# Kentucky HB 657: AN ACT relating to professional licensing background checks. Kentucky HB 657, AN ACT relating to professional licensing background checks., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Stephanie Dietz (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-27 (signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 6)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB657-2026RS - 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 657 - State: Kentucky - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT relating to professional licensing background checks. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-18 - Last action: 2026-03-27, signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 6) - Sponsor: Stephanie Dietz (Republican) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Background Checks, Boards And Commissions, Compacts, Interstate, Occupations And Professions, Police, State - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (127 yes, 1 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Privacy and fee limits on background checks: benefit, low. Boards cannot share your background check results. You can ask for your own copy. Boards may use sealed results in court for disciplinary cases. Fees from the state police or FBI cannot be more than actual processing cost. - Fingerprint checks for licenses and compacts: cost, low. You must pass Kentucky and FBI background checks to get a new license, reinstate one, or seek compact privileges. This applies to psychology, occupational therapy, audiology and speech, social work, and counseling. You must give legible fingerprints to the Kentucky State Police. The state runs a ch… - No renewal checks; complaint checks allowed: mixed, low. Boards cannot require a background check only to renew a license, unless another law requires it. If you are the subject of a complaint or grievance, the board may require a check while it investigates. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Stephanie Dietz (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-24 | Senate | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 36 | 1 | | | 2026-03-06 | House | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 91 | 0 | | ## Actions (19) - 2026-03-27: signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 6) - 2026-03-24: delivered to Governor - 2026-03-24: enrolled, signed by President of the Senate (House) - 2026-03-24: enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House (House) - 2026-03-24: received in House (House) - 2026-03-24: 3rd reading, passed 36-1 (Senate) - 2026-03-20: posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 24 2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-18: 2nd reading, to Rules (Senate) - 2026-03-17: reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-13: to Licensing & Occupations (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: to Committee on Committees (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-09: received in Senate (Senate) - 2026-03-06: 3rd reading, passed 91-0 (House) - 2026-03-05: posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, March 06 2026 (House) - 2026-03-05: 2nd reading, to Rules (House) - 2026-03-04: reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar (House) - 2026-02-25: to Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H) (House) - 2026-02-18: to Committee on Committees (H) (House) - 2026-02-18: introduced in House (House) ## Bill text - Current, 2026-03-06: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb657/bill.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-03-06: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb657/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related bills - HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency. (signed) - 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 826: AN ACT relating to education. (signed) - HB 727: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency. (signed) - SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry. (signed) ## Sources - [Current (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb657/bill.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb657/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related - [HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB869-2026RS) - [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 826: AN ACT relating to education.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB826-2026RS) - [HB 727: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB727-2026RS) - [SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB324-2026RS) - [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-HB657-2026RS (as of 2026-11-01).