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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky Bill Legalizes Personal Cannabis Use, Expunges Past Convictions, and Imposes Production Taxes
Last action · January 14, 2026: to Judiciary (H)Sponsors: Nima Kulkarni and 1 other
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 198 legalizes the possession, trafficking, and cultivation of personal use quantities of cannabis—defined as up to one ounce in plant form, five grams of resin or concentrate, products containing 1,000 milligrams or less of delta-9 and delta-8 THC, or five or fewer plants—without criminal penalties or risk of arrest. The bill establishes an automated process through the Administrative Office of the Courts to vacate and expunge eligible past cannabis convictions and levies a tax on commercial or excess cannabis production.
- The Kentucky General Assembly is the state legislature responsible for enacting statutes related to controlled substances and criminal offenses. context
- Under existing Kentucky law prior to HB 198, cannabis possession and cultivation were subject to misdemeanor and felony criminal penalties. 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.
Adult Residents
Adults aged 21 or older can possess, cultivate, or traffic personal use quantities of cannabis without facing criminal penalties, arrest, or supervision revocations.
Individuals with Past Convictions
Administrative Office of the Courts
The agency is required to establish identification processes for eligible convictions, communicate them to prosecutors, process expungements, and submit a comprehensive report by December 1, 2027.
Prosecutors and Commonwealth's Attorneys
Local prosecutors must review communicated eligible convictions within ninety days and have the authority to file objections to expungements for cases exceeding personal use limits.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What amount of cannabis is considered a 'personal use quantity' under this bill?
Are individuals allowed to grow cannabis at home?
Does the bill eliminate all taxes and penalties associated with cannabis?
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 Judiciary (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 Decriminalization and Retroactive Expungement
The bill pairs forward-looking legalization of personal-use cannabis quantities with retroactive expungement provisions for past convictions, backed by mandatory reporting deadlines for the judiciary.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 90)
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz75Current news / social attention level
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