AN ACT relating to filings with the county clerk.
SB 146 revises Kentucky law governing county clerk filings, fees, and related probate procedures. The bill updates the fee schedule in KRS 64.012 for a wide range of recorded and filed documents, including deeds, mortgages, liens, powers of attorney, marriage licenses, candidate filings, notarizations, and other clerk services. It also creates or adjusts dedicated revenue splits for certain filings, including transfers to the affordable housing trust fund and funding for local records preservation and digitization.
The bill also amends the state’s documentary tax provisions in KRS 142.010 by adding a tax on recorded wills and directing part of the revenue to the Department for Libraries and Archives’ local records grant program. In addition, SB 146 changes probate-related procedures by requiring county clerks to eventually return original wills after recording, setting retention and destruction rules for older wills, and requiring probate applications to include more detailed information, including contact information and the intended recipient of a recorded will. It further updates name-change recording procedures and personal representative rules to align with the new will-return process.
SB 146 would directly affect county clerks, probate courts, estates, and filers of recorded instruments by increasing or standardizing fees and taxes on many common filings. It would also redirect portions of certain fees and taxes into dedicated funds for affordable housing, local records preservation, and county clerk record-storage and digitization needs, while imposing new reporting and accounting requirements on local governments and clerks. The bill amends KRS 64.012, KRS 142.010, KRS 394.300, KRS 395.015, KRS 401.040, and KRS 395.160, changing both revenue collection and probate administration practices.
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes, the available context suggests a largely administrative and technical measure rather than a highly partisan one. The bill appears designed to modernize clerk recordkeeping, support records preservation, and provide dedicated funding streams for housing and archives-related purposes. Because no transcripts or vote history are provided, there is no documented public sentiment in the record beyond the bill’s apparent policy goals.
The most likely points of contention are the fee and tax increases on filings, especially the new tax on recorded wills and the higher or newly structured charges for mortgages, deeds, candidate filings, and other clerk services. County clerks and local governments may support the dedicated funding for records storage, digitization, and preservation, while filers, estate practitioners, and property owners could object to added costs and administrative steps. Another possible issue is the requirement to return original wills after a set period, which may raise concerns about record security, chain of custody, and how clerks handle contested estates or incomplete address information.