manufacturer’s or retailer’s inventory remain subject to state real property taxation. 

Refundable Decontamination Tax Credit 

New sections of KRS Chapter 141 and Subchapter 1 of KRS Chapter 224 establish a refundable 

decontamination tax credit. For taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2022, but before 

Jan. 1, 2032, a taxpayer making a qualifying expenditure at a qualifying decontamination 

property may claim a refundable credit against the individual and corporate income 

taxes and the limited liability entity tax. The credit awarded may equal the amount of 

expenditures made by the taxpayer for the decontamination or remediation of the qualifying 

decontamination property. However, the total credit awarded per qualifying decontamination 

property shall not exceed $30 million. 

The amount of reasonably anticipated total qualifying expenditures associated with the 

qualifying decontamination property shall equal or exceed $10 million. The amount of 

reasonably anticipated capital investment in the qualifying decontamination property must 

exceed $30 million. The qualifying decontamination property must be located within one-half 

mile of a tax increment financing development area in a census tract that qualifies for the 

Kentucky New Markets Development Program tax credit. 


65

19) TAXATION 

Historic Tax Credit 

House Bill 8 amends KRS 171.397 to increase the maximum owner-occupied residential 

property credit from $60,000 to $120,000. It also increases tax credit for residential property 

that is not owner-occupied from $400,000 to $10 million. 



House Bill 607 ‒ Occupational License Fees at Race Track Extensions 

Representative Adam Koenig (R–Erlanger) 

House Bill 607 creates a new section of KRS Chapters 91 and 92 relating to excise taxes on 

wagers to permit occupational license fees levied under KRS 91.200 by the legislative body 

of a city of the first class and under KRS 92.281 by the legislative body of a city of the home 

rule class to apply to racetrack extensions. A “racetrack extension” means any facility owned, 

leased, or purchased by an association licensed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission 

that meets the definition of “track” under KRS 230.210(24)(c) where pari-mutuel wagering 

on historical horse races occurs on terminals approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing 

Commission. 

Likewise, the bill creates a new section of KRS Chapter 68 to permit occupational license fees 

levied under KRS 67.083, 68.180, and 68.197 by the fiscal court of a county, consolidated local 

government, or urban county government to apply to racetrack extensions. 

KRS 230.210(24)(c) defines “track” as a facility or real property that is: (1) owned, leased, or 

purchased by an association within a 60-mile radius of the association’s racetrack but not 

contiguous to racetrack premises, upon approval of the racing commission; and (2) not within 

a 60-mile radius of another licensed track premise where live racing occurs and not within a 

40-mile radius of a simulcast facility unless any affected track or simulcast facility agrees in 

writing to permit a noncontiguous facility within the protected geographic area. 

The legislation amends KRS 137.190, which currently prohibits a city, county, or other political 

subdivision form levying any liens, income, excise, special, or franchise tax on a person or 

corporation engaged in the business of conducting a racetrack at which races are conducted 

for stakes, purses or prizes, or operating as a receiving track or simulcast facility, or on the 

operation or maintenance of any pari-mutuel machine or similar device. 


20) TRANSPORTATION 

House Bill 241 ‒ Transportation Cabinet Budget Appropriations 


House Bill 241 provides $3 billion in appropriations for financing the operation, maintenance, 

support, and functioning of the Transportation Cabinet for the 2022-2024 fiscal year. The bill 

includes: 

• $17.4 million to match $69.5 million in federal funds in fiscal year 2022-2023 for the 

Electric Vehicle Charging Program in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 

2021. The Transportation Cabinet is required to submit an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure 

Development Plan to the legislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Transportation on or 

before June 30, 2022; 

• $250 million in fiscal year 2022-2023 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act 

2021 for a potential federal match to fund the Brent Spence Bridge Project, the Mountain 

Parkway Widening Project, or the I-69 Ohio River Crossing Project; and 

• $150 million in bond debt in fiscal year 2023-2024 previously incurred by the 

Transportation Cabinet for the Brent Spence Bridge Project. 

Senate Bill 124 ‒ Overweight Trucks 

Senator Phillip Wheeler (R–Pikeville) 

Senate Bill 124 amends KRS 189.280 to permit cities to, by ordinance, provide maximum limits 

with respect to the weight, height, width, and length of motor trucks, semitrailer trucks, and 

trailers on city-owned and maintained streets and roads. 

