Lawmakers left Frankfort on Friday with the first 13 days of the 2026 Regular Session in the books. Amid the flurry of committee meetings, bill filings, and discussions, the General Assembly is settling into the rhythm of the session.
So far seven bills have cleared the House and are heading to the Senate for consideration, and legislative committees are continuing to debate the merits of other measures. Committees play a key role in the legislative process, serving as the first stop for proposed bills. They review, discuss, and sometimes amend legislation before deciding whether it should advance to the full House or Senate for a vote, ensuring that lawmakers have a chance to examine details and hear input from experts and the public.
Among the bills that passed a House committee this week are:
HB 134 would create a position within the Cabinet for Health and Family Services committed to ensuring victims of sexual assault have access to specialized care. Under the provisions of the bill, a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) coordinator would focus on aligning the efforts of different state agencies and hospitals in order to increase access and promote standards in training and practice, provide technical assistance to build and maintain SANE programs, and collaborate with community partners and appropriate state agencies.
HB 214 would create a program within the Kentucky Department of Veterans’ Affairs to fund the construction and installation of ADA-compliant accessibility ramps at the residence of disabled veterans. The Residential Ease of Access for Disabled Veterans Program to potentially receive state appropriations and private donations.
HB 258 would allow vehicles weighing up to 90,000 pounds that are transporting fluid milk from a farm to the first market to operate on any state highway, with a 10% weight tolerance. It also sets reasonable exceptions and limitations to ensure safety and consistency with existing transportation laws.
HB 281 would streamline the process for churches and nonprofits to donate prepared food to homeless shelters and individuals displaced by natural disasters. The legislation removes barriers for churches and nonprofits like requiring the food be made in an industrial kitchen.
HB 306 would strengthen existing law to better address trespassing and threatening behavior, predominantly in the workplace. HB 306 would expand statutory definitions to ensure consistency of enforcement and to provide employers with clear authority to give a trespass notice to an individual engaging in threatening or disruptive conduct.
HB 320 would strengthen Kentucky’s laws to better combat human trafficking by giving law enforcement and prosecutors clearer, stronger tools to hold traffickers accountable. The bill updates state law to more fully define the crime of promoting human trafficking, capturing the full range of traffickers’ actions, from recruiting and advertising to transporting, harboring, and soliciting victims. It also increases penalties, classifying the offense as a class B felony and elevating it to a class A felony when the victim is a minor.
HB 366 would clarify that knowingly possessing or intentionally viewing visual depictions – including computer-generated images – of sexual performances of minors constitutes a criminal offense while maintaining clear protections for accidental viewing and legitimate legal and law enforcement investigations. The measure would also require those convicted to serve at least 85% of the sentence before being eligible for probation or parole.
HB 389 would require school districts to develop a policy for programs to identify and support students with dyslexia. Additionally, the Department of Education would be required to review and update the dyslexia toolkit annually, and teacher education programs would be required to include instruction on dyslexia.
HB 416 would reduce unnecessary barriers within higher education educator preparation programs by shifting entry requirements from summative assessments such as the ACT or SAT and toward formative assessments that better identify students’ strengths and areas for growth. The bill would require completion of a formative assessment for program entry, and prohibit universities from using composite or component scores from summative assessments as the standard.
As committees worked their way through bills, members continued to file legislation. Among the new bills is HB 2, which would modernize the state’s Medicaid program to help contain costs and improve the health of recipients. The measure aims to improve health outcomes, streamline program operations and service delivery, increase oversight and accountability at all levels of the program, reduce fraud, and align Kentucky’s Medicaid program with the new federal requirements in HR 1.
As always, I can be reached anytime through the toll-free message line in Frankfort at 1-800-372-7181. You can also contact me via email at Samara.Heavrin@kylegislature.gov and keep track through the Kentucky legislature’s website at legislature.ky.gov.
Rep. Samara Heavrin, R-Leitchfield
