Gov. Beshear Signs Into Law Several Newly Passed Pieces of Legislation

Governor approves measures addressing vehicles, TIFs, psychologists

FRANKFORT, Ky. (March 25, 2022) – Today Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law several pieces of legislation recently passed by the General Assembly.

The bills that will become law on their effective date are:

Senate Bill 55 makes changes to the certification of stroke centers and changes the name of the certification from primary stroke center to certified stroke center. The measure also adds thrombectomy capable stroke center certification to the list of other stroke care certifications issued by the Joint Commission, American Heart Association or equivalent accrediting organization.

Senate Bill 111 relates to tax-increment financing (TIF) projects and corrects an error made during the 2021 regular session when language intended for a state statute governing the use of consultants was mistakenly applied to local entities. Other provisions include requiring consultants making TIF reports to work with city or county budget offices and developers to pay for the consulting fees.

Senate Bill 174 clarifies that slow-moving vehicles used by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet can lawfully use necessary routes without risk of violating statutes related to impeding traffic.

House Bill 127 governs court-ordered mental health treatment. Among the measure’s provisions, it corrects some procedural language and greatly expands access to a court order for assisted outpatient treatment of individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness.

House Bill 237 adds required cultural and social training for psychologists concerning health and quality-of-life issues for patients. It also changes the prerequisites to be titled a licensed psychological associate to anyone with an education equivalent to a master’s degree who also has been accepted into an approved pre-doctoral internship program.

House Bill 252 addresses staffing needs by allowing 18-year-olds to serve alcohol or work in alcohol distribution warehouses as long as they are supervised by someone at least 20 years old.

House Bill 263 makes criminal abuse in the first degree of a victim who is younger than 12 a Class B felony.

House Bill 453 amends the statute governing open meetings. It specifies that an agency can discuss the selection or evaluation of a bidder for a local contract in a closed session, rather than just a state contract. It requires the publication of information on how the public can attend video conference meetings. The bill also requires the physical location of meetings held via video to be identified if two or more members of an agency are meeting from that physical location and it limits city commissions from meeting in a closed session more than twice per year to discuss the job performance of city managers.

###

​​

​​​​

​​​​​​​​​