Sen. Phillip Wheeler (R-Pikeville) and KLC Director of Public Affairs Bryanna L. Carroll testify 

before the House Transportation Committee in support of Senate Bill 124 on March 25. 


67

20) TRANSPORTATION 

The bill also amends KRS 189.2226 to limit the current ability of trucks hauling building 

materials for construction of a home to travel while overweight on a state road without a 

permit from the Transportation Cabinet and without being subject to a fine. “Home” is 

defined by the statute to mean a site where a single or multi-family housing unit is being 

initially constructed. The definition of home is amended by the legislation to require a 

building permit for construction of a home to be issued by the authorized local government 

in the city or county in which construction will take place before a truck hauling building 

materials for construction of a home can travel on a state road with an overweight load. 

Senate Bill 174 – Slow Moving Public Safety Vehicles 

Senator Jason Howell (R–Murray) 

Senate Bill 174 amends KRS 189.940 to permit any slow-moving public safety vehicle or any 

vehicle acting as an escort for such a vehicle to travel at speeds that may impede or block 

the normal and reasonable flow of traffic if the vehicle is being operated in an official 

capacity, it is necessary for the safe operation of the vehicle, and its operation complies 

with all other state and local government policies. 


21) UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE 

House Bill 4 ‒ Unemployment Insurance Reform 

Representative Russell Webber (R–Shepherdsville) 

House Bill 4 amends numerous provisions of KRS Chapter 341 to reform Kentucky’s 

unemployment insurance benefit structure, focusing on support for rapid re-employment 

and increased workforce participation. Reforms include changes in wage replacement rates, 

maximum benefits, duration of benefits, and increased requirements for reporting work search 

efforts and provisions for a shared work program. 

KRS 341.350 is amended to add an additional component to eligibility for receipt of 

unemployment insurance benefits. The unemployed worker must engage in at least five 

verifiable work search activities during each week in which he or she claims eligibility. At least 

three activities each week must consist of formally applying or interviewing for employment. 

“Work search activities” include: (1) formally submitting an employment application, either 

in person or online; (2) interviewing for employment virtually, in person, or online; (3) 

job shadowing; (4) attending a job fair or networking event hosted by the state, a local 

government, or a business organization; (5) participating in a job search skills workshop or 

seminar; (6) participating in official Kentucky Career Center or partner programs related to 

employment or the employment search. An otherwise eligible worker shall not be denied 

benefits for any week the worker is certified as being enrolled and making satisfactory 

progress in an approved job training or certification program or if he or she has verified 

definite recall-to-work prospects within 16 weeks from the date of filing the claim for benefits. 

To enforce the requirement for verifiable work search activities, the Education and Workforce 

Development Cabinet must conduct randomized weekly audits of a number determined by 

the secretary as sufficient to evaluate compliance with the requirement. The secretary shall 

provide standards for submission and any associated documentation to verify a claimant’s 

work search activities. 

Rep. Russell Webber (R-Shepherdsville) presents 

House Bill 4, a bill aimed at changing the length of 

unemployment insurance benefits and the job search 

requirements for recipients, in the House. Photo 

courtesy LRC Public Information. 


69


The cabinet must submit an annual report to the governor and the Interim Joint Committee 

on Economic Development and Workforce Investment detailing: (1) the number and 

percentage of claims audited each week, and the total number and percentage of claims 

audited during the reporting period; (2) the percentage of audited claimants that failed to 

comply with work search activity requirements; (3) the work search activities most commonly 

engaged in by audited claimants; (4) a summary of the methodology used to conduct 

randomized auditing; (5) recommendations to make the work search activity requirement 

more effective in assisting claimants to find employment. 

KRS 341.100 is amended to require the secretary to consider any employment offer to be 

suitable work if the work: (1) is offered to a worker who has received at least six weeks 

of benefits during his or her present period of unemployment; (2) the worker will be paid 

120% of his or her weekly benefit amount; (3) is located within a distance of 30 miles of the 

worker’s residence or is work that can be completed remotely permanently; (4) the worker 

is able and qualified to perform the work, regardless of whether or not he or she has related 

experience or training. 

