Kentucky Legislature

Kentucky GOP lawmakers are making another attempt to get rid of a state statute that requires most water systems to add fluoride to their supplies – a practice that has been widely recognized as a successful public health campaign for decades.

Kentucky House Republicans released a two-year state budget bill Tuesday, which is expected to evolve over the session. The current version would spend dramatically less than what Gov. Andy Beshear proposed for education and Medicaid.

Groups spent more than $28 million to lobby members of the Kentucky General Assembly throughout 2025, eclipsing a record set the previous year.

Kentucky’s legislature unanimously approved a measure last year mandating that school employees and volunteers use traceable forms of communications when they contact students outside the classroom. But now, the bill’s original sponsor wants to fix some unintended consequences that teachers and education advocacy groups have brought to her attention.

As federal immigration policies spark protests across the country, Kentucky GOP lawmakers filed at least five bills designed to encourage or require more local and state participation in immigration enforcement.

Republicans in the Kentucky Senate gave priority status to a bill that could return driver’s license renewals back to county offices, citing long wait times at regional offices.

Several Republican legislators are drafting bills to increase the housing supply and combat homelessness in Kentucky.

A naturalized citizen was inspired to run for the Kentucky House a day after GOP bills were filed to ban immigrants from public office, saying it’s “not the time to sit on the sidelines.”

After years of federal stimulus and surpluses, the Kentucky General Assembly will have to pass a state budget in a tighter fiscal environment in the 2026 session.

Here's what environmental advocates say they're hoping for, and what they're watching out for, during the Kentucky Legislature's upcoming session.