KCC Week 6 Recap: General Assembly 2026
Bill activity is now speeding up as we completed the 6th week of the General Assembly and we are seeing more amendments and bill substitutes. Now is the time to watch for changes in bills and you may fined that we may update our positions accordingly. Follow the bill links above for our full summaries of bills, including amendments and other changes.
Federal Rollbacks - Now State Actions Matter!
It was not unexpected—in fact it was highly anticipated—when President Trump announced yesterday that he was officially removing the scientific finding that greenhouse gases threaten human life by warming the planet. What is known as the “endangerment finding” is the scientific determination that underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change through regulation and directly challenges the overwhelming scientific consensus of its dangers. Secretary Zeldin, who leads the E.P.A., called the move “the single largest deregulatory action in the history of the United States.” On that, we agree. One estimate from the Environmental Defense Fund estimated the rollback could lead to as many as 58,000 premature deaths.
That makes our actions at the state and local level even more critical to manage the impacts of climate change. There are many bills this session that address energy usage as well as disaster resiliency and mitigation. Bills to preserve land and protect watersheds are also essential for a healthy climate. That is why it is so essential for you to weigh in regularly and contact your lawmakers to ensure that your voice is heard, even when the regulations (or lack thereof) fail us at the federal level.
Take action on the bills of interest to you, by calling the legislative message line at 1-800-372-7181 (Monday-Friday 7AM-6PM) to express your views on these bills. You may also email your legislators if the phone lines are closed.
New Bill Highlights this week—Bills we love (for Valentine’s Day) and others we certainly don’t love!
On the list of bills we love this week, we added another bill that is attempting to place sensible regulations around data centers, House Bill 593 (Strong Support). The bill was actually filed last week but we did not have a chance to discuss before our weekly email went out. Among its provisions, the bill requires municipal electric utilities and retail electric suppliers to provide electric service to a data center customer only through a contract that prevents subsidization by non-data center customers and ensures all costs are attributable to the data center customer, and prohibits utilities from charging or allocating any costs associated with new infrastructure to serve the data center to any other customer classes. We appreciate the filing of this, along with a bill we highlighted last week, is House Bill 544, also known as the “Ratepayer Protection Act.” by Rep. Adam Moore. Louisville Public News did a detailed breakdown of the two bills in this article, and you can read our detailed summary in this week’s KCC House Bill List. We appreciate that lawmakers are beginning to respond to their constituents on this issue. Learn more of the legislative history on data centers at KCC’s Data Center webpage.
On the list of new bills we DON’T love, we want to give a “Friday the 13th shout out” to Senate Bill 178, (Strong Oppose). This bill is addressing environmental administrative regulations. It eviscerates the precautionary principle, which is a fundamental legal principle that requires those proposing a new activity to demonstrate its safety, rather than the public proving it's harmful. This bill puts the risk of environmental harm on the public, rather than the entities creating that harm. This bill requires the opposite, putting profit over safety, and putting the environment and public health in substantial risk of harm.
We also want to highlight Senate Bill 195 (Strong Oppose). This is a civil action bill which is an attempt at tort reform in Kentucky, which would make recovery for environmental harm more difficult in the state. It introduces several significant changes to civil causes of action, primarily focusing on motor vehicle safety, insurance claims, timber trespass, consumer protection, public works contractor liability, medical malpractice, and comparative fault standards. You can find more details on these bills on the updated KCC Senate Bill List.
We also want to give a shout out to House Bill 599 (Strong Oppose) as one of our bad bills of the week, dealing with criminal obstruction. You can find more details about that bill on our KCC House Bill list.
Bills on the Move
One of the fastest movers this week was Senate Bill 172 (Monitor) which was posted on Feb. 9 after our weekly email went out, passed out of committee, added an “emergency” clause, and then passed the Senate unanimously. The bill is now in the House. The bill permits the Public Service Commission to allow, if requested by an electric utility, an extension of the period for recovery of an electric utility's fuel adjustment costs to help reduce volatility for consumers and encourage stability in rates. Lawmakers rushed the bill out of consideration of the recent long spell of cold weather and the impact it will have on customers.
Read our full and detailed bill analysis of new House and Senate bills on our website.
KCC In the News
We are still being asked lots of questions this week on how it was that Kentucky lost out to Oklahoma on an economic development project that would have been one of the largest in the state. We appreciate the expanded coverage on this issue in last week’s Courier-Journal investigative report by Connor Giffin. We believe that a large part of the issue was the fact that Oklahoma had far better access to renewable energy, and that this is a warning for Kentucky as we start to consider sources like nuclear energy, or continue to hang on to coal and gas. Industries are looking for large amounts of clean energy today— not risky investments that will take decades such as nuclear. We hope you plan on going to the upcoming public hearings on nuclear energy, and also join us on a field trip to the Fernald Preserve (see info below).
News and Upcoming Events: Nukes, Solar, Lobby Days
So much to do! Nuclear public meetings, Nuclear Daytrip, Upcoming Lobby Days and Solar Movie Night- Sign up!!
Nuclear Public Meetings- Let us know if you are coming! (Info at link)
Let us know you’re coming. Make your voice heard and one of six public meetings on nuclear energy development. Upcoming meetings will be held on the following dates: Morehead Feb. 26, 5PM ET • Louisville March 17, 2026 5PM ET. • Lexington March 25, 2026- 5PM ET • Paducah April 1, 2026- 5PM CT • Highland Heights April 6, 2026 • Bowling Green April 8, 2026.
Full Details at this link, AND if you plan on attending, we would like to hear from you! Mark your calendar for the meetings above and please check out KCC’s Nuclear Energy Page for information to inform your comments.
Nuclear Field Trip - Daytrip to Fernald Preserve, Sat. Feb. 21st
Register here. In 1951, the town of Fernald, Ohio (just outside of Cincinnati) became the host of the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center that refined uranium from 1951 through 1989, becoming one of the nation's most significant radioactive cleanup projects—which included contaminated soil, groundwater, and waste. The remediated site now hosts a nature preserve with walking trails that is popular with birding groups. However when the site was active, it was heavily contaminated with radioactive materials. Come join us to see the site as it presently exists, with trails and interpretive exhibits of its dark history. Logistics will be sent out in advance (carpool location, etc) depending on responses from those who sign up. Sign up for the field trip here.
“Leave the Heat On” Lobby Day, February 25th:
Register here and join the coalition of groups who are part of the “Leave the Heat On” collaborative in support of . Once you sign up we can pair you up with other attendees to go talk to lawmakers about current legislation to stop utility disconnections in extreme weather.
Movie Night “Save the Farm, Save the Future”
Register here. KCC and our friends at Solar Kentucky and Greenlight Action are hosting a film screening of a film called “Save the Farm, Save the Future” on Thursday, February 26th. With so much controversy over solar and farmland, we wanted to share this film that addresses what is happening with projects that are working toward collaborative solutions. We hope you will join us in Lexington. Please register for the film event here.
