Legislators will work all day Friday to ensure priority legislation receives final passage, giving the General Assembly an opportunity to override any potential gubernatorial vetoes upon their return from the break on March 27.
Bills headed to the Governor
HJR 46, sponsored by Rep. Jason Petrie (R-Todd), received final passage Friday and will be delivered to the Governor. The resolution includes the County Priority Projects Program (CPPP) list of road projects to be funded for FY2026. The Senate amended the resolution this week to add additional funding for projects in seven counties that were not included in the original version. The final resolution includes $23.9 million in road projects – all with a ranking of 10 – to be funded in the upcoming fiscal year.
HB 152, sponsored by Rep. Michael Meredith (R-Edmonson), received final passage this week and will be delivered to the Governor. The bill creates a new Medicaid supplemental payment program for public ground ambulance providers that would go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.
Ground ambulance providers owned or operated by counties, cities and special districts would be eligible to participate. The program is voluntary and would allow these providers to receive additional federal funding for Medicaid transports if they pay the state Medicaid match for the supplemental program and an administrative fee retained by the Department of Medicaid Services.
HB 537, sponsored by Rep. Chris Fugate (R-Perry), received final passage this week and will be delivered to the Governor. This opioid settlement cleanup bill ensures that any future settlement, judgment or bankruptcy proceeding against any entity or person engaged in the manufacturing or distribution of opioids would be distributed 50 percent to the state opioid abatement trust fund and 50 percent to local governments.
HB 605, sponsored by Rep. Josh Bray (R-Rockcastle), received final passage this week and will be delivered to the Governor. The bill amends the eligible projects category for the Government Resources Accelerating Needed Transformation (GRANT) program to include Delta Regional Authority grants that include language explicitly stating that a local match will make an application more competitive. The GRANT program was established in 2023 to assist local governments with matching funds to leverage federal funding.
SB 10, sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Chair Robbie Mills (R-Henderson), received final passage this week and has been delivered to the Governor. The bill creates a “shared responsibility model” between employer and employee for covering the higher cost of retiree healthcare.
The bill increases the insurance benefit for CERS members who began participating on or after July 1, 2003, to $40 a month for non-hazardous employees and $50 a month for hazardous duty employees, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
These increases are only payable when a member is not eligible for Medicare benefits and only if they have met certain year-of-service thresholds at retirement. This bill balances the intent of the original legislation to cover the cost of a single plan for retirees while recognizing that healthcare costs have risen significantly since implementation in 2003.
The bill will have no impact on non-hazardous employee health insurance contributions or employer contributions to the non-hazardous fund. The bill will increase hazardous employee contributions from 1% to 2% and increase the actuarial employer contribution rate by 2.2% for the hazardous fund.
Important legislative dates
- March 15-26: Veto recess
- March 27-28: Final two days of 2025 session
Photo by LRC Public Information: (Left to right) Rep. Matt Lockett, R-Nicholasville; Rep. Shawn McPherson, R-Scottsville; and Rep. Walker Thomas, R-Hopkinsville; confer before the start of Thursday’s House Committee on Appropriations and Revenue meeting.
