Kentucky 2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 4 D · 2 R cosponsors

HB 437 — AN ACT relating to unemployment benefits.

Last action — to Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 20, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 42% · moderate confidence

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 6 sponsors

    6 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (4 D · 2 R) — cross-party backing.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Amend KRS 341.350 to eliminate the 1 week waiting period for unemployment benefits; amend KRS 341.090 to conform.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

2 changes Share ↗

Compared against the Kentucky Revised Statutes as published AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill amends eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits, removes existing language regarding waiting periods, and enhances auditing procedures for compliance with work search activity requirements.

  • KRS 341.350

    For an initial claim made on or after January 1, 2012, he or she has served a waiting period of one (1) week, during which he or she has not received benefits. The waiting week period shall be the first compensable week of an initial claim for benefits for which he or she is eligible and qualified to receive benefits under this chapter. A waiting week period shall be required for each benefit year, whether or not consecutive. No more than one (1) waiting week period shall be required in any benefit year. The waiting week shall become compensable once the remaining balance on the claim is equal to or less than the compensable amount for the waiting week;

    The waiting period requirement for initial claims has been removed.

  • KRS 341.350

    (10) The cabinet shall conduct randomized weekly audits of a number determined by the secretary as sufficient to evaluate compliance with the work search activity requirements of this section, and shall submit an annual report to the Governor and the Interim Joint Committee on Economic Development and Workforce Investment detailing: (a) The percentage of audited claimants that failed to comply with the work search activity requirement outlined in this section; (b) The work search activities that were most commonly engaged in by audited claimants; (c) Recommendations to make the work search activity requirement more effective in assisting claimants in finding employment; (d) The number of claims audited each week and the total number of claims audited during the reporting period; (e) The percentage of total claims audited each week and percentage of total claims audited during the reporting period; and (f) A summary of the methodology used to conduct randomized auditing.

    A new requirement for randomized audits of compliance with work search activities has been established.

Action History

  1. to Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)

  2. to Committee on Committees (H)

  3. introduced in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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6 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 132 not signed on

Sponsors (6)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (132)

132 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 132 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

labor
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 437 do?
Amend KRS 341.350 to eliminate the 1 week waiting period for unemployment benefits; amend KRS 341.090 to conform.
Who sponsors HB 437?
HB 437 is sponsored by Candy Massaroni (Republican), Nima Kulkarni (Democrat), Al Gentry (Democrat), Beverly Chester-Burton (Democrat), Chad Aull (Democrat), and Felicia Rabourn (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 437?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced January 20, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 437?
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Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

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