Key Legislation Becomes Law
As the veto recess continues and we move closer to the end of the 2025 Regular Session, we in the General Assembly remain committed to completing the work we began on January 7. So far, we have passed more than 100 bills, which are now moving through the final stages of the legislative process.
Once a bill is passed by the House and the Senate, it goes through the enrollment process, where it is carefully reviewed to ensure the final wording is correct. Then, the bill is signed by the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate and sent to the Governor.
Once received, a governor has ten days, excluding Sundays, to act on a bill. A governor may sign a bill, permit it to become law without a signature, or veto it. For appropriation bills, a governor also has the power to veto specific provisions, known as a line-item veto. If vetoed, a bill is sent back to the legislature, where lawmakers can override the veto if a majority of members in both the House and Senate agree before session ends.
The current Governor has already vetoed around 170 bills since taking office. While the number is historic, he is not the first governor to use the veto power, just as we are not the first legislature to use our authority to override those vetoes. While the veto period is not over, I will highlight some of the bills that he has already signed into law, including:
House Bill 1 lowers the individual income tax from 4% to 3.5% beginning on January 1, 2026. This tax cut will leave an estimated $718 million in the paychecks of hardworking Kentuckians during the first full year of implementation.
Senate Bill 23: SB 23 establishes procedures for the informational review of an administrative regulation by the Administrative Regulation Review Subcommittee or any other legislative committee, gives the subcommittee the authority to put a filed administrative regulation on the agenda for informational review, and requires the agencies that drafted the regulations to be present and cooperate with informational reviews.
House Bill 19 prohibits the use of an unmanned aircraft system like a drone to record images of privately owned real property or of the owner, tenant, occupant, invitee, or licensee of the property with the intent to conduct surveillance on or publish unauthorized images taken of the individual or their property. If violated, an individual may take civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction.
House Bill 131 allows for additional flexibility in firefighters’ work schedules. This measure allows for specific fire personnel to have the ability to work 48/96 schedules (48 hours on, 96 hours off) or 1/3/2/3 schedules (24 hours on, 72 hours off, 48 hours on, 72 hours off), unless otherwise provided in a collective bargaining agreement.
House Bill 164, known as Braylon’s Law, allows courts to render adoption judgments to families in the event of a child’s death during the adoption process.
Senate Bill 73 makes sexual extortion a felony, empowers victims by giving them legal remedies to seek justice and recover damages, and prioritizes prevention by requiring schools to educate students and parents about the warning signs and ensuring that resources are visible and accessible.
Senate Bill 87 allows air boards that operate a commercial airport serving more than one million passengers annually to use federal small purchase procedures, increases penalties for airport rule violations, and directs the Council on Postsecondary Education, in coordination with the Transportation Cabinet, to conduct a study on creating a FAA-recognized air traffic control credential program at a postsecondary education institution.
House Concurrent Resolution 20 directs the Legislative Research Commission to study access to sexual assault nurse examiners in Kentucky. This measure requires that a report be submitted to the Interim Joint Committee on Health Services and the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary by December 1, 2025.
When the veto recess concludes, we will reconvene for the final two days of the 2025 Regular Session, which will give us the opportunity to override any of the governor’s vetoes with a constitutional majority in both chambers. This power, granted to us by the Kentucky Constitution, reinforces the system of checks and balances and ensures that key legislative priorities are upheld. We will adjourn on March 28, this time “sine die,” a Latin term, that when applied to the legislative process means that the session is over. The legislature will not convene again until Tuesday, January 6, 2026 unless the governor calls us into special session.