New sections of KRS Chapter 341 are created to limit the maximum amount of benefits 

payable to any worker within any benefit year from a maximum of 26 weeks to between 12 

and 24 weeks based on economic conditions as reflected in the state average unemployment 

rate at the time of the claimant’s application for benefits. For example, if the state average 

unemployment rate is less than or equal to 4.5% at the time of the claimant’s application for 

benefits, the maximum benefit period is 12 weeks. If the state average unemployment rate is 

greater than10 percent, the maximum benefit period is 24 weeks. The number of weeks of 

benefits is based on a sliding scale of state average unemployment rates of 4.5% (12 weeks), 

5% (13 weeks), 5.5% (14 weeks), 6% (15 weeks), 6.5% (16 weeks), 7% (17 weeks), 7.5% (18 

weeks), 8% (19 weeks), 8.5% (20 weeks), 9% (21 weeks), 9.5% (22 weeks), between 9.5% and 

10% (23 weeks), and above 10% (24 weeks). 

An otherwise eligible individual who is certified as being enrolled and making satisfactory 

progress in an approved job training or certification program shall be entitled to receive up to 

an additional five weeks of benefits after all regular benefits have been exhausted during the 

current benefit year. 

An employer may notify the secretary in writing or electronically of any worker who has 

declined to accept suitable work when offered or has failed to attend the first interview for 

suitable work, whether held in-person, virtually, or by phone. The secretary shall provide an 

online portal by which an employer can notify the secretary. 

New sections of KRS Chapter 341 are created to set parameters for shared work programs 

as an alternative to layoffs by employers experiencing a reduction in available work. Under 

the program, employees experiencing a decline in hours can collect a percentage of their 

unemployment compensation benefits to replace a portion of their lost wages if they are 

otherwise eligible for unemployment compensation. In this way, employers can avoid laying 



off trained workers who will remain available to resume prior employment levels when 

business demand increases. 

An employer wishing to participate in a shared work program must submit a written shared 

work compensation plan to the secretary for approval. The secretary must approve the plan 

if it meets certain criteria, including the following: (1) the plan applies to and identifies the 

affected work group; (2) the plan includes an estimate of the number of layoffs that might 

occur absent participation in the shared work program; (3) the plan identifies the employees 

in the affected work group by name, Social Security number, and any other information 

required by the secretary. Additional criteria are enumerated in the legislation. 

Employees participating in a shared work program are automatically eligible to receive a 

percentage of unemployment compensation benefits while working reduced hours under the 

approved plan. The amount of unemployment compensation paid to an employee in a shared 

work plan is a pro-rated portion of the unemployment compensation he or she would have 

received if laid off. Example: An employee normally works 40 hours at $500 per week. The 

employee’s workweek is reduced by eight hours, or 20%. If an employee making $500 per 

week is normally eligible for $250 a week in unemployment benefits, the employee would 

receive $400 in wages and $50 in work-sharing benefits for the week (20% of the $250 

weekly benefit). 

The Act takes effect on Jan. 1, 2023. 

House Bill 144 ‒ Unemployment Insurance Employer Rates 

Representative Russel Webber (R–Shepherdsville) 

House Bill 144 amends three statutes relating to unemployment insurance to extend provisions 

of House Bill 413 that legislators passed in 2021 to calendar year 2022. The bill amends KRS 

341.030 to suspend any increase in the taxable wage base for calendar year 2022 and instead 

authorizes the use of the taxable wage base in effect for the 2020 calendar year. 

The bill also amends KRS 341.270 to provide employer contribution rates for the 

unemployment insurance fund reserve account in 2022 shall be determined according to 

2021 contribution rates listed in KRS 341.270, being the lowest rates of Schedule A, Table A. 

Additionally, the measure amends KRS 341.614 to eliminate the unemployment administrative 

account surcharge assessment against a contributing employer for calendar year 2022. All 

amendments are retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022. 

The bill appropriates $242,628,900 from the State Fiscal Recovery Fund of the American 

Rescue Plan Act in Fiscal Year 2021-2022 to the unemployment trust fund to restore the fund 

balance to pre-pandemic levels. 

An emergency is declared. House Bill 144 became law when the governor signed it on March 



71

Bill Title & Page No. 

