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HB 344KENTUCKYSession 2026RSState Billdead

Did Not Advance

Kentucky bill authorizes cities to establish project workforce agreements and local prevailing wages for public construction over $1 million

Original title: AN ACT relating to local government.

Last action · January 21, 2026: to Local Government (H)Sponsors: Adam Moore and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Proposed

Kentucky cities are newly authorized to enact ordinances requiring contractors on public construction projects costing over $1 million to register with apprenticeship programs and pay local s. The legislation also permits local governments to negotiate s and set minimum wage and leave rates exceeding state and federal baselines.

Why it matters

Local contractors bidding on public projects exceeding $1 million in participating Kentucky cities may face mandatory apprenticeship and wage requirements, altering bidding conditions and labor costs.

Background

Local prevailing wage laws and project workforce agreements are recurring subjects of legislative debate in state assemblies concerning municipal contracting costs and labor standards. context

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.

Directly affected

Contractors bidding on public construction projects

Contractors bidding on municipal projects over $1 million may be subject to mandatory apprenticeship registration and local prevailing wage payment requirements.

Directly affected

City legislative bodies

Cities gain discretionary authority to enact local prevailing wage rates, apprenticeship preferences, project workforce agreements, and higher minimum wage or leave standards.

Key Facts

Cities may enact ordinances establishing a mandatory bidding preference for public construction project contractors registered with an apprenticeship and training program.
A public construction project is defined as any local or state-funded public improvement or building project within city boundaries with an aggregate cost over $1,000,000.
City legislative bodies may negotiate all terms of a project workforce agreement, including wage provisions exceeding state or federal minimums, notwithstanding KRS Chapter 337.
Cities may establish a prevailing wage rate and require employers to pay it on public works projects estimated to cost at least $1,000,000.

Show all 6 facts

Prevailing wage ordinances must include trade classifications, wage rate schedules, record-keeping processes, compliance investigations, and penalties.
City, county, and merged local governments are authorized to adopt and enforce minimum wage ordinances exceeding state and federal levels and mandate employee leave.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which public construction projects are subject to these local apprenticeship and wage rules?

Projects solicited and funded by a local public agency or the Commonwealth of Kentucky within a city's boundaries for public improvements or buildings with an aggregate cost exceeding one million dollars.

Can Kentucky cities set minimum wage rates higher than the state or federal minimum?

Yes, the bill amends KRS 65.016 to explicitly allow cities and local governments to adopt and enforce minimum wage ordinances that set rates exceeding state and federal minimum wage rates.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.

Procedural history

2 actions

Jan 21, 2026HouseCommittee
to Local Government (H)
Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroduced
introduced 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.

Related Legislation

State Bill

Maryland Senate Bill 303 regulates gas station pricing signage and authorizes the Comptroller to assess fines

Maryland Senate Bill 303 establishes updated pricing sign requirements at retail service stations, prohibiting conditional prices from being displayed

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

Expansion of Municipal Labor Authority

The bill shifts authority to local legislative bodies to set prevailing wages and project workforce agreements, altering previous state-level limitations.

General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Connected Entities

Commonwealth of Kentucky, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

locationCommonwealth of Kentucky“Jurisdiction funding and soliciting public construction projects”Map →

OrganizationGeneral Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky“Legislative body enacting the bill”Map →

Sources

Open source document

apps.legislature.ky.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
Controversy65
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz35
Current news / social attention level

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