Read the full stored bill text
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 1 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to public transportation, making an appropriation therefor, and 1
declaring an emergency. 2
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 3
Section 1. KRS 96A.096 is amended to read as follows: 4
(1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the ["]Kentucky 5
public transportation development fund.["] 6
(2) The fund shall be administered by the Transportation Cabinet. 7
(3) All moneys deposited [ or paid] into the[this] fund are appropriated and shall be 8
available to the Transportation Cabinet for the purposes of KRS 96A.095 and[. All 9
moneys in this fund] shall be expended for public transportation capital and 10
operating subsidies, public transportation development, or administrative costs 11
incidental to these developments. 12
(4) The fund shall consist of: 13
(a) Moneys[ all money] appropriated by the state; 14
(b) Moneys[ and all money] received from the United States or from any other 15
source for the purpose of providing public transportation capital and operating 16
subsidies and public transportation development funds; and 17
(c) Voluntary contributions made by Kentucky employers, which shall not 18
exceed five -hundredths of one percent (0.05%) of the employer's total 19
payroll. 20
(5) All moneys in the [ Kentucky public transportation development] fund shall be 21
deposited, adm inistered, and dispersed in the same manner and under the same 22
conditions and requirements as are provided by law for other special funds in the 23
State Treasury, except that: 24
(a) Moneys in the fund received through voluntary contributions specified in 25
subsection (4)(c) of this section shall be used for providing public transit for 26
workforce mobility needs; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 2 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
(b) Moneys distributed to public transit systems from the fund shall be allocated 1
based on the following percentages: 2
1. Thirty-five percent (35%) of the total amount distributed shall go to 3
each eligible public transit system as a guaranteed minimum base 4
amount; 5
2. Thirty-five percent (35%) of the total amount distributed shall be 6
based on the needs of the public transit systems, which shall be 7
weighted by unlinked passenger trips, service hours, and the number 8
of low-income or no-vehicle households served; 9
3. Twenty percent (20%) of the total amount distributed shall be based on 10
rural equity; and 11
4. Ten percent (10%) of the total amount distributed shall b e based on 12
performance using prior -year metrics that include cost efficiency, on -13
time performance, ridership recovery, and safety; and 14
(c) Any balance in this fund shall not lapse at any time but shall be continuously 15
available to the Transportation Cabinet for the purposes of carrying out the 16
provisions of KRS 96A.095. 17
(6) A general statement that all continuing appropriations are repealed shall not be 18
construed as abolishing this fund. 19
(7) Each public transit system that receives moneys from this fund sha ll provide an 20
annual report on the use of the moneys to the Transportation Cabinet on or 21
before October 1 of each year. 22
(8) The Transportation Cabinet shall provide an annual report on or before 23
December 1 to the Legislative Research Commission for referra l to the Interim 24
Joint Committees on Appropriations and Revenue and Transportation. The 25
report shall include the following information for the previous fiscal year: 26
(a) The total moneys deposited in the fund; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 3 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
(b) The total moneys distributed to each public transit system; 1
(c) An explanation of the methods used to determine the amount of funds 2
distributed to each public transit system based on the allocation 3
requirements under subsection (5)(b) of this section; and 4
(d) The use of the moneys received by each public transit system. 5
SECTION 2. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 141 IS CREATED TO 6
READ AS FOLLOWS: 7
(1) As used in this section: 8
(a) "Kentucky public transportation development fund" means the fund 9
established in Section 1 of this Act; 10
(b) "Public transportation contribution" means the: 11
1. Amounts of moneys contributed to the Kentucky public transportation 12
development fund; or 13
2. Monetary value of transit authority passes, vouchers, tickets or any 14
other form of fare that pr ovides for transfer on transit authority 15