House Bills 

HB 1 Executive Branch Biennial Budget — Pg. 29 

HB 4 Unemployment Insurance Reform — Pg. 69 

HB 5 State Aid for Damaged Communities — Pg. 18 

HB 6 Valuation of Motor Vehicles for Property Tax — Pg. 62 

HB 8 State Tax Reform Measures — Pg. 62 

HB 33 Local Plan Review for School Construction — Pg. 9 

HB 43 Religious Org’s & Declared Emergencies — Pg. 16 

HB 45 Advanced Recycling — Pg. 59 

HB 48 False Reporting of Incident — Pg. 14 

HB 49 Anti-Spiking Limitations — Pg. 55 

HB 63 School Resource Officers — Pg. 58 

HB 76 Actuarial Analysis — Pg. 55 

HB 79 Mental Health Training for Telecom — Pg. 50 

HB 92 Opioid Abatement Trust Fund — Pg. 10 

HB 144 Unemployment Insurance Employer Rates — Pg. 71 

HB 154 Driving Under the Influence — Pg. 14 

HB 192 Electrical Inspectors on State HWY Projects — Pg. 9 

HB 195 Natural Gas Pipeline Location Notification — Pg. 49 

HB 206 Peace Officer Certification — Pg. 31 

HB 215 Importing or Trafficking in Fentanyl — Pg. 15 

HB 239 Constable Peace Officer Powers — Pg. 31 

HB 241 Transportation Cabinet Budget Approps — Pg. 67 

HB 252 Min Age Serving Alcoholic Beverages — Pg. 6 

HB 274 Transportation Improvement Districts — Pg. 20 

HB 297 KY Public Pension Authority Reforms — Pg. 56 

HB 307 Liability & Group Investments — Pg. 37 

HB 314 Operation of Consolidated Local Gov — Pg. 37 

HB 315 Broadband Deployment — Pg. 22 

HB 335 City Representation on Council — Pg. 39 

HB 345 Military Leave — Pg. 40 

HB 351 Local Records Affidavits — Pg. 40 

HB 363 CMRS Fund — Pg. 24 

HB 372 Fire Districts and Departments — Pg. 28 

HB 399 Municipal Audit Procedures — Pg. 41 

HB 399 Requirement for Road Aid & LGEA Funds — Pg. 47 

HB 414 Police Officer and Firefighter Policies — Pg. 50 

HB 453 Meeting Exceptions & Teleconferencing — Pg. 47 

HB 482 Area Development District Funds — Pg. 30 

HB 500 Sale of Distilled Spirits — Pg. 6 

HB 512 Heart Attack Response & Treatment — Pg. 26 

HB 536 Limited-Sale Precincts & Licensure — Pg. 8 

172 

www.KLC.org

Bill Title & Page No. 

Senate Bills 

SB 5 State Aid for Damaged Communities — Pg. 18 

SB 42 Local Government Procurement — Pg. 44 

SB 56 Opioid Antagonists — Pg. 12 

SB 64 Counseling for Public Employees — Pg. 53 

SB 90 Program for Behavioral Offenders — Pg. 12 

SB 96 Council Seat for Bowling Green — Pg. 34 

SB 106 Admin Dissolution of Inactive Cities — Pg. 44 

SB 111 Local Dev Area for Tax Financing — Pg. 23 

SB 112 Interlocal Agreement Amendments — Pg. 46 

SB 124 Overweight Trucks — Pg. 67 

SB 150 Disaster Recovery Funds — Pg. 19 

SB 152 Waste Mgmnt Franchise Exceptions — Pg. 61 

SB 174 Slow Moving Public Safety Vehicles — Pg. 68 

SB 176 Facial Recognition Technology — Pg. 34 

SB 179 Committed in Emergency — Pg. 15 

SB 189 Volunteer Fire Department Aid — Pg. 28 

SB 209 CERS Health Insurance Benefits — Pg. 57 

SB 241 Hunter Education Exemption — Pg. 36 

SJR 150 Terminate Covid-19 Emergency Declaration — Pg. 16 

HB 562 Officer or Firefighter Incident — Pg. 52 

HB 565 Police Officer Virtual Training — Pg. 32 

HB 594 Cost Analysis of State Regulations — Pg. 43 

HB 604 KY Center for Cannabis Research — Pg. 11 

HB 607 License Fees at Race Track Extensions — Pg. 66 

HB 758 Water & Waste Systems — Pg. 60 

HB 777 Ground Ambulance Services — Pg. 26 


173

CONTACT US 

(800)-876-4552 

100 E Vine St #800, 

Lexington, KY 40507 

@KyLeagueCities 

Kentucky League of Cities

2022 KLC Legislative Update

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