Kentucky 26rs Session Status: Enacted

HB 657 — AN ACT relating to professional licensing background checks.

Last action — signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 6)

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

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 18, 2026. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Andy Beshear (Democratic) on March 24, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

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

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

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

Prognosis

Likely to advance 68% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

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

Summary

AN ACT relating to professional licensing background checks.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB 657 on the official Kentucky source →

Action History

  1. introduced in House; to Committee on Committees (H)

  2. to Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H)

  3. reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar

  4. 2nd reading, to Rules; posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, March 06 2026

  5. 3rd reading, passed 91-0

  6. received in Senate; to Committee on Committees (S)

  7. to Licensing & Occupations (S)

  8. reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar

  9. 2nd reading, to Rules

  10. posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 24 2026

  11. 3rd reading, passed 36-1; received in House; enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House; enrolled, signed by President of the Senate; delivered to Governor

  12. signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 6)

Sponsorship breakdown

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0 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 138 not signed on

Sponsors (0)

None.

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (138)

138 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 138 →

"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

Votes

checks.

Passed 36 Yea · 1 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 6200
Democrat 4000
Republican 26001
Total 36201
% of votes cast 92%5%0%3%
How each member voted (39)
Member Party Vote
Meredith — Yea
Thomas — Yea
ChambersArmstrong — Yea
Williams — Yea
Wilson — Yea
Smith — Yea
Nemes — Nay
PASSES : 0 — Nay
Gary Clemons Democrat Yea
Gerald A. Neal Democrat Yea
Karen Berg Democrat Yea
Keturah J. Herron Democrat Yea
Aaron Reed Republican Yea
Amanda Mays Bledsoe Republican Yea
Brandon J. Storm Republican Yea
Christian McDaniel Republican Yea
Craig Richardson Republican Yea
Danny Carroll Republican Yea
David P. Givens Republican Yea
Donald Douglas Republican Yea
Gary Boswell Republican Yea
Greg Elkins Republican Yea
Jared Carpenter Republican Yea
Jason Howell Republican Yea
Jimmy Higdon Republican Yea
Julie Raque Adams Republican Yea
Lindsey Tichenor Republican Yea
Matt Nunn Republican Yea
Matthew Deneen Republican Yea
Max Wise Republican Yea
Phillip Wheeler Republican Yea
Rick Girdler Republican Yea
Robby Mills Republican Yea
Robert Stivers Republican Yea
Robin L. Webb Republican Not Voting
Scott Madon Republican Yea
Shelley Funke Frommeyer Republican Yea
Stephen West Republican Yea
Steve Rawlings Republican Yea

Official roll call →

checks.

Passed 91 Yea · 0 Nay · 9 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 62007
Democrat 19000
Unaffiliated 10002
Total 91009
% of votes cast 91%0%0%9%
How each member voted (100)
Member Party Vote
Meredith — Yea
Stevenson P — Yea
Huff T — Yea
Thomas — Yea
Bratcher S — Yea
Nemes — Yea
Lewis C — Yea
Williams — Yea
Lewis S — Yea
Wilson — Yea
Lewis D — Not Voting
Smith — Not Voting
Adam Moore Democrat Yea
Adrielle Camuel Democrat Yea
Al Gentry Democrat Yea
Anne Gay Donworth Democrat Yea
Ashley Tackett Laferty Democrat Yea
Beverly Chester-Burton Democrat Yea
Chad Aull Democrat Yea
Daniel Grossberg Democrat Yea
Erika Hancock Democrat Yea
George Brown Jr. Democrat Yea
Joshua Watkins Democrat Yea
Lindsey Burke Democrat Yea
Lisa Willner Democrat Yea
Mary Lou Marzian Democrat Yea
Matthew Lehman Democrat Yea
Nima Kulkarni Democrat Yea
Rachel Roarx Democrat Yea
Sarah Stalker Democrat Yea
Tina Bojanowski Democrat Yea
Aaron Thompson Republican Yea
Adam Bowling Republican Yea
Amy Neighbors Republican Yea
Bill Wesley Republican Yea
Bobby McCool Republican Yea
Candy Massaroni Republican Not Voting
Chris Freeland Republican Yea
Chris Fugate Republican Yea
DJ Johnson Republican Yea
Daniel Elliott Republican Yea
Daniel Fister Republican Yea
David Hale Republican Yea
David Meade Republican Yea
David W. Osborne Republican Yea
Deanna Gordon Republican Yea
Emily Callaway Republican Yea
Felicia Rabourn Republican Not Voting
J.T. Payne Republican Yea
James Tipton Republican Yea
Jared Bauman Republican Yea
Jason Petrie Republican Yea
Jennifer Decker Republican Yea
Jim Gooch Jr. Republican Not Voting
John Blanton Republican Not Voting
John Hodgson Republican Yea
Josh Branscum Republican Yea
Josh Bray Republican Yea
Josh Calloway Republican Yea
Ken Fleming Republican Yea
Ken Upchurch Republican Not Voting
Kevin Jackson Republican Yea
Kim Banta Republican Yea
Kim Holloway Republican Yea
Kim King Republican Yea
Kimberly Poore Moser Republican Yea
Marianne Proctor Republican Yea
Mark Hart Republican Yea
Mary Beth Imes Republican Yea
Matt Lockett Republican Not Voting
Matthew Koch Republican Yea
Michael Sarge Pollock Republican Yea
Mike Clines Republican Yea
Mitch Whitaker Republican Yea
Myron Dossett Republican Yea
Nancy Tate Republican Yea
Patrick Flannery Republican Yea
Peyton Griffee Republican Yea
Randy Bridges Republican Yea
Rebecca Raymer Republican Yea
Richard White Republican Yea
Robert Duvall Republican Yea
Ryan Bivens Republican Yea
Ryan Dotson Republican Yea
Samara Heavrin Republican Yea
Savannah Maddox Republican Yea
Scott Sharp Republican Yea
Shane Baker Republican Yea
Shawn McPherson Republican Yea
Stephanie Dietz Republican Yea
Steve Riley Republican Yea
Steven Doan Republican Yea
Steven Rudy Republican Yea
Susan Witten Republican Yea
Suzanne Miles Republican Yea
T.J. Roberts Republican Yea
Timmy Truett Republican Yea
Tony Hampton Republican Yea
Vanessa Grossl Republican Yea
William Lawrence Republican Not Voting

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety 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 657 do?
AN ACT relating to professional licensing background checks.
What is the current status of HB 657?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 18, 2026. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 657?
Track HB 657 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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