KY SB 8

enacted

AN ACT relating to public utilities and declaring an emergency.

Kentucky · 2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did KY SB 8 pass?

Yes. KY SB 8 has been enacted into law. Latest recorded action (2026-04-15): became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 185)

What is KY SB 8 about?

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 278 to establish the membership of the Public Service Commission; provide for the appointment, confirmation, and replacement of commissioners; establish the qualifications of the commissioners; provide for the election of the chair and the delegation of his or her duties; set the terms and term limits for commissioners; set qualifications for intervenors in cases before the commission; provide that in cases in which the Attorney General intervenes, he or she shall be the sole advocate for residential consumers; amend KRS 278.020 to increase the minimum voltage and length of electric transmission lines for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is required for construction; amend KRS 278.040 to provide that the commission is an independent department of state government that is administratively attached to the Auditor of Public Accounts only for the limited functions and purposes that the commission requests; allow the commission, in its sole discretion, to conduct procurements under KRS Chapter 45A, identify and determine the compensation for categories of its professional employees, and engage hearing officers and other entities on a contractual basis; prohibit the commission from being reorganized under KRS Chapter 12; amend KRS 278.060 to prohibit the immediate family members of commissioners from having any official relationship to any utility; allow for a commissioner or an immediate family member to have a pension or a retirement savings account with utility as long as no contributions have been made to it for at least 1 year prior to the commissioner's appointment; amend KRS 278.070 to allow the officer who appointed a commissioner to remove the commissioner for cause; amend KRS 278.100 and 278.120 to allow the commission to appoint and have sole discretion in fixing the compensation of the executive director; require the executive director to be subject to confirmation by the Senate; amend KRS 278.702, 12.020, 43.015, 64.640, 160.617, and 224.10-022 to conform; repeal KRS 278.050, relating to membership of the Public Service Commission; require the Auditor of Public Accounts to make initial appointments to the commission on or before July 1, 2026, and provide for the staggering of the appointments; allow current members of the commission to serve out the remainders of their terms provided that they meet the qualification requirements of the Act; terminate the terms of current commissioners who do not meet the qualification requirements of the Act and provide for their replacement; direct the transfer of all records, files, or documents associated with functions previously performed by the Energy and Environment Cabinet to the Auditor of Public Accounts; EMERGENCY.

Who sponsors KY SB 8?

S. West, R. Webb, R. Mills and 1 others are the primary sponsors of KY SB 8.

Description

Introduced: 2026-03-02
Latest action: 2026-04-15 — became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 185)
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

2026-04-15
became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 185)
became-law
2026-04-13
filed without Governor's signature with the Secretary of State
2026-04-02
delivered to Governor
2026-04-01
enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
passage
2026-04-01
enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
passage
2026-04-01
passed 32-5
passage
2026-04-01
Senate concurred in Committee Substitute (2) and Floor Amendment (5)
2026-04-01
posted for passage for concurrence in House Committee Substitute (2) and Floor Amendment (5)
2026-04-01
taken from Rules
2026-04-01
to Rules (S)
referral-committee
2026-04-01
received in Senate
2026-04-01
3rd reading, passed 76-11 with Committee Substitute (2) and Floor Amendment (5)
passage,reading-3
2026-03-31
floor amendments (4) and (5) filed to Committee Substitute (2)
amendment-introduction
2026-03-27
floor amendment (3) filed to Committee Substitute (2)
amendment-introduction
2026-03-27
placed in the Orders of the Day
2026-03-27
taken from Rules
2026-03-27
reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (2) and committee amendment (1)
committee-passage
2026-03-24
recommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (H)
2026-03-20
floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute
amendment-introduction
2026-03-20
2nd reading, to Rules
reading-2
2026-03-19
floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
amendment-introduction
2026-03-19
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
committee-passage
2026-03-17
to Natural Resources & Energy (H)
referral-committee
2026-03-10
to Committee on Committees (H)
referral-committee
2026-03-10
received in House
2026-03-06
passed 30-5-1 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1)
passage
2026-03-06
floor amendment (5) withdrawn
2026-03-06
floor amendment (4) withdrawn
2026-03-06
floor amendment (3) withdrawn
2026-03-06
floor amendment (2) withdrawn
2026-03-06
3rd reading
reading-3
2026-03-05
posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, March 06 2026
2026-03-05
Floor Amendments (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) filed to the Committee Substitute
2026-03-05
2nd reading, to Rules
reading-2
2026-03-04
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
committee-passage
2026-03-02
to Natural Resources & Energy (S)
referral-committee
2026-03-02
to Committee on Committees (S)
referral-committee
2026-03-02
introduced in Senate
introduction

