Legislation affecting county governments continued to gain traction this week, with several bills advancing through committees and floor votes. As the session enters its final weeks, the General Assembly is focused on priority bills while leaving time to reconcile differences between House and Senate proposals.
Senate passes budget
The Senate on Wednesday passed its version of HB 500, the executive branch budget, which includes additional funding for county jails and 911 services. Read more about the Senate budget here.
The Senate also passed its version of the judicial branch budget, HB 504, which – like the House version – includes a 2% annual salary increase for deputy circuit court clerks.
Both bills now return to the House, where conference committees will likely be appointed to reconcile differences before the veto period begins on April 2.
Bills on the move
Several additional bills affecting counties also advanced this week:
HB 293 – Sponsored by Rep. Walker Thomas (R-Christian), passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee this week. Requires certain nontraditional wheels (iron, steel, or wooden) to be equipped with a rubber strip where they contact the road surface, with an exemption for lighter animal-drawn vehicles used solely to transport people.
HB 518 – Sponsored by House Local Government Committee Chair Rep. Patrick Flannery (R-Carter County), passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee this week. A compromise bill on electronic filing and payment of local occupational taxes, this proposal does not call for centralized state collection system.
This bill requires all local governments with an occupational license tax to post on their website a fillable PDF for online returns and allow electronic payment of the tax due by July 1, 2029. Counties would be able to charge and collect an additional electronic processing fee and recover actual costs associated with electronic filing, processing, security, maintenance and payment acceptance.
HB 600 – Sponsored by Rep. Mary Beth Imes (R-Calloway), passed out of the Senate State and Local Government Committee this week. Allows county attorneys to use a consolidated legal procedure to collect delinquent property taxes – a tool currently available to cities but not to counties. The change could improve efficiency and reduce costs associated with delinquent tax collection.
HB 622 – Sponsored by House Transportation Chair John Blanton (R-Magoffin), passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee this week. Creates a pilot program allowing counties to use road aid funds to apply chip seal or recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) on gravel roads. Funding eligibility would be based on the county’s share of gravel roads.
The pilot program would run from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2030, and prohibits the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet from restricting the use of recycled asphalt if it meets performance standards.
SB 141 – Sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem David Givens (R-Green), passed out of the House Local Government Committee this week. The bill is compromise legislation between KACo, the Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Press Association addressing public notice requirements.
Allows counties without a local paper to use a newspaper from a similarly sized neighboring county, ensures that local governments receive the lowest advertised rate for publications and clarifies that for some counties, the effective publication date is the first online posting. This will reduce missed deadlines for posting public notices.
SB 110 – Sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell (R-Calloway), passed out of the House Elections committee this week. Modernizes Kentucky’s vehicle title and registration system:
- Titles will be printed electronically beginning Jan. 1, 2027, with an option to request a printed copy for an additional fee.
- Beginning July 1, 2027, all but the smallest dealers and lienholders will be required to use the electronic lien application and registration system.
- Lienholders will be able to release liens electronically.
These updates mean that vehicle owners and dealers will no longer have to track down their paper titles or request a duplicate title, making it easier to transfer the vehicles in county clerk offices. Similarly, it will be easier for county clerk offices to process those transactions.
Finally, the bill contains some additional improvements, including allowing KYTC to text or email registration renewal reminders and permitting clerks to make payments to taxing districts via ACH rather than forcing clerks to physically write checks. The bill awaits House floor action.
SB 40 – Sponsored by Sen. Gary Boswell (R-Daviess), passed out of the House, 84-7. Amends current law on the appointment process of public library district boards of trustees, removing the Department for Libraries and Archives from the nomination process.
Boards would submit nominees directly to the county judge/executive, with two appointment options:
- Under the standard process, boards submit two nominees per vacancy, and the county judge/executive, subject to fiscal court approval, makes the appointment within 30 days.
- The bill also allows fiscal courts to adopt an alternative appointment process by resolution, under which the board submits one nominee. If that nominee is rejected, the county judge/executive may appoint another qualified individual.
The bill maintains existing term lengths, term limits, and qualifications for trustees, clarifies procedures for filling vacancies and requires timely notification of appointments to the Department for Libraries and Archives.
Important legislative dates
April 2-13 – Veto recess
April 14-15 – Final two days of session
For questions or feedback, contact Shellie Hampton or Kayla Smith at shellie.hampton@kaco.org or kayla.smith@kaco.org.
