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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky creates PFAS Working Group and mandates product and chemical release reporting for manufacturers
Last action · January 14, 2026: to Natural Resources & Energy (H)Sponsors: Nima Kulkarni and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 196 establishes a 21-member PFAS Working Group by September 1, 2026, and requires manufacturers selling products with PFAS in the state to report product details and chemical release data starting January 1, 2027. The measure prohibits selling products from non-compliant manufacturers, bans wastewater facilities from refusing sewage based on PFAS levels, and imposes civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day for reporting violations.
Manufacturers must compile and submit detailed product formulas and release data to state regulators or face sales bans and daily financial penalties, while local governments must rapidly publish major chemical release notices.
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.
Manufacturers of products containing intentionally added PFAS
Manufacturers must submit detailed product disclosures and annual release reports, update information upon changes or requests, and face sales bans and daily civil penalties for noncompliance.
Wastewater treatment facilities
Facilities are prohibited from refusing sewage based on PFAS levels and must monitor and annually report treated sewage PFAS concentration levels following new administrative regulations.
County judges/executive
Certain county judges serve on the working group, receive individual release notices from the secretary, and must publish release notices on county websites and social media within 24 hours.
Key Facts
- Establishes a 21-member PFAS Working Group attached for administrative purposes to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, with its first meeting required no later than September 1, 2026.
- Requires the PFAS Working Group to submit an annual report detailing activities and policy recommendations to the Governor and Legislative Research Commission starting December 1, 2026.
- Mandates that beginning January 1, 2027, manufacturers of products containing intentionally added PFAS sold, offered for sale, or distributed in Kentucky submit descriptive, purpose, chemical amount, and contact information to the cabinet secretary.
- Prohibits the sale, offer for sale, or distribution of any product containing intentionally added PFAS if the manufacturer fails to submit the required disclosures.
Show all 11 facts
- Requires the cabinet to publish on its website a list of disclosed products, manufacturers, and contained PFAS within thirty days of a manufacturer disclosure.
- Requires manufacturers producing PFAS-containing products in Kentucky to report annual releases beginning January 1, 2027, and report individual releases greater than 10 pounds within 24 hours.
- Directs the cabinet to publish release reports on its website within 24 hours for individual releases over 10 pounds and notify the county judge/executive.
- Requires county judges/executive to post chemical release notices on their county website and social media pages within 24 hours and inform their legislative body at the next scheduled meeting.
- Prohibits wastewater treatment facilities from refusing to accept or treat sewage based on PFAS concentration levels.
- Requires the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations by January 1, 2027, requiring wastewater facilities to monitor and annually report treated sewage PFAS concentration levels.
- Amends KRS 224.99-030 to establish civil penalties of up to $1,000 per day for manufacturers or county judges/executive who fail to comply with Section 3 reporting requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PFAS Working Group and when does it start?
What must product manufacturers report starting in 2027?
What happens if a major chemical release occurs?
Can wastewater treatment facilities turn away sewage containing PFAS?
What else do you want to know?
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 14, 2026HouseCommitteeto Natural Resources & Energy (H)
- Jan 7, 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
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive State PFAS Tracking
The legislation establishes a coordinated multi-agency framework combining high-level advisory research, product registration, and emergency release notification down to county executives.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy60Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz65Current news / social attention level
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