As the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly wrapped up its third week, lawmakers left Frankfort with an eye on the massive winter storm expected to hit the Commonwealth over the weekend.
However, the week began with the House reaching one of the session’s first major procedural milestones as the House Speaker appointed a special committee to review three separate citizen-filed impeachment petitions. This step is required by law when such petitions are submitted. Committee members will consider allegations against a state supreme court justice, a jailer, and a family court judge. The committee met early in the week to adopt rules and begin processing the filings. Impeachments are rare in Kentucky. Consideration begins in the House and, if House members find cause, it is then tried in the Senate. The legislature did impeach, convict, and remove from office a sitting commonwealth’s attorney in 2023 after finding him guilty of using his elected position for personal gain. All documents are available under the Special Committees section at legislature.ky.gov and all meetings are livestreamed and recorded on the legislature’s YouTube channel, LRCCommittee Meetings.
HB 34 would add hematologic cancers, commonly known as blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, to those eligible for death benefits paid to public safety and service personnel under existing statute. Under existing law, covered individuals include police officers, jailers, correctional officers, firefighters (paid and volunteer), EMS personnel, and certain National Guard and Reserve members.
HB 96 aims to improve the workgroup that oversees performance-based higher education funding. The measure would update the membership of the performance-based funding workgroup to include five members from the House, five from the Senate, the nine public university presidents, the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, and an appointee from the governor’s office.
HB 176 would require health insurance providers to establish a clear, consistent framework to exempt certain health care providers – including behavioral health providers – from prior authorization requirements. Prior authorization is a costly, time-intensive process requiring providers to seek advance approval from insurers before delivering care, often delaying treatment and adding unnecessary administrative burden. By creating a path for qualified providers to be exempt, HB 176 would streamline care delivery, reduce red tape, and ensure patients can access healthcare.
HB 178 would make it easier for Kentuckians to access timely mental health care by supporting a collaborative care model that brings primary care providers, care managers, and consulting psychologists together as a team. Under this approach, patients can receive mental health treatment directly in their primary care office, improving coordination and continuity of care. By leveraging existing providers and integrating services, the model expands access and capacity while avoiding additional workforce costs.
HB 184 ensures that health insurance plans in Kentucky can remain eligible for health savings accounts under federal law, preserving important tax benefits for individuals and families. The bill clarifies that if a state-imposed cost-sharing requirement – like deductibles and copayments – would cause a plan to lose its HSA-qualified status, that requirement would only apply after the enrollee meets the minimum federal deductible for high-deductible health plans.
HB 265 would create a process for solvent workers’ compensation self-insurance pools to follow in order to dissolve. This option would only be available to solvent companies that are not the subject of delinquency proceedings. The measure also prevents authorization of new groups.
HB 280 would grant the Kentucky Board of Nursing the authority to investigate the licenses of nurses holding credentials from other states and ensure that any nurse practicing in Kentucky under an out-of-state license meets the same standards and requirements as Kentucky-licensed nurses. The bill also modernizes school health policies by updating rules related to prescribed rescue medications, including rescue inhalers, nebulizers, glucagon, and epinephrine, helping ensure schools are better prepared to respond to student health emergencies.
HB 312 would allow Kentucky adults between the ages of 18 and 20 to obtain a provisional concealed carry license, which has the same requirements as Kentucky’s standard concealed carry license: a background check, training, and proficiency in handling and operating a firearm.
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 Amy.Neighbors@kylegislature.gov and keep track through the Kentucky legislature’s website at legislature.ky.gov.
(HD21 – News from the Office of Rep. Neighbors)