vehicles utilized by employees of the employer making the contribution 16
in commuting to and from their place of employment; and 17
(c) "Transit authority" means a transit authority established in accordance 18
with KRS 96A.020. 19
(2) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, but before January 1, 20
2031, there is hereby established the nonrefundable, nontransferable public 21
transportation contribution credit allowed against the tax imposed in KRS 22
141.020 or 141.04 0 and 141.0401 with the ordering of the credit as provided in 23
Section 3 of this Act. 24
(3) The credit shall: 25
(a) Equal the public transportation contribution made by an employer in this 26
state to promote the utilization of transit authority transportation by its 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 4 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
employees; and 1
(b) Not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total amount of the public 2
transportation contribution made for the taxable year by the employer. 3
(4) (a) By November 1 of each year in which a public transportation contribution 4
credit is claimed, the department shall report to the Legislative Research 5
Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committ ee on Appropriations 6
and Revenue: 7
1. The number of taxpayers, by county that claimed the credit for each 8
taxable year; 9
2. The total amount of credit, by county claimed for each taxable year; 10
and 11
3. a. In the case of taxpayers other than corporations, based on 12
ranges of adjusted gross income of no larger than five thousand 13
dollars ($5,000) for the taxable year, the total amount of credit 14
claimed and the total number of returns claiming this credit for 15
each adjusted gross income range; and 16
b. In the case of c orporations, based on net income of no larger 17
than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the taxable year, the 18
total amount of credit claimed and the total number of returns 19
claiming this credit for each net income range. 20
(b) The information required to be reported under this section shall not be 21
considered confidential taxpayer information and shall not be subject to KRS 22
Chapter 131 or any other provisions of the Kentucky Revised Statutes prohibiting 23
disclosure or reporting of information. 24
Section 3. KRS 141.0205 is amended to read as follows: 25
If a taxpayer is entitled to more than one (1) of the tax credits allowed against the tax 26
imposed by KRS 141.020, 141.040, and 141.0401, the priority of application and use of 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 5 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
the credits shall be determined as follows: 1
(1) The nonrefundable business incentive credits against the tax imposed by KRS 2
141.020 shall be taken in the following order: 3
(a) The limited liability entity tax credit permitted by KRS 141.0401; 4
(b) The economic dev elopment credits computed under KRS 141.347, 141.381, 5
141.384, 141.3841, 141.400, 141.403, 141.407, 141.415, 154.12 -207, and 6
154.12-2088; 7
(c) The qualified farming operation credit permitted by KRS 141.412; 8
(d) The certified rehabilitation credit permitted by KRS 171.397(1)(a); 9
(e) The health insurance credit permitted by KRS 141.062; 10
(f) The tax paid to other states credit permitted by KRS 141.070; 11
(g) The credit for hiring the unemployed permitted by KRS 141.065; 12
(h) The recycling or composting equipment credit permitted by KRS 141.390; 13
(i) The [tax ]credit for cash contributions in investment funds permitted by KRS 14
154.20-263 in effect prior to July 15, 2002, and the credit permitted by KRS 15
154.20-258; 16
(j) The research facilities credit permitted by KRS 141.395; 17
(k) The employer High School Equivalency Diploma program incentive credit 18
permitted under KRS 151B.402; 19
(l) The voluntary environmental remediation credit permitted by KRS 141.418; 20
(m) The biodiesel and renewable diesel credit permitted by KRS 141.423; 21
(n) The clean coal incentive credit permitted by KRS 141.428; 22
(o) The ethanol credit permitted by KRS 141.4242; 23
(p) The cellulosic ethanol credit permitted by KRS 141.4244; 24
(q) The energy efficiency credits permitted by KRS 141.436; 25
(r) The railroad maintenance and improvement credit permitted by KRS 141.385; 26
(s) The Endow Kentucky credit permitted by KRS 141.438; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 6 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
(t) The New Markets Development Program credit permitted by KRS 141.434; 1
(u) The distilled spirits credit permitted by KRS 141.389; 2
(v) The angel investor credit permitted by KRS 141.396; 3
