# Kentucky HB 139: AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency. Kentucky HB 139, AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Jennifer Decker (Republican); status became law, last action 2026-04-14 (delivered to Secretary of State (Acts Ch. 175)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB139-2026RS - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Kentucky HB 139 - State: Kentucky - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT relating to elections and declaring an emergency. - Status: became law - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-07 - Last action: 2026-04-14, delivered to Secretary of State (Acts Ch. 175) - Sponsor: Jennifer Decker (Republican) - Cosponsors: 6 - Subjects: Local Mandate, Attorney, Commonwealth's, Counties, County Clerks, Education, Elementary And Secondary, Effective Dates, Emergency, Elections And Voting, Secretary Of State, State Agencies - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 5 (311 yes, 50 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 28 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Removed voters can seek registration restoration: benefit, medium. After a state removal, the State Board must notify the county clerk, who must update county files within 10 days. A removed voter can protest, and the county board must hear the protest at its next regular monthly meeting. If the board rules for the voter, it must restore the registration and votin… - Campaign filers get penalty grace period: benefit, low. Candidates and campaign treasurers get five business days after Registry notice to correct a filing delinquency. Monetary penalties cannot accrue or be assessed before that period ends. No penalty applies if they correct the violation in time. This covers required reports, administrative-fee paymen… - Election contest winners recover legal costs: benefit, low. A contestant who wins an election contest in Circuit Court or on appeal is entitled to reasonable legal costs. These include attorney fees, expert witness fees, and other court costs. The court charges the local election board or a party found to have used fraud, intimidation, bribery, or violence… - Campaigns and parties can support charities: benefit, low. Candidates and candidate slates can give campaign money to religious, civic, or charitable groups under a new exception. State and county party executive committees can give a nonprofit civic group up to $100 per year. The nonprofit must promote civic education, voter registration efforts, or patri… - Campaigns gain higher small donation thresholds: benefit, low. Contributing groups funded only from within the group must report contributions above $200, up from $100. Goods, advertising, and services count as contributions when their total value exceeds $200 in one election, also up from $100. That rule covers candidates, slates, committees, contributing org… - Campaigns get more report filing time: benefit, low. Covered campaign reports count as timely when the election finance registry receives them within seven business days after the deadline. The previous grace period was two business days. This covers candidates, committees, registered fundraisers, and party executive committees where the rule applies… - Candidate names and filing rules change: benefit, low. Candidates can use a shortened form of their given name on the ballot, alongside existing name and initial options. Commonwealth's attorney candidates must file nomination papers with the Secretary of State instead of the county clerk. Independent, political organization, and political group candid… - Candidates gain targeted campaign transfer options: benefit, low. Federal candidates can transfer federal campaign money to a Kentucky party executive committee within the applicable annual limit. The money cannot be earmarked for a particular candidate or slate. Kentucky legislators can move their remaining campaign balance into an account for seeking statewide… - Cities get elections after mass vacancies: benefit, low. A special election is required when a court vacates most city legislative seats because of fraud or election error not caused by any candidate. The county clerk and local election board must call it for bona fide candidates who previously qualified. The stated timing is as soon as practicable, with… - Clerks face narrower registration felony rules: benefit, low. Falsely registering someone is no longer a separate listed basis for this Class D felony against county clerks or deputies. Fraudulent registration and knowingly allowing an ineligible person to register remain covered. So does failing or refusing to give registration records to someone entitled to… - Delegates become uncommitted after candidate withdrawal: benefit, low. Kentucky delegate votes become uncommitted when their candidate dies before the national convention's first ballot is counted. The same applies when the candidate gives written withdrawal notice to the Kentucky delegation chair before that ballot. - Donors can give larger political contributions: benefit, low. The cash donation limit rises from $100 to $200 per contributor, per recipient, in one election. Campaign recipients can accept up to $200, up from $100, from someone still under 18 on the next general election day. Annual limits rise from $5,000 to $10,000 per person for state