Versions

IntroducedCompare
Current/FinalCompare
Acts Chapter 185Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

PASS SB 8 w/ SCS 1, SFA 1
2026-03-06 · pass · 30-5
Member-level votes (38)
- Boswell: yes
- Herron: yes
- Nunn: yes
- Storm: yes
- Carpenter: yes
- Howell: yes
- Raque Adams: yes
- Webb: yes
- Carroll: yes
- Madon: yes
- Rawlings: yes
- West: yes
- Deneen: yes
- Mays Bledsoe: yes
- Reed: yes
- Wheeler: yes
- Douglas: yes
- McDaniel: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Williams: yes
- Elkins: yes
- Meredith: yes
- Smith: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Girdler: yes
- Mills: yes
- Stivers: yes
- Wise: yes
- Givens: yes
- Nemes: yes
- Berg: no
- Clemons: no
- Neal: no
- Thomas: no
- ChambersArmstrong: no
- Tichenor: abstain
- Funke Frommeyer: not voting
- Higdon: not voting
Pass
2026-04-01 · pass · 76-11
Member-level votes (101)
- Baker: yes
- Dietz: yes
- Hart: yes
- Massaroni: yes
- Raymer: yes
- Banta: yes
- Doan: yes
- Heavrin: yes
- McCool: yes
- Riley: yes
- Bauman: yes
- Dossett: yes
- Hodgson: yes
- McPherson: yes
- Roberts: yes
- Bivens: yes
- Dotson: yes
- Huff T: yes
- Meade: yes
- Rudy: yes
- Blanton: yes
- Duvall: yes
- Imes: yes
- Meredith: yes
- Sharp: yes
- Bojanowski: yes
- Fister: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Miles: yes
- Smith: yes
- Bowling: yes
- Flannery: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Moore: yes
- Thomas: yes
- Branscum: yes
- Fleming: yes
- King: yes
- Moser: yes
- Tipton: yes
- Bratcher S.: yes
- Freeland: yes
- Koch: yes
- Neighbors: yes
- Truett: yes
- Bray: yes
- Fugate: yes
- Kulkarni: yes
- Osborne: yes
- Upchurch: yes
- Bridges: yes
- Gooch: yes
- Lewis C: yes
- Payne: yes
- Wesley: yes
- Brown: yes
- Gordon: yes
- Lewis D: yes
- Petrie: yes
- Whitaker: yes
- Callaway: yes
- Griffee: yes
- Lewis S: yes
- Pollock: yes
- Williams: yes
- Calloway: yes
- Grossl: yes
- Lockett: yes
- Proctor: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Clines: yes
- Hale: yes
- Maddox: yes
- Rabourn: yes
- Witten: yes
- Decker: yes
- Aull: no
- Gentry: no
- Hancock: no
- Stalker: no
- Watkins: no
- Camuel: no
- Grossberg: no
- Roarx: no
- Stevenson P: no
- Willner: no
- Donworth: no
- Burke: not voting
- Hampton: not voting
- Lehman: not voting
- Tackett Laferty: not voting
- Thompson: not voting
- Chester-Burton: not voting
- Holloway: not voting
- Marzian: not voting
- Tate: not voting
- White: not voting
- Elliott: not voting
- Lawrence: not voting
- Nemes: not voting
- COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY SENATE: not voting
FINAL PASSAGE OF SB 8 w/ HCS 2, HFA 5
2026-04-01 · pass · 32-5
Member-level votes (38)
- Boswell: yes
- Givens: yes
- Nemes: yes
- Storm: yes
- Carpenter: yes
- Higdon: yes
- Nunn: yes
- Tichenor: yes
- Carroll: yes
- Howell: yes
- Raque Adams: yes
- Webb: yes
- Deneen: yes
- Madon: yes
- Rawlings: yes
- West: yes
- Douglas: yes
- Mays Bledsoe: yes
- Reed: yes
- Wheeler: yes
- Elkins: yes
- McDaniel: yes
- Richardson: yes
- Williams: yes
- Funke Frommeyer: yes
- Meredith: yes
- Smith: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Girdler: yes
- Mills: yes
- Stivers: yes
- Wise: yes
- ChambersArmstrong: no
- Herron: no
- Neal: no
- Thomas: no
- Clemons: no
- Berg: not voting

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/sb8.html

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T05:22:24.357326Z

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