KentuckySB 392026 Regular SessionSenateWALLET

AN ACT relating to fish and wildlife and declaring an emergency.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

11 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 7 mixed.

Up to $10,000 fine for illegal bass

Stocking or intentionally releasing F1 largemouth bass or Florida bass into public waters is illegal. If you do this, you can be fined up to $10,000 for each offense, on top of other penalties.

License and training breaks for kids and military

If you are under 16, you can fish without a sport fishing license. If you are under 12, you do not need a sport hunting or sport trapping license. Residents and nonresidents may attend or take part in department‑approved field trials or trainings without a hunting or guide license when no game is taken. A resident servicemember on furlough for more than three days in Kentucky can hunt and fish without sport licenses while carrying ID and furlough papers. Servicemembers based in Kentucky can hunt and fish on Commonwealth military property without sport licenses. Active‑duty members, veterans discharged other than dishonorably, and certified peace officers are exempt from the live‑fire part of the hunter education course.

Wakeboat use stays open on allowed waters

The Department cannot ban or limit wakeboats or wakesports on waters where they were allowed on December 1, 2025. The Department also cannot set special wakeboat zones or require fixed distances from shorelines, docks, or harbors. This keeps current access in place for wakeboat users.

Permits to stock public waters

You must get a permit from the commissioner before stocking any fish into public lakes, rivers, or streams. Stocking or releasing F1 largemouth or Florida bass into public waters is banned. The Department can allow these fish only in lakes it owns under its rules.

Farm owners get hunting rights and duties

A resident bona fide farm owner, the owner’s spouse or dependent children, and tenants who live on the farm may hunt (not trap) and fish there during open seasons without sport licenses. Landowners, their households, tenants, or a commissioner‑approved designee may kill or trap wildlife that is damaging their land or property without a license and even outside open season. You must report the kill to a game warden within 24 hours. If you transport the carcass, you must contact the Department to get a disposal tag or other authorization, and inedible parts must be destroyed or left afield.

Hunting gear and night rules updated

The law lists allowed ways to take wildlife, including trapping, snaring, gig, crossbow, bow, hook‑and‑line, nets, gun, dogs, and falconry. Shotguns must be 10‑gauge or smaller, fired from the shoulder, and limited to three shells at once unless rules allow more for certain hunts. Shooting wildlife from vehicles or across public roads is banned. Night taking is generally banned, but opossum, raccoon, fishes, beaver, and frogs are allowed at night. Coyotes and bobcats may be taken at night with night‑vision, thermal, or infrared tools as set by regulation. The Department must issue night beaver hunting rules within 90 days after the law takes effect.

More freedom for private pond owners

The law defines a private lake or pond as not connected to public waters, not reachable by fish from public waters, and not in the 100‑year floodplain. If your pond meets this test, state creel, size, possession, and method rules do not apply there. You may stock your pond without state stocking permits, including F1 largemouth or Florida bass, and you may let licensed anglers fish there with your written or electronic permission listing your address and phone. If someone moves live fish with your permission, they must carry that permission and it must name the species, amounts, and your contact info. These special pond rules do not apply to ponds in the 100‑year floodplain. You cannot claim private‑pond rights as a defense when you break rules on public waters.

Clearer rules for Commission seats and logos

At district nomination meetings, each sportsman or sportswoman may vote for one person, and the top five names go to the Governor. The Governor must appoint a successor by January 20 of the year after a term ends. For mid‑term vacancies, the Governor must pick from the remaining district list, and the person cannot serve until the Senate confirms. Commission members may not place official department logos with the state seal on personal vehicles; regular bumper stickers that do not mark a car as state‑owned are allowed.

Fish and Wildlife leadership and hiring changes

The commission has nine members, one per district, with no more than five from the same party. The Governor appoints members with Senate confirmation to terms ending December 31 of the fourth year; members can serve no more than two full terms and cannot serve with a felony record. When a term will end, the commissioner must call a district meeting at least 30 days before; sportsmen and sportswomen pick five nominees who are residents and citizens, experienced (hunter, angler, trapper, or biologist), have held Kentucky hunting and fishing licenses for the past five years, and know conservation. A sportsman or sportswoman is a resident hunter or fisherman licensed in Kentucky for each of the past two years. Members must elect a chair yearly after the regular session ends, complete three hours of ethics training within a year of appointment and three hours each year after, execute a $1,000 bond (department pays the premium), and may be reimbursed for actual travel and official expenses. The commission is the sole contracting body; for commissioner vacancies after enactment, it must run a national search. The commission sets the commissioner’s pay, the commissioner must execute a $5,000 bond (department pays the premium), and may hire grant‑funded, time‑limited staff who do not count toward permanent caps. The Department’s main office is in Franklin County. Current commission members finish their terms. The law takes effect immediately.

New rules for Fish and Wildlife Commissioner

The Commission now appoints the Fish and Wildlife Commissioner. The Commissioner must have 10 years of active hunting or fishing and 10 straight years holding a hunting or fishing license, and not have served in the Department or General Assembly in the prior two years. The Commissioner serves on a contract up to four years, gets a yearly closed‑session review, can be removed for cause, and may be reappointed. The Commissioner is the sole hiring authority for the Department, runs operations, enforces wildlife laws, and files a yearly money report with the Secretary of State.

Wake boat and wakesports terms defined

The law defines key terms for wake activities. A hydrofoil is a board with a mast and wings or strut. A wakeboat is a motorboat with ballast systems or designs that make a bigger wake. Wakesports means riding a board or similar device on a wake.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Sponsor

Gary Boswell
Republican • Senate

Cosponsors

Craig Richardson
Republican • Senate
Donald Douglas
Republican • Senate
Greg Elkins
Republican • Senate
Jared Carpenter
Republican • Senate
Jimmy Higdon
Republican • Senate
Jason Howell
Republican • Senate
Lindsey Tichenor
Republican • Senate
Matthew Deneen
Republican • Senate
Matt Nunn
Republican • Senate
Mike Wilson
Republican • Senate
Phillip Wheeler
Republican • Senate
Rick Girdler
Republican • Senate
Robby Mills
Republican • Senate
Stephen Meredith
Republican • Senate
Steve Rawlings
Republican • Senate
Stephen West
Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 157 • No: 8

Senate vote • 3/31/2026

passed

Yes: 38 • No: 0

House vote • 3/27/2026

3rd reading, passed

Yes: 90 • No: 0

Senate vote • 2/20/2026