2026 Legislative Priority: Reshaping the Shared Responsibility of County Jails

Kentucky county jails are at a crisis point, with fiscal court subsidies rising more than 76% in six years and counties forced to raise taxes or cut essential services just to keep their facilities operating.

Rep. Michael Meredith has filed HB 557, our comprehensive jails proposal.

• Read HB 577 and view bill co-sponsors

• Download KACo's one-pager for bill overview and key points

HB 557 Social Media Toolkit

Voicing support for HB 557 on your official social media platforms sends a strong message to legislators, the media and your community about the importance of passing this comprehensive jail bill. When posting your message, consider tagging your state representative and senator.

• Sample social media posts

• Download HB 557 graphics

Media coverage

Kentucky news outlets are taking notice of House Bill 557 and the wide-ranging financial and policy impacts this legislation would have across the state. With a growing number of fiscal courts passing a resolution in support of this legislation, county leaders are telling their local story and pointing to specific reasons why comprehensive jail funding reform matters. 

• Read the latest headlines

Resolution in Support of HB 557

By adopting a resolution in support of HB 557, your fiscal court can add to a growing statewide call for reform and help move this legislation forward. 

• View where resolutions have been adopted and download a sample resolution

County Jails 101

County jails are a fundamental responsibility of county government in Kentucky, mandated by state law (KRS 441.025). This law requires counties to provide for the incarceration of individuals arrested within their county.

Counties have three main options for fulfilling their legal obligation to house inmates:

• Operating their own county jail
• Establishing a regional jail with one or more additional counties
• Contracting with another county to use its jail facility

Learn more about county jails

Understanding the Jail Funding System

The cost of county jails is the most significant budgetary challenge faced by most fiscal courts – regardless of whether the county operates a jail or contracts with other counties. In FY2023, counties spent almost $350 million on jails (excludes Fayette and Jefferson).

The state helps offset some of these costs by providing funding through base allocations and reimbursing counties for housing state inmates.

Learn more