party executive comm… - Political parties gain recognition and reach: benefit, low. A political group qualifies as a party if its candidate received at least 10% of votes in the last presidential-elector election. The former threshold was 20%. Qualified party committees can endorse, support, or oppose candidates for nonpartisan offices. They can also make otherwise lawful contribu… - Some voter misdemeanor grounds are removed: benefit, low. The law removes voting before meeting specified state, county, or precinct residence periods from this Class B misdemeanor provision. It also removes voting before reaching full age from that provision. The provision still covers Kentucky residents who vote before becoming citizens by means other t… - Felony convictions trigger voter roll removal: cost, medium. The courts office must send certified felony-conviction notices within 10 days after a conviction becomes final. The law removes the express statement that finality includes exhaustion of all appeals. After notice from the courts office or U.S. Department of Justice, the State Board must remove nam… - Fewer backup identification options for voters: cost, medium. Voters without standard identification must sign an affirmation stating a listed reason they cannot get it. They must also be eligible to vote in that precinct. Accepted backup cards are a Kentucky county-issued card bearing their name and approved in writing by the State Board of Elections, or a c… - Election finance board members lose daily pay: cost, low. Members of the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance no longer receive the $65 daily payment. They still get necessary travel and expenses reimbursed in the same manner as Kentucky state employees. - Written move confirmations support voter removal: cost, low. When information shows a voter moved outside the county, the voter can confirm the move in writing. A form available from the State Board of Elections website also works. That confirmation provides a ground for removing the voter's name from registration records. - Disqualified candidates lose ballot certification: cost, low. Officials must not certify a candidate disqualified before ballot certification. After certification, precinct officers must give required notice and must not disclose or report votes for that candidate. In specified primaries, the remaining one or two candidates receive nomination certificates, de… - Earlier school election boundary deadlines: cost, low. In a year when a school board member is elected from a division, that division's boundary cannot change after June 1. The old cutoff was August 1. School districts must report boundary changes to the county clerk within 60 days. Changes occurring within 60 days of the June 1 deadline must be report… - School tax recalls take longer: cost, low. A called election challenging a school property-tax levy must occur 50 to 60 days after the clerk validates a sufficient petition. The former window was 35 to 45 days. The school board can instead use the next regular election. For a called election, the district must post a Circuit Court bond cove… - Citizenship checks and provisional voting safeguards: mixed, medium. The State Board of Elections flags voters identified as noncitizens and mails notice explaining how to verify citizenship. Regular voting requires verification at the county clerk's office using a qualifying U.S. birth certificate or passport, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of B… - Broader voter sharing with privacy limits: mixed, low. Agencies can exchange voter data when removing ineligible voters is one purpose, rather than the only purpose. Agreements made after April 1, 2025, cannot require state spending or efforts to register unregistered people. Commercial use and third-party access to the voter-registration system remain… - Campaign donation caps follow federal limits: mixed, low. Kentucky replaces its prior inflation-indexed $2,000 donation ceiling with the federal candidate contribution limit. The federal limit is adjusted for inflation every odd-numbered year. It applies to donations to candidates, campaign committees, permanent committees, and contributing organizations.… - Campaigns can keep larger anonymous donations: mixed, low. The law raises the anonymous donation limit from $100 to $200 for candidates, slates, committees, and contributing organizations. Donations over $200 must be returned to the donor or turned over to the state if no donor is found. The $2,000 total limit on anonymous donations per election stays unch… - Campaigns disclose fewer small donor details: mixed, low. The law raises the threshold for donor details from $100 to amounts over $200 for covered campaign contributions and fundraising-item purchases. Required details include the donor's name, address, employer or self-employment business name, and occupation. For covered candidate contributions, treasu… - Digital political ads get pricing protections: mixed, low. Digital platforms offering public communications services for hire cannot charge political advertisers above their lowest rate for other advertisers when purchased. Covered digital ads must clearly identify the person or committee paying for them. The disclosure rule covers public ads expressly urg… - Voting equipment flexibility and required testing: mixed, low. The State Board can