2025 Session in Review

The 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly has concluded. While a number of important topics were debated, few bills were passed that CCK favored. Several bills with which we had serious concern were passed. We do hope that a foundation has been laid on which we can build in future sessions, particularly in the areas of pro-family policy and in addressing environmental issues. 

We are immensely grateful to our Faithful Citizen Advocates who responded to our action alerts during the session. Below is a list of the bills we asked you to contact your legislators about, and the final disposition of each one.

HB 291 - Family Preservation and Accountability Act - This bill represented an attempt to reduce Kentucky’s very high percentage of children with incarcerated parents by promoting alternative sentencing, such as parenting classes or substance use treatment. HB 291 passed the House unanimously but did not make it through the Senate before session ended. We are going to continue working on this and hope to get it fully passed next year.

SB 60 - Religious Freedom Restoration Act - Kentucky has a strong RFRA, but it operates only as a legal standard in an ongoing case. It does not allow a person to file suit to protect their rights. SB 60 would have created a private cause of action against the government to protect religious freedom rights. SB 60 passed the House but did not receive a vote in the Senate

SB 59 - Affordable housing, or lack thereof, is an increasingly urgent and growing issue that will require a wide array of solutions. SB 59 would have allowed religious organizations to avoid some of the zoning or permitting red tape required for housing development if they were developing affordable housing units on land owned by the religious organization. This bill almost passed but late negotiations on exact language were not completed before time expired. A similar bill will hopefully be introduced again next year.

SB 89 - When this bill was originally filed it drastically changed the definition of regulated “Waters of the Commonwealth” within the state, narrowing and limiting the protections and permitting requirements to only those waters defined as “navigable waters” under the federal Clean Water Act, i.e. interstate waterways and waters directly connected to them. Thus, it would have excluded all groundwater as well as wetlands and the upper reaches of stream and river systems in Kentucky.  Groundwater and water wells or springs are a major source of drinking water for a great deal of Kentuckians, and more than half of Kentucky’s streams and rivers are ephemeral or intermittent. The practical effect is that dumping or discharging pollution into stream headwaters would no longer be limited or prohibited, and it also increases the risk of flooding since the dumping of wastes into and destruction of headwater streams and wetlands will cause sediment loading and increase runoff rates. The bishops approved and authorized a letter in opposition and after a great deal of lobbying and commenting by utilities, state agencies and environmental groups, the bill was modified to at least include protections for groundwater, water wells and natural springs that supply a public water system. The bill passed both the Senate and House, and the governor’s veto was overridden. 

HB 695 - Originally an innocuous bill making various changes to Medicaid, HB 695 was amendment in the final hours to mandate work requirements for Medicaid recipients. This kind of requirement has never saved money in states that have tried it, but has caused otherwise qualified recipients to lose their benefits due to failure to comply with the more complicated reporting requirements brought about by the mandate. A majority of Medicaid recipients do currently work, and almost all of the rest are either disabled, students, or primary caregivers of family members. We hope this gets rolled back, and will work toward that end.

HB 4 - The major legislation this session dealing with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs at state universities passed. While some of the bill deals with prohibiting discriminatory polices, the language goes too far. In particular, harassment of a student has to rise to such a level as to prevent them from accessing educational services before the university can investigate or take any action to protect that student. The bishops issued a statement urging caution, but attempts to amend the bill were defeated.

HB 206 - This bill would have provided a cause of action to recover compensation for wrongful conviction. It was reported out of committee but did not receive a vote on the floor.