Taking Action During the 2026 General Assemby
Our bill list from the first week of the General Assembly—and what YOU can do
Check out the Bills linked above, reviewed as of 1/12/26
Review our bill list regularly and decide which bills to comment on. You can send comments to any lawmaker you wish in either the House or Senate, but make sure you start with your own lawmaker first. If you don’t know who that is, you can use this map to find them.
And then make those calls and send emails. Use this link to send an email (firstname.lastname@kylegislature.gov) or call the Legislative Message Line at 1-800-372-7181 to comment on bills starting at 7AM to 9PM ET Monday through Thursday, and 7AM-6PM on Fridays (Check times since staffing capacities and hours can vary during the break period).
OR make an appointment to visit in person or virtual. You can call the Legislative Research Commission direct at
502-564-8100 to set an appointment. Legislators can be very busy during the session, but many will try to take the time to talk to a direct constituent. You can also visit your lawmaker in their home district.Where do I start? You start with the bills that reflect issues that are most important to you. We at KCC will often provide additional talking points on several bills.
So don’t wait! Use this time to get your opinions heard on the issues you care about!
Bills of Note:
Energy (Nuclear):
We have been anticipating a new bill on nuclear energy this session, which we learned more about from Senator Danny Carroll while we were presenting at the Kentucky Academy of Science conference last month (KCC slides from that conference here). The new bill filed, Senate Bill 57, if passed, creates new duties for the Kentucky Nuclear Energy Development Authority, including new reporting requirements and the Legislative Research Commission must now include the evaluations, scores, and funding recommendations for applicants to the Nuclear Reactor Site Readiness Pilot Program. That Program has a goal of facilitating early site permits, construction permits, or combined operating licenses for new nuclear facilities in Kentucky.
You can learn more about Kentucky’s recent nuclear legislative history and resources on KCC’s Nuclear Energy webpage and we will have an updated session on nuclear initiatives during KCC’s upcoming Legislative Summit on January 25th at Kentucky State University in Frankfort.
Disaster Preparedness:
Kentucky ranks among the most disaster-impacted states in the nation, with eight of the ten counties with the highest number of federal major disaster declarations between 2011 and 2023 located in the Commonwealth. During the Interim session, the legislature’s Disaster Prevention and Resiliency Task Force released their recommendations, which included a recommendation to establish a state resilience office. However there are many other steps that can be taken to “harden” Kentucky’s infrastructure and improve resiliency. So far, we have several bills that attempt to address issues related to disasters and anticipate more expected. House Bill 61 (Rep. Hodgson) proposes to create a Kentucky Emergency Volunteer Corps and fund, among its provisions. And Senator Meredith is proposing rebate incentives for residential “safe rooms” under specific requirements through Senate Bill 11.
Waste Tires:
This issue has come up again this year by way of Senate Bill 60 (Senator Chambers Armstrong). The Kentucky Division of Waste Management (DWM) estimates that about 4 million scrap tires are generated annually in Kentucky and provides grants and runs events for certain activities related to the management of waste tires. Nonprofits such as the Kentucky Waterways Alliance run tire cleanup programs in streams, so we encourage our members to participate. KCC and KWA both addressed this issue during each of their film screenings of the local film, River Cowboys, featuring the Friends of Red River. We hope you will become engaged with nonprofits who are working to solve the waste tire issue.
Healthy Soils:
We were very glad to see, once again, repeat filings of KCC Priority Bills by Rep. Kulkarni which included a Healthy Soils program (House Bill 197) and KCC is working to build a bipartisan base of sponsors. Several states have healthy soils legislation, where many are recognizing the urgency of the threat of climate change, the prominent role that land management plays in ecosystem restoration and food production,—plus the need for local efforts in light of today’s federal political climate, and the reality that local solutions hold the greatest potential for climate remediation. You may learn more about Healthy Soils initiatives via the following websites:
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)- Soil Health
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) - Healthy Soils information
“Forever Chemicals” (PFAS):
We are glad to see the return of legislation to form a PFAS working group (House Bill 196). This year’s legislation also establishes a reporting requirement for manufacturers that intentionally added PFAS in products manufactured for sale or distribution in the Commonwealth and for PFAS released in the Commonwealth by manufacturers that intentionally include PFAS in manufactured products.