Many new Kentucky laws take effect this week, including numerous KLC initiatives. The Kentucky Constitution requires new laws take effect 90 days after the General Assembly adjourns, unless lawmakers enact an emergency clause or state a specific start date. The General Assembly adjourned on March 30, 2021, which makes June 29 the effective date for most bills.
Lawmakers passed 18 KLC initiatives in 2021, measures identified by the KLC Board of Directors as top legislative issues for the season. Some of the bills that become law this week include a ban on warrants that authorize entry without notice, a provision that defines a local government youth camp and specifies that they do not need to be licensed as a childcare center, and changes to Kentucky’s open records law that will help city clerks who are overrun with out-of-state requests.
Kentucky League of Cities priority bills taking effect this week include:
- House Bill 7 ‒ establishes the advisory council for Recovery Ready Communities
- House Bill 179 ‒ helps some cities collect an alcohol regulatory fee
- House Bill 199 ‒ deals with encroachment permits for rights-of-way on state-maintained roads
- House Bill 238 ‒ helps cities find the most knowledgeable and skilled people to serve on utility commissions
- House Bill 249 ‒ contains language that helps cities share information between taxing districts and increases historic tax credit
- House Bill 272 ‒ protects utility resources and designates utility workers as essential employees
- House Bill 312 ‒ revises Kentucky’s open records law
- Senate Bill 4 ‒ defines when police can use a warrant that authorizes entry without prior notice
- Senate Bill 66 ‒ establishes guidelines for background checks and regulations that pertain to youth camps
- Senate Bill 80 ‒ defines grounds to remove a peace officer’s certification
- Senate Bill 88 ‒ modernizes how cities file boundary changes with the secretary of state
- Senate Bill 171 ‒ increases city investment options and establishes regulations for splash pads that are separate from swimming pools
