HB388: AN ACT relating to local government and declaring an emergency.

Legislative Summary

Creates a new section of KRS Chapter 65 to provide that members of local boards, commissions, committees, and other bodies created by or appointed by consolidated local governments have geographic diversity; amends KRS 67C.103 to require that the election of council members in a consolidated local government be nonpartisan; amends KRS 67C.105 to require that the election of a mayor in a consolidated local government be nonpartisan; amends KRS 67C.111, regarding incorporation and annexation of cities in a county containing a consolidated local government, to adjust the number of signatures required in a petition for mandatory action, to prohibit a mayoral veto of the consolidated local government council, and to prohibit a city in a county containing a consolidated local government from annexing commercial real estate, as defined, primarily for the purpose of obtaining occupational license, net profits, or gross receipts taxes revenue unless the annexation is consented to by each property owner in the area to be annexed; amends KRS 67C.147, relating to urban service taxing districts in consolidated local governments, to require that the consolidated local government reimburse fire districts operating under KRS Chapter 75 that made emergency medical runs within the area of the urban service tax district, to index that reimbursement to the increase in the consumer price index, to prohibit a consolidated local government from charging a fire district for any expenses it did not charge the district prior to January 1, 2024, and to establish graduated percentages of internal funding for the urban service district for the services it provides from 85 percent to 100 percent running from 2025 to 2034, with increases in the percentage every three years; amends KRS 67C.321, relating to disciplinary procedures of police officers in consolidated local governments, to allow for a pre-disciplinary hearing and establishes procedures; amends KRS 67C.323, relating to disciplinary procedures of police officers in consolidated local governments and disciplinary review by the board, to stipulate that executive session discussions be without the parties to the appeal; amends KRS 67C.326, relating to complaints regarding consolidated local government police officers, to define “citizen,” “complaint,” “disciplinary action,” “interrogation,” and “misconduct,” to make technical changes, to establish procedures for hearings for an officer accused of misconduct by individuals within the officer’s department or by citizens, to set conditions for notices of interrogation of the police officer and requirements for written reports of the alleged incident leading to the complaint, to expand written notice from 72 hours to 12 days for notice to a police officer of a hearing and for the review of documents, to stipulate that the board, rather than an appointing authority, legislative body, or other body as designated by the Kentucky Revised Statutes, has the duty to subpoena for witnesses and the production of documentary evidence, to stipulate that officers who have been suspended without pay and who are found not guilty are reinstated with full back pay and benefits, to allow the hearing to be conducted in a closed session unless the police officer requests otherwise, to specify that the provisions of the section do not affect rights given to the police officer by statute, ordinance, or agreement, to permit a consolidated local government to investigate and charge an officer, to allow the suspension or reassignment of a police officer during an investigation and pending the final disposition of charges, to establish the Property Valuation Review Commission to review assessments in a county containing a consolidated local government, to ensure that the assessments are consistent and uniform, to provide for appointments by the mayor from recommendations of various entities, to require that the commission report to the Legislative Research Commission, the mayor and metro council of the consolidated local government, and the Finance and Administration Cabinet no later than December 31, 2024, to prohibit consolidated local governments from amending their land development code zoning classifications in their land development code to change permitted, conditional, or any other uses involving residential uses or change the characteristics of those uses that could increase the allowable density of residential units per acre or any other unit describing land size or inhabitants of any residential units in any zoning district classifications within the prescribed time limits from the effective date of the Act and prior to April 15, 2025, and to require the mayors of consolidated local governments to conduct a review of planning and zoning statutes relative to consolidated local governments and the governments’ needs relative to housing and their land development code; amends KRS 117.125 to conform; and amends KRS 177.360 to direct consolidated local governments to establish procedures to prioritize projects undertaken with county road aid funds; Sections 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2025; EMERGENCY, in part.