HB5 Prison Education Program and Employment Barriers for Former Inmates

ChangeBridge / Kentucky / HB5 Signed by Governor HB5 House Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-09

AN ACT relating to prison educational programs.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 197 to establish the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Prison Education Program within the Department of Corrections in partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) to provide inmates with job training; require KCTCS to construct a facility to house the program at Northpoint Training Center; establish convictions that preclude participation in the program; require the parties to enter into a memorandum of agreement establishing the responsibilities of each party; amend KRS 196.281 to establish entitlement to a certificate of employability upon successful completion of the program and require reporting by the department; amend KRS 335B.020 to establish that a person shall not be disqualified from public employment or obtaining an occupational license solely because of previous criminal conviction and obtaining a certificate of employment from the department shall constitute rebuttable evidence of rehabilitation and fitness for the occupation; amend KRS 355B.030 to remove a conviction of a Class A felony, Class B felony, or any other felony offense other than a conviction that would qualify the individual as a registrant as defined in KRS 17.500 as supportive of a rebuttable presumption of a connection between that conviction and a license issuance request.

Bill Details

State Kentucky

Session 2026 Regular Session

Chamber House

Official Source apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb5.html

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Sponsors

Jennifer Henson Decker (Rep - R) David Osborne (Rep - R) Chad Aull (Rep - D) Shane Baker (Rep - R) Jared Bauman (Rep - R) Ryan Bivens (Rep - R) John Blanton (Rep - R) Steve Bratcher (Rep - R) Randy Bridges (Rep - R) George Brown (Rep - D) Lindsey Burke (Rep - D) Emily Callaway (Rep - R) Josh Calloway (Rep - R) Myron Dossett (Rep - R) Robert Duvall (Rep - R) Daniel Elliott (Rep - R) Daniel Fister (Rep - R) Patrick Flannery (Rep - R) Ken Fleming (Rep - R) Chris Freeland (Rep - R) Chris Fugate (Rep - R) Alan Gentry (Rep - D) Deanna Frazier Gordon (Rep - R) Peyton Griffee (Rep - R) Daniel Grossberg (Rep - D) Vanessa Grossl (Rep - R) Tony Hampton (Rep - R) Mark Hart (Rep - R) John Hodgson (Rep - R) Kimberly Holloway (Rep - R) Thomas Huff (Rep - R) Mary Imes (Rep - R) Kevin Jackson (Rep - R) Kim King (Rep - R) Chris Lewis (Rep - R) Scott Lewis (Rep - R) Matt Lockett (Rep - R) Savannah Maddox (Rep - R) Candy Massaroni (Rep - R) Bobby McCool (Rep - R) Shawn McPherson (Rep - R) David Meade (Rep - R) Suzanne Miles (Rep - R) Adam Moore (Rep - D) Kimberly Moser (Rep - R) Amy Neighbors (Rep - R) Jason Nemes (Rep - R) Marianne Proctor (Rep - R) Rachel Roarx (Rep - D) T.J. Roberts (Rep - R) Steven Rudy (Rep - R) Scott Sharp (Rep - R) Tom Smith (Rep - R) Nancy Tate (Rep - R) Walker Thomas (Rep - R) James Tipton (Rep - R) Timmy Truett (Rep - R) Billy Wesley (Rep - R) Mitch Whitaker (Rep - R) Richard White (Rep - R) Wade Williams (Rep - R) Nicolas Wilson (Rep - R) Susan Tyler Witten (Rep - R)

Action History

2026-04-09 H signed by Governor 2026-04-01 H delivered to Governor 2026-04-01 H enrolled, signed by President of the Senate 2026-04-01 H enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House 2026-03-31 H received in House 2026-03-31 S 3rd reading, passed 38-0 2026-03-26 S posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Friday, March 27 2026 2026-03-26 S taken from the Orders of the Day 2026-03-17 S 2nd reading, to Rules as a consent bill 2026-03-16 S reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar 2026-03-11 S to Judiciary (S) 2026-03-05 S to Committee on Committees (S) 2026-03-05 S received in Senate 2026-03-04 H 3rd reading, passed 99-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1) 2026-03-02 H posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 03 2026 2026-02-26 H floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute 2026-02-26 H 2nd reading, to Rules 2026-02-25 H reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) 2026-02-20 H to Judiciary (H) 2026-02-12 H to Committee on Committees (H) 2026-02-12 H introduced in House

Votes

2026-03-04 House: Veto Override RCS# 192 Yea: 99 Nay: 0 2026-03-31 Senate: Third Reading RSN# 4040 Yea: 38 Nay: 0

Committee Referrals

2026-02-12 H Committee On Committees 2026-02-20 H Judiciary 2026-02-26 H Rules 2026-03-05 S Committee on Committees 2026-03-11 S Judiciary 2026-03-17 S Rules

Amendments

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

Bill Text Versions

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

Subjects

Administrative Regulations and Proceedings Boards and Commissions Corrections and Correctional Facilities, State Education, Vocational Labor and Industry Licensing Occupations and Professions Reports Mandated State Agencies Universities and Colleges Workforce Corrections Impact Legislative data powered by LegiScan (CC BY 4.0)