approve voting systems under an older federal standard amended less than 36 months before review was requested. It must first assess election integrity, security, and the cost and steps needed to meet the newer standard. County clerks must test automatic vote-counting equipment… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Jennifer Decker (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Daniel Grossberg (Democrat), House - Cosponsor: DJ Johnson (Republican), House - Cosponsor: George Brown Jr. (Democrat), House - Cosponsor: John Hodgson (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Nick Wilson (Republican), House - Cosponsor: T.J. Roberts (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-14 | House | passed | pass | 80 | 20 | | | 2026-04-14 | Senate | passed | pass | 32 | 6 | | | 2026-03-31 | House | passed | pass | 76 | 17 | | | 2026-03-26 | Senate | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 31 | 6 | | | 2026-02-19 | House | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 92 | 1 | | ## Actions (41) - 2026-04-14: delivered to Secretary of State (Acts Ch. 175) - 2026-04-14: enrolled, signed by President of the Senate (House) - 2026-04-14: enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House (House) - 2026-04-14: received in House (House) - 2026-04-14: passed 32-6 (Senate) - 2026-04-14: veto overridden (Senate) - 2026-04-14: posted for passage for consideration of Governor's veto - 2026-04-14: to Rules (S) (Senate) - 2026-04-14: received in Senate (Senate) - 2026-04-14: passed 80-20 (House) - 2026-04-14: veto overridden (House) - 2026-04-14: posted for consideration of Governor's veto - 2026-04-14: taken from Rules (House) - 2026-04-14: to Rules (H) (House) - 2026-04-14: received in House (House) - 2026-04-10: Vetoed - 2026-03-31: delivered to Governor - 2026-03-31: enrolled, signed by President of the Senate (House) - 2026-03-31: enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House (House) - 2026-03-31: passed 76-17 (House) - 2026-03-31: House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) (House) - 2026-03-31: posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) (Senate) - 2026-03-27: to Rules (H) (House) - 2026-03-27: received in House (House) - 2026-03-26: 3rd reading, passed 31-6 with Committee Substitute (1) (Senate) - 2026-03-25: posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 26 2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-25: reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) (Senate) - 2026-03-24: returned to State & Local Government (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-24: 1st reading (Senate) - 2026-03-24: taken from State & Local Government (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-16: to State & Local Government (S) (Senate) - 2026-02-20: to Committee on Committees (S) (Senate) - 2026-02-20: received in Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-19: 3rd reading, passed 92-1 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1) (House) - 2026-02-18: floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute (House) - 2026-02-09: posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, February 10 2026 (House) - 2026-01-30: 2nd reading, to Rules (House) - 2026-01-29: reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) (House) - 2026-01-14: to Elections, Const. Amendments & Intergovernmental Affairs (H) (House) - 2026-01-07: to Committee on Committees (H) (House) - 2026-01-07: introduced in House (House) ## Bill text - Current, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb139/bill.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-07: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb139/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 197: AN ACT providing funding and establishing conditions for state government agencies and institutions, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergen… (became law) - SB 133: AN ACT relating to the fiscal reporting of local entities. (signed) - HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency. (signed) - SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry. (signed) - SB 66: AN ACT relating to the operation of a motor vehicle. (signed) - HB 826: AN ACT relating to education. (signed) ## Sources - [Current (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb139/bill.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb139/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related - [SB 197: AN ACT providing funding and establishing conditions for state government agenc…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB197-2026RS) - [SB 133: AN ACT relating to the fiscal reporting of local entities.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB133-2026RS) - [HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB869-2026RS) - [SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB324-2026RS) - [SB 66: AN ACT relating to the operation of a motor vehicle.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB66-2026RS) - [HB 826: AN ACT relating to education.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB826-2026RS) - [Kentucky bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/kentucky/bills) - [Kentucky state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/kentucky) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB139-2026RS (as of 2026-11-01).