Brandon Smith

This bill punishes state tax bureaucrats who ignore the law and improperly direct taxpayers to keep collecting sales and use tax on currency or bullion currency, giving taxpayers a clear path to refunds, damages, and injunctive relief, applied retroactively and with an emergency clause. CPAC opposes unlawful over-taxation and runaway tax bureaucracies and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-12 by a vote of 30-5. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-26 by a vote of 76-17. The bill later became law.

This bill shuts down taxpayer-funded DEI offices and discriminatory ideological programs at public universities, bans compelled political or racial viewpoints, forbids race- and sex-based preferences, and empowers students, employees, and the Attorney General to hold institutions accountable in court. CPAC opposes divisive DEI regimes and compelled speech and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-12 by a vote of 32-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-05 by a vote of 81-18. The bill later became law.

This bill creates new state licenses for equine dentistry and animal chiropractic practice, establishes an advisory board, and updates veterinary statutes related to records and scope of practice. CPAC is wary of expanding occupational licensure that can stifle competition and opposed this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-18 by a vote of 36-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-14 by a vote of 88-0. The bill later became law.

This bill cuts the individual income tax rate from 4.0% to 3.5% beginning January 1, 2026, letting Kentucky families and job creators keep more of what they earn. CPAC strongly supports broad-based income tax reductions and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-04 by a vote of 34-3. The House passed this bill on 2025-01-09 by a vote of 90-7. The bill later became law.

This resolution declares that nuclear power is a clean, dispatchable source of baseload electricity for Kentucky homes and businesses. CPAC supports an all-of-the-above energy strategy that embraces nuclear power and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-28 by a vote of 38-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 85-12. The bill later became law.

This bill creates a new Division of Tobacco, Nicotine, and Vapor Product Licensing, mandates retailer licensing, grants warrantless inspection authority to investigators, sets new penalties and revocation rules, builds a noncompliance database, and funds youth anti-vaping programs from fines. CPAC is concerned about expanding warrantless inspection powers and heavy-handed licensing schemes on private retailers and opposed this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-26 by a vote of 33-3. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-12 by a vote of 82-11. The bill later became law.

This bill creates the Office of Election Investigations and Security within the Attorney General’s office, granting it investigative powers over election matters and requiring annual reports to the legislature. CPAC supports dedicated election integrity enforcement and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-14 by a vote of 36-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-25 by a vote of 78-17. The bill later became law.

This bill bans nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, and agents tied to proscribed countries under federal regulations from acquiring or leasing Kentucky agricultural land or accessing certain state agricultural programs, requires reporting under federal foreign investment disclosure law, and authorizes enforcement and escheat of violating properties. CPAC supports safeguarding American farmland from hostile foreign control and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-14 by a vote of 34-2. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-28 by a vote of 93-0. The bill later became law.

This bill narrows the statutory definition of state-regulated waters, clarifies that certain environmental definitions apply only to specific sections, defines long-term treatment for mining, and sets how additional bond amounts are calculated when long-term treatment is required, with an emergency clause. CPAC supports reining in overbroad environmental regulation while providing clear rules for energy producers and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-14 by a vote of 30-5. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-12 by a vote of 69-26. The bill later became law.

This bill allows small coal mine shifts with 10 or fewer employees to operate with one emergency medical or mine emergency technician instead of two. CPAC supports relieving unnecessary staffing mandates that burden coal producers and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-12 by a vote of 30-7. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-20 by a vote of 76-16. The bill later became law.

This bill prohibits state-appropriated tax dollars from being used to compensate illegal aliens and directs the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security to help implement and enforce the ban. CPAC opposes taxpayer funding for illegal immigration and strongly supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-28 by a vote of 29-4. The bill did not become law.

This bill lowers the minimum age to carry a concealed deadly weapon from 21 to 18 and makes conforming statutory changes. CPAC supports robust Second Amendment rights and lawful concealed carry by responsible adults and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-11 by a vote of 26-11. The bill did not become law.

This bill limits the authority of administrative agencies to create regulations with major economic impacts, ensuring unelected officials cannot impose burdensome rules without accountability. It also redefines what constitutes a 'major economic impact' to protect businesses and taxpayers. CPAC supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-13 by a vote of 29-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-28 by a vote of 75-19. The bill later became law.

This bill establishes a clear legal standard for judicial review of state agency actions and updates existing statutes to ensure consistency. It seeks to prevent excessive interference in agency decisions by the judiciary while maintaining accountability. CPAC supported this bill The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-18 by a vote of 28-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-11 by a vote of 80-19. The bill later became law.

This bill ensures that Kentucky's workplace safety standards align with federal regulations, rather than imposing additional state-level burdens, while strengthening employee representation during inspections and limiting government overreach in enforcement actions. CPAC supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-13 by a vote of 28-9. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-26 by a vote of 62-33. The bill later became law.

This bill ensures that mental health professionals, institutions, and ordained ministry cannot be discriminated against for providing counseling services that align with their values, while also protecting parents' rights to consent to such services for their children. It creates legal remedies for those harmed by such discrimination. CPAC supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-13 by a vote of 28-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-05 by a vote of 77-18. The bill later became law.

This bill ensures property owners can immediately remove unlawful squatters with law enforcement support, provides immunity for good-faith actions, and creates penalties for property damage caused by squatters. CPAC supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-13 by a vote of 37-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 93-5. The bill later became law.

This bill makes several changes to Kentucky's election laws, including allowing precinct consolidation, updating absentee ballot procedures, and clarifying candidate filing requirements. It also permits counties to manage video surveillance of ballot drop-boxes and audits in compliance with the Kentucky Open Records Act. CPAC supported this bill because it promotes election integrity, enhances transparency, and provides local governments with greater control over election procedures. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-14 by a vote of 37-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-06 by a vote of 85-7. The bill later became law.

This bill establishes stricter reporting and record-keeping requirements for political committees and persons making independent expenditures, prohibits foreign nationals from influencing ballot measures, and protects donor privacy for contributions to tax-exempt organizations. It also enforces penalties for violations of privacy and improper solicitation of prohibited contributions. CPAC supported this bill because it strengthens election integrity by ensuring transparency in campaign finances while protecting donor privacy from government overreach. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-11 by a vote of 29-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-12 by a vote of 85-12. The bill later became law.

This bill establishes the Kentucky Film Office and creates a Kentucky Film Leadership Council, potentially subsidizing the film industry through government intervention. CPAC opposes government favoritism that picks winners and losers in the economy. CPAC opposed this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 38-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-14 by a vote of 77-8. The bill later became law.