HB139 Elections Bill Vetoed

ChangeBridge / Kentucky / HB139 Vetoed HB139 House Bill Vetoed 2026-04-10

AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency.

Amend KRS 116.112 to allow the State Board of Elections to enter into intergovernmental agreements with other governmental agencies to exchange data to assist in investigating violations of election offenses; amend KRS 117.125 to require voting systems and equipment meet or exceed a standard approved by the Election Assistance Commission; amend KRS 117.145 to require that county clerks provide voting equipment with the necessary supplies for write-in votes on the day before any in-person voting occurs; amend KRS 117.265 to change the date a person running for President or Vice President must file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate to the same deadline as the certification of candidates; amend KRS 117.355 to require county boards of elections to deliver signature rosters and precinct results to the State Board of Elections within 10 days after any primary or general election; amend KRS 117.379 to require voting systems meet a previously established Election Assistance Commission standard; amend KRS 117.389 to require county clerks to test automatic tabulating equipment after any petitions for local option elections have been filed; amend KRS 118.015 to change the definition of "political party"; amend KRS 118.125 to require that the notification and declaration be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118.129 to allow a contraction as an acceptable form of a candidate's name; amend KRS 118.165 to require that candidates for Commonwealth's Attorney file nomination papers with the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118.315 to require that the form of petition be prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118.367 to specify that candidates for a special election or election for an unexpired term shall not be required to file a statement-of-candidacy form; require that the statement-of-candidacy form be prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 118A.060 to require that the petition for nomination be in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State; amend KRS 119.015 to remove the term "falsely"; amend KRS 119.165, relating to the penalty of a Class B misdemeanor regarding voters who vote at a regular or special election before being a citizen; make technical corrections; amend KRS 132.017 to require that questions as to whether the property tax rate shall be levied shall be submitted to voters in a common school election not less than 50 days nor more than 60 days from the date the signatures are validated; require the school district holding the election to post bond with the Circuit Court to cover the costs of the election within 5 days after the petition is found to be sufficient; amend KRS 160.210 to prohibit changes in the boundary of any division after June 1 in the year in which a school board member is to be elected; amend various statutes to conform; repeal KRS 118.551, relating to the definition of political party; EMERGENCY.

Bill Details

State Kentucky

Session 2026 Regular Session

Chamber House

Official Source apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb139....

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Sponsors

Jennifer Henson Decker (Rep - R) Nicolas Wilson (Rep - R) George Brown (Rep - D) Daniel Grossberg (Rep - D) John Hodgson (Rep - R) DJ Johnson (Rep - R)

Action History

2026-04-10 H Vetoed 2026-03-31 H delivered to Governor 2026-03-31 H enrolled, signed by President of the Senate 2026-03-31 H enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House 2026-03-31 H passed 76-17 2026-03-31 H House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-31 H posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-27 H to Rules (H) 2026-03-27 H received in House 2026-03-26 S 3rd reading, passed 31-6 with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-25 S posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 26 2026 2026-03-25 S reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-03-24 S returned to State & Local Government (S) 2026-03-24 S 1st reading 2026-03-24 S taken from State & Local Government (S) 2026-03-16 S to State & Local Government (S) 2026-02-20 S to Committee on Committees (S) 2026-02-20 S received in Senate 2026-02-19 H 3rd reading, passed 92-1 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1) 2026-02-18 H floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute 2026-02-09 H posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, February 10 2026 2026-01-30 H 2nd reading, to Rules 2026-01-29 H reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-01-14 H to Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs (H) 2026-01-07 H to Committee on Committees (H) 2026-01-07 H introduced in House

Votes

2026-02-19 House: Veto Override RCS# 118 Yea: 92 Nay: 1 2026-03-26 Senate: Third Reading RSN# 4025 Yea: 31 Nay: 6 2026-03-31 House: Veto Override RCS# 365 Yea: 76 Nay: 17

Committee Referrals

2026-01-07 H Committee On Committees 2026-01-14 H Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs 2026-01-30 H Rules 2026-02-20 S Committee on Committees 2026-03-16 S State & Local Government 2026-03-27 H Rules

Amendments

0000-00-00 House Committee Substitute 0000-00-00 House Floor Amendment 0000-00-00 Senate Committee Substitute 0000-00-00 Senate Committee Substitute

Bill Text Versions

0000-00-00 Introduced 0000-00-00 Engrossed 0000-00-00 Enrolled

Subjects

Local Mandate Attorney, Commonwealth's Counties County Clerks Education, Elementary and Secondary Effective Dates, Emergency Elections and Voting Secretary of State State Agencies Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)