(w) The film industry credit permitted by KRS 141.383 for applicatio ns approved 4
on or after April 27, 2018, but before January 1, 2022; 5
(x) The inventory credit permitted by KRS 141.408; 6
(y) The renewable chemical production credit permitted by KRS 141.4231;[ and] 7
(z) The qualified broadband investment [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 141.391; 8
and 9
(aa) The public transportation contribution credit permitted by Section 2 of this 10
Act; 11
(2) After the application of the nonrefundable credits in subsection (1) of this section, 12
the nonrefundable personal tax credits against the tax imposed by KRS 141.020 13
shall be taken in the following order: 14
(a) The individual credits permitted by KRS 141.020(3); 15
(b) The credit permitted by KRS 141.066; 16
(c) The tuition credit permitted by KRS 141.069; 17
(d) The household and dependent care credit permitted by KRS 141.067; 18
(e) The income gap credit permitted by KRS 141.066; and 19
(f) The Education Opportunity Account Program [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 20
141.522; 21
(3) After the application of the nonrefundable credits provided for in subsection (2) of 22
this section, the refundable credits against the tax imposed by KRS 141.020 shall be 23
taken in the following order: 24
(a) The individual withholding tax credit permitted by KRS 141.350; 25
(b) The individual estimated tax payment credit permitted by KRS 141.305; 26
(c) The certified rehabilitation credit permitted by KRS 171.3961, 171.3963, and 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 7 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
171.397(1)(b); 1
(d) The film industry [tax ] credit permitted by KRS 141.383 for applications 2
approved prior to April 27, 2018, or on or after January 1, 2022; 3
(e) The development area [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 141.398; 4
(f) The decontamination [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 141.419; and 5
(g) The pass-through entity tax credit permitted by KRS 141.209; 6
(4) The nonrefundable credit permitted by KRS 141.0401 shall be applied against the 7
tax imposed by KRS 141.040; 8
(5) The following nonrefundable credits shall be applied against the sum of the tax 9
imposed by KRS 141.040 after subtracting the credit provided for in subsection (4) 10
of this section, and the tax imposed by KRS 141.0401 in the following order: 11
(a) The economic development credits computed under KRS 141.347, 141.381, 12
141.384, 141.3841, 141.400, 141.403, 141.407, 141.415, 154.12 -207, and 13
154.12-2088; 14
(b) The qualified farming operation credit permitted by KRS 141.412; 15
(c) The certified rehabilitation credit permitted by KRS 171.397(1)(a); 16
(d) The health insurance credit permitted by KRS 141.062; 17
(e) The unemployment credit permitted by KRS 141.065; 18
(f) The recycling or composting equipment credit permitted by KRS 141.390; 19
(g) The coal conversion credit permitted by KRS 141.041; 20
(h) The enterprise zone credit permitted by KR S 154.45-090, for taxable periods 21
ending prior to January 1, 2008; 22
(i) The [tax ]credit for cash contributions to investment funds permitted by KRS 23
154.20-263 in effect prior to July 15, 2002, and the credit permitted by KRS 24
154.20-258; 25
(j) The research facilities credit permitted by KRS 141.395; 26
(k) The employer High School Equivalency Diploma program incentive credit 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 8 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
permitted by KRS 151B.402; 1
(l) The voluntary environmental remediation credit permitted by KRS 141.418; 2
(m) The biodiesel and renewable diesel credit permitted by KRS 141.423; 3
(n) The clean coal incentive credit permitted by KRS 141.428; 4
(o) The ethanol credit permitted by KRS 141.4242; 5
(p) The cellulosic ethanol credit permitted by KRS 141.4244; 6
(q) The energy efficiency credits permitted by KRS 141.436; 7
(r) The ENERGY STAR home or ENERGY STAR manufactured home credit 8
permitted by KRS 141.437; 9
(s) The railroad maintenance and improvement credit permitted by KRS 141.385; 10
(t) The railroad expansion credit permitted by KRS 141.386; 11
(u) The Endow Kentucky credit permitted by KRS 141.438; 12
(v) The New Markets Development Program credit permitted by KRS 141.434; 13
(w) The distilled spirits credit permitted by KRS 141.389; 14
(x) The film industry credit permitted by KRS 141.383 for applications approved 15
on or after April 27, 2018, but before January 1, 2022; 16
(y) The inventory credit permitted by KRS 141.408; 17
(z) The renewable chemical production [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 141.4231; 18
