AN ACT relating to legislative ethics.

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AN ACT relating to legislative ethics. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 6.661 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) The co-chairs of the Legislative Research Commission [commission] may employ 4
an executive director and other necessary staff and contract personnel for the 5
Legislative Ethics Commission who shall serve at the pleasure of the co-chairs of 6
the Legislative Research Commission[commission]. 7
(2) The executive director shall [: 8
(a) ]administer the daily business of the Legislative Ethics Commission and 9
perform the duties assigned by the Legislative Ethics Commission[; and 10
(b) Employ and remove other personnel as necessary to carry out the provisions 11
of this code]. 12
(3) The co-chairs of the Legislative Research Commission [commission] shall fix the 13
compensation of staff and contract personnel for the Legislative Ethics 14
Commission[its staff], and the compensation shall be commensurate with that paid 15
to executive branch officials with a similar level of responsibilities. 16
(4) The staff of the Legislative Ethics Commission shall be exempt from the provisions 17
of KRS 18A.005 to 18A.202. 18
(5) A member of the staff or contract personnel of the Legislative Ethics Commission 19
during his or her term of employment shall be subject to removal by the co -chairs 20
of the Legislative Res earch Commission at any time [the provisions of KRS 21
6.651(8)]. 22
Section 2. KRS 6.686 is amended to read as follows: 23
(1) (a) The commission shall have jurisdiction to investigate and proceed as to any 24
violation of this code upon the filing of a complaint. The complaint shall be a 25
written statement alleging a violation against one (1) or more named persons 26
and stating the essential facts constituting the violation charged. The 27
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complaint shall be made under oath and signed by the complaining party 1
before a person who is legally empowered to administer oaths. The 2
commission shall have no jurisdiction in the absence of a complaint. A 3
member of the commission may file a complaint. 4
(b) Within ten (10) days of the filing of a complaint, the commission shall cause a 5
copy of the complaint to be served by certified mail upon the person alleged 6
to have committed the violation. 7
(c) Within twenty (20) days of service of the complaint the person alleged to have 8
committed the violation may f ile an answer with the commission. The filing 9
of an answer is wholly permissive, and no inferences shall be drawn from the 10
failure to file an answer. 11
(d) 1. After the commission receives the answer, or the time expires for the 12
filing of an answer, the commission may dismiss the matter for failure to 13
state a claim of an ethics violation, or otherwise shall determine upon 14
the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members, at either the next 15
regularly scheduled meeting or a teleconference meeting called upon t he 16
chair's oral or written notice to all members of the commission, whether 17
there is reason to believe the person named in the complaint has 18
committed or is about to commit an ethics violation. 19
2. If the commission determines that there is reason to believ e the person 20
named in the complaint has committed or is about to commit a violation 21
of this code, upon an affirmative vote of at least five (5) members, the 22
commission shall initiate a preliminary inquiry into the alleged 23
violations pursuant to subsections (3) to (5) of this section. A 24
determination by the commission under this subparagraph: 25
a. Means that the commission believes that the alleged violation 26
merits further inquiry, and the commission shall proceed with its 27
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inquiry and investigation; and 1
b. Is not a finding that a person named in a complaint has violated 2
this code. 3
3. If the commission fails to determine by an affirmative vote of at least 4
five (5) members that there is reason to believe the respondent has 5
committed or is about to commit a violat ion of this code, the complaint 6
shall be dismissed. 7
(e) Within thirty (30) days of the commencement of the inquiry, the commission 8
shall give notice of the status of the complaint and a general statement of the 9
applicable law to the person alleged to have committed a violation. 10
(f) A complaint may be filed against a former legislator, a former legislative 11
agent, or a former employer of a legislative agent within one (1) year of the 12
date he or she left office or terminated lobbying registration. The one (1) year 13
limitation shall not apply if a complaint alleges a violation of KRS 6.757. 14
(g) The applicable criminal statutes of limitation shall not apply to ethical 15
misconduct under KRS 6.601 to 6.849. 16
(2) All commission proceedings, including the complaint and answer and other records 17
relating to a preliminary inquiry, shall be confidential until a final determination is 18
made by the commission, except: 19
(a) The commission may turn over to the Attorney General, the United States 20
Attorney, Commonwealth's attorney, or county attorney of the jurisdiction in 21
which the offense allegedly occurred, evidence which may be used in criminal 22
proceedings; and 23
(b) If the complainant or alleged violator publicly discloses the existence of a 24
preliminary inquiry, the commission may publicly confirm the existence of 25
the inquiry and, in its discretion, make public any documents which were 26
issued to either party. 27
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(3) The commission shall afford a person who is the subject of a preliminary inquiry an 1
opportunity to appear in response to the allegations in the complaint. The person 2
shall have the right to be represented by counsel, to appear and be heard under oath, 3
and to offer evidence in response to the allegations in the complaint. 4
(4) If the commission determines by the answer or in the preliminary inquiry that the 5
complaint does not allege facts sufficient to constitute a violation of this code, the 6
commission shall immediately terminate the matter and notify in writing the 7
complainant and the person alleged to have committed a viola tion. The commission 8
may confidentially inform the alleged violator of potential violations and provide 9
information to ensure future compliance with the law. If the alleged violator 10
publicly discloses the existence of such action by the commission, the com mission 11
may confirm the existence of the action and, in its discretion, make public any 12
documents that were issued to the alleged violator. 13
(5) If the commission, during the course of the preliminary inquiry, finds probable 14
cause to believe that a violatio n of this code has occurred, the commission shall 15
notify the alleged violator of the finding, and the commission may, upon majority 16
vote: 17
(a) Due to mitigating circumstances such as lack of significant economic 18
advantage or gain by the alleged violator, la ck of significant economic loss to 19
the state, or lack of significant impact on public confidence in government, 20
confidentially reprimand, in writing, the alleged violator for potential 21
violations of the law and provide a copy of the reprimand to the presid ing 22
officer of the house in which the alleged violator serves, or the alleged 23
violator's employer, if the alleged violator is a legislative agent. The 24
proceedings leading to a confidential reprimand and the reprimand itself shall 25
remain confidential except that, if the alleged violator publicly discloses the 26
existence of such an action, the commission may confirm the existence of the 27
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action and, in its discretion, make public any documents which were issued to 1
the alleged violator; or 2
(b) Initiate an adjudi catory proceeding to determine whether there has been a 3
violation. 4
(6) (a) Any person who knowingly files with the commission a false complaint of 5
misconduct on the part of any legislator or other person shall be guilty of a 6
Class A misdemeanor. 7
(b) 1. If the commission determines that a complaint: 8
a. Is frivolous; 9
b. Was filed f or an improper purpose, including but not limited to 10
harassment, embarrassment, or the purpose of influencing or 11
affecting the vote or official action of a legislator; or 12
c. Contains factual allegations which lack any evidentiary support; 13
the commission m ay impose appropriate sanctions on any person 14
responsible for the filing of the complaint. 15
2. Sanctions may include the assessment of a monetary penalty or an 16
order requiring the offending person to pay part or all of the 17
reasonable attorney's fees and oth er costs incurred by the person 18
against whom the complaint was filed. 19
Section 3. Subsection (6)(b) of Section 2 of this Act applies retroactively to 20
January 2, 2026. 21