HB 370 is a broad transportation revenue and fee bill that restructures Kentucky’s motor fuel taxes, vehicle registration charges, driver record fees, title fees, CDL fees, and several related transportation funding provisions. It replaces the current gasoline and special fuel excise tax structure with fixed per-gallon base rates for fiscal years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, then ties future annual adjustments to the National Highway Construction Cost Index 2.0, with caps on year-to-year increases and decreases. The bill also revises the heavy equipment motor carrier surtax, preserves and redirects portions of fuel tax receipts for road fund allocations, and repeals the existing statute that calculated gasoline tax rates using average wholesale price.
Beyond fuel taxes, the bill raises a wide range of fees associated with motor vehicle ownership and licensing. It increases the cost of driving history records, standard and special vehicle registrations, title applications, duplicate titles, reinstatement fees, traffic school fees, commercial driver’s license reinstatement fees, and certain related administrative charges. It also updates year-round registration rules, registration renewal notices, and county clerk fee distributions, while keeping or expanding several voluntary donation programs tied to child care assistance, agriculture, wildlife conservation, organ donation, and other special funds. The bill creates a new multimodal transportation fund for transit, rail crossings, riverports, and general aviation airports, and it adjusts the allocation formulas for road revenue sharing to counties and cities.
The bill would significantly amend Kentucky’s transportation-related statutes, especially in Chapters 138, 174, 176, 177, 186, 186A, 234, and 281A. It would change how motor fuel taxes are set and indexed, alter the distribution of road fund revenues, and increase the amounts collected by county clerks and the Transportation Cabinet for registration, titling, and licensing services. It also repeals KRS 138.228, KRS 138.4602, and KRS 175.505, removing the current average-wholesale-price fuel tax calculation and an older debt acceleration fund provision. Several sections are delayed until January 1, 2027, while the fuel tax and revenue-sharing changes are declared an emergency and would take effect July 1, 2026.
Because there are no committee transcripts or recorded votes in the provided context, the public sentiment cannot be measured from debate or roll call history. Based on the bill’s content, it appears to be a major transportation finance package intended to raise and stabilize revenue for roads and related infrastructure, while also increasing administrative fees across the vehicle and driver system. The inclusion of an emergency clause suggests the sponsors viewed the revenue changes as time-sensitive and important to implement at the start of the fiscal year.
The main points of contention likely center on the bill’s tax and fee increases, especially the shift away from the existing gasoline tax formula and the higher costs for vehicle registration, titles, CDL reinstatement, and traffic school. Stakeholders most likely to object would include motorists, trucking and motor carrier interests, commercial drivers, and businesses with large fleets, while supporters would likely emphasize infrastructure funding stability, multimodal transportation investment, and dedicated road revenue. The bill’s broad scope and multiple fee hikes make it the kind of measure that could draw concern even from parties that support transportation funding in principle.
HB 370 would substantially revise Kentucky’s motor fuel tax and transportation fee statutes by replacing the gasoline and special fuel tax formula, changing motor carrier surtaxes, increasing registration and title-related fees, and redirecting portions of those revenues into road fund and other transportation accounts. It would also create a new multimodal transportation fund and alter revenue-sharing formulas for state, county, and urban road programs. The bill repeals several existing statutes, including the average wholesale price fuel tax calculation, and delays some administrative changes until 2027 while making the core tax changes effective July 1, 2026.
No committee testimony or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition from debate history. From the bill text alone, the measure appears to be a significant transportation funding package with a strong fiscal and administrative focus. Its emergency clause indicates urgency from the bill’s sponsors, but the breadth of fee increases and tax restructuring suggests it could attract mixed reactions from affected motorists, carriers, and local government stakeholders.
The most likely areas of contention are the higher fuel taxes and the many fee increases affecting vehicle owners, commercial carriers, and drivers seeking reinstatement or records. Trucking and heavy equipment motor carrier interests may focus on the revised surtax and weight-distance tax structure, while county clerks and administrative agencies may scrutinize the new fee distributions and implementation timing. Supporters would likely argue the bill provides more predictable transportation funding and expands investment in roads, transit, rail crossings, riverports, and airports, but opponents may view it as a broad tax-and-fee increase package.