AN ACT relating to missing and unidentified persons.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 1 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
AN ACT relating to missing and unidentified persons. 1
WHEREAS, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) is a 2
national centralized repository and resource center for missing, unidentified, and 3
unclaimed person cases across the United States; and 4
WHEREAS, in 2022, the United States Congress passed Billy's Law, which 5
requires local law enforcement agencies to report missing children ca se information to 6
NamUs; and 7
WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Kentucky wishes to align its missing person 8
reporting requirements with Billy's Law by requiring local law enforcement agencies to 9
report information to NamUs; 10
NOW, THEREFORE, 11
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 12
Section 1. KRS 15.440 is amended to read as follows: 13
(1) Each unit of government that meets the following requirements shall be eligible to 14
share in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program 15
fund: 16
(a) Employs one (1) or more police officers; 17
(b) Pays every police officer at least the minimum federal wage; 18
(c) Requires all police officers to have, at a minimum, a high school degree, or its 19
equivalent as determined by the council, except that each police officer 20
employed prior to the date on which t he officer's police department was 21
included as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have 22
met the requirements of this subsection; 23
(d) 1. Requires all police officers to successfully complete a basic training 24
course of nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours' duration within one (1) 25
year of the date of employment at a school certified or recognized by the 26
council, which may provide a different number of hours of instruction as 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 2 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
established in this paragraph, except that each police office r employed 1
prior to the date on which the officer's police department was included 2
as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have 3
met the requirements of this subsection. 4
2. As the exclusive method by which the number of hours required for 5
basic training courses shall be modified from that which is specifically 6
established by this paragraph, the council may, by the promulgation of 7
administrative regulations in accordance with [ the provisions of] KRS 8
Chapter 13A, explicitly set the exact number of hours for basic training 9
at a number different from nine hundred twenty -eight (928) hours based 10
upon a training curriculum approved by the Kentucky Law Enforcement 11
Council as determined by a validated job task analysis. 12
3. If the council sets an exact number of hours different from nine hundred 13
twenty-eight (928) in an administrative regulation as provided by this 14
paragraph, it shall not further change the number of hours required for 15
basic training without promulgating administrative regulations in 16
accordance with[ the provisions of] KRS Chapter 13A. 17
4. [Nothing in ] This paragraph shall not be interpreted to prevent the 18
council, pursuant to its authority under KRS 15.330, from approving 19
training schools with a curriculum requiring attendance of a number of 20
hours that exceeds nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours or the number 21
of hours established in an administrative regulation as provided by 22
subparagraphs 2. and 3. of this paragraph. However, the training 23
programs and schools for the basic traini ng of law enforcement 24
personnel conducted by the department pursuant to KRS 15A.070 shall 25
not contain a curriculum that requires attendance of a number of hours 26
for basic training that is different from nine hundred twenty -eight (928) 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 3 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
hours or the number o f hours established in an administrative regulation 1
promulgated by the council in accordance with [pursuant to the 2
provisions of] KRS Chapter 13A as provided by subparagraphs 2. and 3. 3
of this paragraph. 4
5. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4 . of this paragraph 5
to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the 6
promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS 7
Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: 8
a. Years of service credit as a law enforcement officer with previous 9
service in another state; and 10
b. Basic training completed in another state. 11
6. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph 12
to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the 13
promulgation of administrative regu lations in accordance with KRS 14
Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: 15
a. Completion of eight hundred forty -eight (848) hours of training at 16
a school established pursuant to KRS 15A.070; 17
b. A minimum of fifteen (15) years of experience as a certifi ed law 18
enforcement instructor at a school established pursuant to KRS 19
15A.070; 20
c. Completion of an average of forty (40) hours of Kentucky Law 21
Enforcement Council approved in -service training annually from 22
January 1, 1997, through January 1, 2020; 23
d. Three (3) years of active, full-time service as a: 24
i. City, county, urban -county, charter county, consolidated 25
local, or unified local government police officer; 26
ii. Sheriff's deputy, excluding special deputies appointed under 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 4 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
KRS 70.045; 1
iii. Department of Kentucky State Police officer; or 2
iv. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources game 3
warden exercising peace officer powers under KRS 150.090; 4
and 5
e. Completion of the: 6
i. Twenty-four (24) hour legal update Penal Code course; 7
ii. Sixteen (16) hour l egal update constitutional procedure 8
course; and 9
iii. Forty (40) hour basic officer skills course within one (1) year 10
prior to applying for certification; 11
(e) Requires all police officers to successfully complete each calendar year an in -12
service training course, appropriate to the officer's rank and responsibility and 13
the size and location of the officer's police department, of forty (40) hours' 14
duration, at a school certified or recognized by the council which may include 15
a four (4) hour course which meets the requirements of paragraph [(j)] of this 16
subsection. This in-service training requirement shall be waived for the period 17
