HB 917 (2026 Regular Session, Kentucky) – Summary
Purpose and overall intent
- Establishes a comprehensive framework for fiscal notes and local government mandates related to legislation and executive orders.
- Aims to standardize how fiscal impacts on state and local governments are estimated, documented, and disclosed to lawmakers and the public.
- Adds requirements for local government mandate statements and strengthens oversight of administrative regulations for local government impacts.
Key provisions and changes
1) Creation of state fiscal notes
- Defines a fiscal note as the Kentucky state fiscal impact statement assessing expenditures and revenues for implementing or complying with proposed acts.
- Fiscal notes must be filed with the chamber clerk where the bill was introduced and attached to every bill/resolution copy.
- No vote on a bill/resolution without an attached fiscal note.
- LRC Director to:
- Create a standardized fiscal note form and instructions.
- Prepare fiscal notes (through LRC) and make them public.
- Contents of a fiscal note:
- Bill identification, sponsor, and a brief summary.
- Indicate whether a fiscal impact exists; if yes, provide expenditures/revenue impacts for the first year of impact and explain the fiscal impact or justify why it cannot be estimated.
- List data sources and finalization date.
2) Local government mandate statements (replacing prior term “fiscal note” in this context)
- Replaces or clarifies use of “local government mandate statement” as a realistic assessment of local government expenditure/revenue effects.
- Defines “local government” as cities, counties, or urban-county governments.
- Defines “state mandate” as a state action requiring local governments to alter activities, programs, or structures that affect local revenues.
3) Local government mandate statements required for bills and orders
- No bill/resolution touching local government or its services may be voted on without a local government mandate statement attached, unless two-thirds of members vote to waive the requirement.
- If one chamber waives it, the other chamber still requires the statement unless a majority in that chamber also waives it.
4) Preparation and filing of local government mandate statements
- LRC (or other state agencies) must prepare the local government mandate statement for bills related to local government; the Secretary of Finance must prepare for orders.
- Statements are filed with the chamber clerk and attached to the bill/order.
5) Content and certification of local government mandate statements
- Must indicate if the bill/order is a state mandate.
- For state mandates, must estimate the impact on local government expenditures/revenues in the first full year of effect.
- Director may seek Attorney General certification on whether something is a state mandate.
- Amended bills/orders must be resubmitted for reevaluation.
6) Data systems and ongoing coordination
- LRC to compile, analyze, and maintain data on current state mandates, local funds distribution, and local government fiscal conditions to support mandate statements.
7) Administrative regulations and emergency regulations (broader reform)
- Keeps existing emergency administrative regulation provisions but embeds related fiscal note and local impact considerations.
- Requires attached forms (fiscal notes on state/local government, regulatory impact analyses, tiering, federal mandate comparisons) to back of regulations.
- Strengthens timelines for public comments, statements of consideration, and requirements for amendments to regulations (including format, delivery, and notice to registrants).
Affected parties
- Kentucky General Assembly (and its committees) – must attach and consider fiscal notes and local government mandate statements.
- Local governments (cities, counties, urban-county governments) – subject to state mandates; their fiscal impacts must be assessed and disclosed.
- Executive agencies and departments – responsible for preparing executive orders and administrative/regulatory actions with mandated statements.
- The Legislative Research Commission (LRC) and the Commissioner for Regulations Compiler – oversee form development, preparation, and publication of notes and statements.
Procedural and timeline aspects
- Fiscal notes and local government mandate statements must be attached to bills when introduced and before voting.
- Agencies have defined deadlines (e.g., seven working days for certain mandate statements; specific filing deadlines for public comment periods and statements of consideration).
- Amendments to regulations require documentation, formal publishing, and, if amended after comments, updated notices and summaries.
- Potential waivers require cross-chamber majority support to avoid mandate statements in certain cases.
Sponsor notes
- Principal sponsor: (House) with co-sponsors Savannah Maddox and Josh Calloway.
Overall impact
- Increases transparency and accountability around the fiscal implications of legislation and administrative regulations.
- Strengthens the ability of local governments to anticipate and prepare for potential mandates.
- Creates standardized processes for generating, filing, and disseminating fiscal notes and mandate statements.
