AN ACT relating to grants for body armor.

UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 333/GA
Page 1 of 5
SB033310.100 - 861 - XXXX 3/13/2026 10:03 AM GA
AN ACT relating to grants for body armor. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 16.220 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) Subject to the duty to return confiscated firearms to innocent owners pursuant to 4
KRS 500.090, all firearms confiscated by the Department of Kentucky State Police 5
and not retained for offic ial use pursuant to KRS 500.090 shall be sold at public 6
auction to: 7
(a) Federally licensed firearms dealers holding a license appropriate for the type 8
of firearm sold; or 9
(b) For a firearm which was used in a homicide, any person who certifies on a 10
form provided by the Department of Kentucky State Police prior to placing a 11
bid that he or she will, upon completion of the auction, leave the firearm with 12
the Department of Kentucky State Police for destruction. A state or local 13
government or agency thereof shal l not purchase a firearm under this 14
paragraph. 15
(2) Any provision of KRS Chapter 45 or 45A relating to disposition of property to the 16
contrary notwithstanding, the Department of Kentucky State Police shall: 17
(a) Conduct any auction specified by this section; 18
(b) Retain for departmental use twenty percent (20 %) of the gross proceeds from 19
any auction specified by this section; 20
(c) Transfer remaining proceeds of the sale to the account of the Kentucky Office 21
of the Attorney General [Homeland Security] for use as provided in 22
subsection (5) of this section; and 23
(d) For any sale pursuant to subsection (1)(b) of this section, destroy the firearm. 24
(3) Prior to the sale of any firearm, the Department of Kentucky State Police shall 25
make an attempt to determine if the firearm to be sold has been stolen or otherwise 26
unlawfully obtained from an innocent owner and return the firearm to its lawful 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 333/GA
Page 2 of 5
SB033310.100 - 861 - XXXX 3/13/2026 10:03 AM GA
innocent owner, unless that person is ineligible to purchase a firearm under federal 1
law. 2
(4) The Department of Kentucky State Police shall receive firearms and ammunition 3
confiscated by or abandoned to every law enforcement agency in Kentucky. The 4
department shall dispose of the firearms received in the manner specified in 5
subsections (1) and (2) of this section. However, firearms which are not retained for 6
official use, returned to an innocent lawful owner, or transferred to another 7
government agency or public museum shall be sold as provided in subsection (1) of 8
this section. 9
(5) (a) The proceeds of firearms sales shall be utilized by the [Kentucky ]Office of 10
the Attorney General[Homeland Security] to provide grants to: 11
1. City, county, charter county, unified local government, urban -county 12
government, and consolidated local government police departments; 13
2. University safety and security departments organized pursuant to KRS 14
164.950; 15
3. School districts that employ special law enforcement officers as defined 16
in KRS 61.900; 17
4. Airport safety and security departments established under KRS 183.880; 18
and 19
5. Sheriff's departments; 20
for the purchase of [: 21
(a) ]body armor for sworn peace off icers of those departments and service 22
animals, as defined in KRS 525.010, of those departments[; 23
(b) Firearms or ammunition; 24
(c) Electronic control devices, electronic control weapons, or electro -muscular 25
disruption technology; and 26
(d) Body-worn cameras]. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 333/GA
Page 3 of 5
SB033310.100 - 861 - XXXX 3/13/2026 10:03 AM GA
(b) [In awarding grants under this section, the Kentucky Office of Homeland 1
Security shall give first priority to providing and replacing body armor and 2
second priority to providing firearms and ammunition, with residual funds 3
available for the purchase o f body-worn cameras, electronic control devices, 4
electronic control weapons, or electro -muscular disruption technology. ] Body 5
armor purchased by the department receiving grant funds shall meet or exceed 6
the standards issued by the National Institute of Justice for body armor. A[No] 7
police or sheriff's department shall not apply for a grant to replace existing 8
body armor unless that body armor has been in actual use for a period of five 9
(5) years or longer. [ Any department applying for grant funds for body -worn 10
cameras shall develop a policy for their use and shall submit that policy with 11
its application for the grant funds to the Office of Homeland Security as part 12
of the application process.] 13
(6) The Department of Kentucky State Police may transfer a machi ne gun, short -14
barreled shotgun, short -barreled rifle, silencer, pistol with a shoulder stock, any 15
other weapon, or destructive device as defined by the National Firearms Act which 16
is subject to registration under the National Firearms Act and is not proper ly 17
registered in the national firearms transfer records for those types of weapons, to the 18
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, [and ] Firearms and Explosives of the United States 19
Department of Justice, after a reasonable attempt has been made to transfer the 20
firearm to an eligible state or local law enforcement agency or to an eligible 21
museum and no eligible recipient will take the firearm or weapon. National 22
Firearms Act firearms and weapons which are properly registered and not returned 23
to an innocent lawful owner or retained for official use as provided in this section 24
shall be sold in accordance with subsection (1) of this section. 25
Section 2. KRS 147A.002 is amended to read as follows: 26
(1) The Department for Local Government sh all be headed by a commissioner and 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 333/GA
Page 4 of 5
SB033310.100 - 861 - XXXX 3/13/2026 10:03 AM GA
shall consist of the: 1
(a) Office of Financial Management and Administration, which shall be headed 2
by an executive director appointed by the commissioner and shall be 3
responsible for duties including but not limited to l ocal government financial 4
assistance; county budget approval; performance of various recordkeeping 5
requirements for the Commonwealth's cities, counties, and special districts; 6
provision of administrative support for the state local debt officer and the state 7
local finance officer; administration of the county officials training incentive 8
program set forth in KRS 64.5275; and provision of financial analysis and 9
guidance related to the internal budgetary processes of the Department for 10
Local Government; 11
(b) Office of Federal Grants, which shall be headed by an executive director 12
appointed by the commissioner and shall be responsible for the administration 13
of all federal grant programs; 14
(c) Office of State Grants, which shall be headed by an executive director 15
appointed by the commissioner and shall be responsible for the administration 16
of all state grant programs, including the Renaissance on Main Program, the 17
area development fund, [ the body armor program set forth in KRS 16.220,] 18
the cemetery fund program, single county coal severance grants, and any state 19
grant programs or individually funded projects awarded by statute or budget; 20
(d) Office of Legal Services, which shall be headed by an executive director 21
appointed by the commissioner and shall be responsible for legal services 22
within the Department for Local Government and for its constituencies around 23
the Commonwealth; and 24
(e) Office of Field Services, which shall be headed by an executive director 25
appointed by the commissioner and shall be responsible for duties including 26
but not limited to staffing regional offices to assist local governments. 27
UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS SB 333/GA
Page 5 of 5
SB033310.100 - 861 - XXXX 3/13/2026 10:03 AM GA
(2) The commissioner, with the approval of the Governor, shall appoint necessary 1
deputies, assistants, attorneys, and other employees and shall fix their compensation 2
and authorize payment of their expenses according to law. 3