(aa) The Education Opportunity Account Program [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 19
141.522;[ and] 20
(ab) The qualified broadband investment [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 141.391; 21
and 22
(ac) The public transportation contribution credit permitted by Section 2 of this 23
Act; and 24
(6) After the application of the nonrefundable credits in subsection (5) of this section, 25
the refundable credits shall be taken in the following order: 26
(a) The corporation estimated tax payment credit permitted by KRS 141.044; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 9 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
(b) The certified rehabilitation credit permitted by KRS 171.3961, 171.3963, and 1
171.397(1)(b); 2
(c) The film industry tax credit permitted by KRS 141.383 for applications 3
approved prior to April 27, 2018, or on or after January 1, 2022; 4
(d) The decontamination [tax ]credit permitted by KRS 141.419; and 5
(e) The pass-through entity tax credit permitted by KRS 141.209. 6
Section 4. KRS 131.190 is amended to read as follows: 7
(1) No present or former commissioner or employee of the departmen t, present or 8
former member of a county board of assessment appeals, present or former property 9
valuation administrator or employee, present or former secretary or employee of the 10
Finance and Administration Cabinet, former secretary or employee of the Reve nue 11
Cabinet, or any other person, shall intentionally and without authorization inspect 12
or divulge any information acquired by him or her of the affairs of any person, or 13
information regarding the tax schedules, returns, or reports required to be filed wit h 14
the department or other proper officer, or any information produced by a hearing or 15
investigation, insofar as the information may have to do with the affairs of the 16
person's business. 17
(2) The prohibition established by subsection (1) of this section shall not extend to: 18
(a) Information required in prosecutions for making false reports or returns of 19
property for taxation, or any other infraction of the tax laws; 20
(b) Any matter properly entered upon any assessment record, or in any way made 21
a matter of public record; 22
(c) Furnishing any taxpayer or his or her properly authorized agent with 23
information respecting his or her own return; 24
(d) Testimony provided by the commissioner or any employee of the department 25
in any court, or the introduction as evidence of returns or reports filed with the 26
department, in an action for violation of state or federal tax laws or in any 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 10 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
action challenging state or federal tax laws; 1
(e) Providing an owner of unmined coal, oil or gas reserves, and other mineral or 2
energy resources assessed under KRS 132.820, or owners of surface land 3
under which the unmined minerals lie, factual information about the owner's 4
property derived from third-party returns filed for that owner's property, under 5
the provisions of KRS 132.820, that is used to determine the owner's 6
assessment. This information shall be provided to the owner on a confidential 7
basis, and the owner shall be subject to the penalties provided in KRS 8
131.990(2). The third -party filer shall be given prior notice of any disclosure 9
of information to the owner that was provided by the third-party filer; 10
(f) Providing to a third -party purchaser pursuant to an order entered in a 11
foreclosure action filed in a court of competent jurisdiction, factual 12
information related to the owner or less ee of coal, oil, gas reserves, or any 13
other mineral resources assessed under KRS 132.820. The department may 14
promulgate an administrative regulation establishing a fee schedule for the 15
provision of the information described in this paragraph. Any fee impos ed 16
shall not exceed the greater of the actual cost of providing the information or 17
ten dollars ($10); 18
(g) Providing information to a licensing agency, the Transportation Cabinet, or 19
the Kentucky Supreme Court under KRS 131.1817; 20
(h) Statistics of gasoline and special fuels gallonage reported to the department 21
under KRS 138.210 to 138.448; 22
(i) Providing any utility gross receipts license tax return information that is 23
necessary to administer the provisions of KRS 160.613 to 160.617 to 24
applicable school districts on a confidential basis; 25
(j) Providing documents, data, or other information to a third party pursuant to an 26
order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 11 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
