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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky adds state forensics lab personnel to retirement system hazardous duty coverage
Last action · January 15, 2026: to State Government (H)Sponsor: A. Tackett Laferty
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky expands hazardous duty retirement coverage in the state employees retirement system to include state forensics lab workers who handle chemicals, narcotics, and biohazards, while setting employee contribution rates at 8 percent of pay.
Forensics lab employees gain access to hazardous duty retirement benefits and contribution structures, altering their retirement eligibility and employer funding requirements.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Kentucky State Police forensics lab employees
Forensics lab employees are added to the definition of hazardous positions, requiring them to contribute 8 percent of creditable compensation and subjecting them to medical examination rules and State Police Retirement System benefit standards.
State employers of hazardous position workers
Employers must pay employer contributions at rates determined by the board and may choose to fund the conversion of prior nonhazardous service to hazardous service over a schedule up to 30 years.
Key Facts
- State forensics lab positions in the Department of Kentucky State Police that handle chemicals, narcotics, and biohazardous materials or require crime scene presence are added as hazardous positions.
- Employees in designated hazardous positions must contribute 8 percent of their creditable compensation for each pay period.
- Employers must pay employer contributions based on creditable compensation at an actuarially determined rate.
- Employers may pay the cost to convert prior nonhazardous service to hazardous service or establish a payment schedule up to 30 years.
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- Persons employed in a hazardous position after July 1, 1972, must undergo a thorough medical examination by a licensed physician.
- The effective date of participation under hazardous duty coverage for positions in the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is April 1, 1998.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which new workers are eligible for hazardous duty retirement coverage under this bill?
What percentage of compensation do employees in hazardous positions contribute?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Jan 15, 2026HouseCommitteeto State Government (H)
- Jan 8, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 50)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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