of time that a peace officer is serving on active duty in the United States 18
Armed Forces. This waiver shall be retroactive for peac e officers from the 19
date of September 11, 2001; 20
(f) Complies with all provisions of law applicable to police officers or police 21
departments, including transmission of data to the centralized criminal history 22
record information system as required by KRS 17. 150 and transmission of 23
reports as required by KRS 15.391; 24
(g) Complies with all rules and regulations, appropriate to the size and location of 25
the police department issued by the cabinet to facilitate the administration of 26
the fund and further the purposes of KRS 15.410 to 15.510; 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 5 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
(h) Possesses a written policy and procedures manual related to domestic violence 1
for law enforcement agencies that has been approved by the cabinet. The 2
policy shall comply with the provisions of KRS 403.715 to 403.785. The 3
policy shall include: 4
1. A purpose statement; 5
2. Definitions; 6
3. Supervisory responsibilities; 7
4. Procedures for twenty-four (24) hour access to protective orders; 8
5. Procedures for enforcement of court orders or relief when protective 9
orders are violated; 10
6. Procedures for timely and contemporaneous reporting of adult abuse and 11
domestic violence to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, 12
Department for Community Based Services; victim rights, assistance, 13
and service responsibilities; and 14
7. Duties related to timely completion of records; 15
(i) Possesses by January 1, 20 23, a written policy and procedures manual related 16
to sexual assault examinations that meets the standards provided by, and has 17
been approved by, the cabinet, and which includes: 18
1. A requirement that evidence collected as a result of an examination 19
performed under KRS 216B.400 be taken into custody within five (5) 20
days of notice from the collecting facility that the evidence is available 21
for retrieval; 22
2. A requirement that evidence received from a collecting facility relating 23
to an incident which occurred outside the jurisdiction of the police 24
department be transmitted to a police department with jurisdiction 25
within ten (10) days of its receipt by the police department; 26
3. A requirement that all evidence retrieved from a collecting facility under 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 6 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
this para graph be transmitted to the Department of Kentucky State 1
Police forensic laboratory within thirty (30) days of its receipt by the 2
police department; 3
4. A requirement that a suspect standard, if available, be transmitted to the 4
Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory with the 5
evidence received from a collecting facility; 6
5. A process for notifying the victim from whom the evidence was 7
collected of the progress of the testing, whether the testing resulted in a 8
match to other DNA samples, and if the evidence is to be destroyed. The 9
policy may include provisions for delaying notice until a suspect is 10
apprehended or the office of the Commonwealth's attorney consents to 11
the notification, but shall not automatically require the disclosure of the 12
identity of any person to whom the evidence matched; and 13
6. A requirement that DNA samples collected as a result of an examination 14
performed under KRS 216B.400 that are voluntarily submitted solely for 15
elimination purposes shall not be checked against any DN A index, 16
retained, or included in any DNA index;[ and] 17
(j) Requires all police officers to successfully complete by December 31, 2022, 18
and every two (2) years thereafter, a training course certified by the council of 19
not less than four (4) hours in emergency vehicle operation; and 20
(k) Possesses a written policy and procedures manual related to submission of 21
information to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, 22
known as NamUs. The policy shall require the local police department to 23
enter missing and unidentified persons case information into NamUs after 24
it has been entered into the National Crime Information Center or NCIC. 25
The manual shall not relieve the local police department from other duties 26
relating to missing persons and shall be in add ition to those duties. The 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 7 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
information shall be entered into NamUs according to the following 1
criteria: 2
1. Within seventy-two (72) hours of entry into NCIC: 3
a. When there is reasonable indication or suspicion that a person 4
under twenty -one (21) years of ag e has been abducted or is 5
missing under circumstances suggesting foul play or a threat to 6
life as indicated by an NCIC Missing Person code of Child 7
Abduction; or 8
b. When an AMBER Alert has been activated as indicated by an 9
NCIC Missing Person code of AMBER Alert; 10
2. Within thirty (30) days of entry into NCIC: 11
a. When a missing person alert other than an AMBER Alert has 12
been activated; 13
b. For a person of any age who is missing under circumstances 14
indicating that his or her physical safety may be in danger as 15
indicated by an NCIC Message Key of Endangered; or 16
c. For a person of any age who is missing under circumstances 17
indicating that the disappearance may not have been voluntary 18
as indicated by an NCIC Message Key of Involuntary; and 19
3. Within sixty (60) day s of entry into NCIC for all other active, 20
noncanceled missing person cases and unidentified person cases that 21
do not meet the criteria set forth in subparagraphs 1. and 2. of this 22
paragraph. 23
(2) A unit of government which meets the criteria of this sectio n shall be eligible to 24
continue sharing in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation 25
Program fund only if the police department of the unit of government remains in 26
compliance with the requirements of this section. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 159/GA
Page 8 of 8
SB015910.100 - 179 - XXXX 2/18/2026 2:39 PM GA
(3) Deputies employed by a sheriff's office shall be eligible to participate in the 1
distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund 2
regardless of participation by the sheriff. 3
(4) Failure to meet a deadline established in a policy adopte d pursuant to subsection 4
(1)(i) of this section for the retrieval or submission of evidence shall not be a basis 5
for a dismissal of a criminal action or a bar to the admissibility of the evidence in a 6
criminal action. 7