(k) Publishing administrative writings on its official website in accordance with 1
KRS 131.020(1)(b); or 2
(l) Providing information to the Legislative Research Commission under: 3
1. KRS 139.519 for purposes of the sales and use tax refund on building 4
materials used for disaster recovery; 5
2. KRS 141.436 for purposes of the energy efficiency products credits; 6
3. KRS 141.437 for purposes of the ENERGY STAR home and the 7
ENERGY STAR manufactured home credits; 8
4. KRS 141.383 for purposes of the film industry incentives; 9
5. KRS 154.26-095 for purposes of the Kentucky industrial revitalization 10
credit and the job assessment fees; 11
6. KRS 141.068 for purposes of the Kentucky investment fund; 12
7. KRS 141.396 for purposes of the angel investor credit; 13
8. KRS 141.389 for purposes of the distilled spirits credit; 14
9. KRS 141.408 for purposes of the inventory credit; 15
10. KRS 141.390 for purposes of the recycling and composting credits; 16
11. KRS 141.3841 for purposes of the selling farmer credit; 17
12. KRS 141.4231 for purposes of the renewable chemical production 18
credit; 19
13. KRS 141.524 for purposes of the Education Opportunity Account 20
Program credit; 21
14. KRS 141.398 for purposes of the development area credit; 22
15. KRS 139.516 for purposes of the sales and use tax exemptions for the 23
commercial mining of cryptocurrency; 24
16. KRS 141.419 for purposes of the decontamination credit; 25
17. KRS 141.391 for purposes of the qualified broadband investment credit; 26
18. KRS 139.499 for purposes of the sales and use tax exemptions for a 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 12 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
qualified data center project;[ and] 1
19. KRS 139.5325 for purposes of the sales and use tax incentive for a 2
qualifying attraction; and 3
20. Section 2 of this Act for purposes of the public tran sportation 4
contribution credit. 5
(3) The commissioner shall make available any information for official use only and on 6
a confidential basis to the proper officer, agency, board or commission of this state, 7
any Kentucky county, any Kentucky city, any other state, or the federal 8
government, under reciprocal agreements whereby the department shall receive 9
similar or useful information in return. 10
(4) Access to and inspection of information received from the Internal Revenue Service 11
is for department use only, a nd is restricted to tax administration purposes. 12
Information received from the Internal Revenue Service shall not be made available 13
to any other agency of state government, or any county, city, or other state, and 14
shall not be inspected intentionally and w ithout authorization by any present 15
secretary or employee of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, commissioner or 16
employee of the department, or any other person. 17
(5) Statistics of crude oil as reported to the department under the crude oil excise tax 18
requirements of KRS Chapter 137 and statistics of natural gas production as 19
reported to the department under the natural resources severance tax requirements 20
of KRS Chapter 143A may be made public by the department by release to the 21
Energy and Environment Cabinet, Department for Natural Resources. 22
(6) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, beginning with mine -map 23
submissions for the 1989 tax year, the department may make public or divulge only 24
those portions of mine maps submitted by taxpayers to the department pursuant to 25
KRS Chapter 132 for ad valorem tax purposes that depict the boundaries of mined -26
out parcel areas. These electronic maps shall not be relied upon to determine actual 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 858
Page 13 of 13
XXXX 3/3/2026 11:17 AM Jacketed
boundaries of mined-out parcel areas. Property boundaries co ntained in mine maps 1
required under KRS Chapters 350 and 352 shall not be construed to constitute land 2
surveying or boundary surveys as defined by KRS 322.010 and any administrative 3
regulations promulgated thereto. 4
Section 5. There is hereby appropriated General Fund moneys in the amount of 5
$30,000,000 in each fiscal year of the 2026 -2028 fiscal biennium to the Kentucky Public 6
Transportation Development Fund established under Section 1 of this Act. 7
Section 6. Whereas public transportation provides environmental, economic, 8
and social equity domain benefits for communities in the Commonwealth, an emergency 9
is declared to exist, and this Act takes effect upon its passage and approval by the 10
Governor or upon its otherwise becoming a law. 11