AN ACT relating to operations in the Office of the Attorney General.
SB 198 makes a series of changes affecting the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General and several related areas of state law. The bill requires criminal background checks, including fingerprint-based state and federal checks and possible rap back enrollment, for Department of Child Support Services employees and contract staff who access federal tax information. It also directs the Department of Law to adopt regulations to implement those checks and limits the fees charged to actual processing costs.
The bill also adds new rules governing the Attorney General’s authority and litigation posture. It declares that state agencies are the custodians of their own records and that, except for the Attorney General’s own records, agency records are not in the Attorney General’s possession, custody, or control. It sets a general ten-year limitations period for actions brought by the Attorney General, measured from discovery of the injury or violation, unless another statute provides a different deadline. In addition, it amends administrative appeal procedures so hearing officers are not named as parties in judicial review actions, and it revises certificate-of-need appeal procedures to exclude the Attorney General, the Office of Administrative Hearings, and hearing officers as parties.
Beyond the Attorney General provisions, SB 198 changes the Kentucky Board of Professional Geologists statute to allow the board to hire private counsel at its own expense instead of relying on the Attorney General as legal adviser. It also clarifies cooperation requirements under consumer protection statutes while preserving the new records rule, and it updates child support law by refining modification standards, clarifying termination rules tied to emancipation and high school attendance, and revising the membership and appointment process for the child support guidelines commission so the Attorney General plays a larger role in nominations.
The bill’s impact on state law is broad but targeted: it shifts certain legal and administrative responsibilities away from the Attorney General, tightens procedures for agency appeals, imposes security screening on child support staff with access to sensitive tax data, and alters child support guideline administration. It affects the Department of Law, state agencies generally, the Board of Professional Geologists, the Cabinet’s certificate-of-need process, and child support litigants and administrators.
The overall sentiment appears generally favorable in the recorded votes, with strong Senate support and a House veto override passing by a substantial margin. No committee transcript is available, so the specific debate is not documented here, but the structure of the bill suggests likely support for strengthening confidentiality, clarifying agency autonomy, and updating child support administration. Potential contention points include the reduced role of the Attorney General in agency records and appeals, the shift to private counsel for the geology board, and the changes to child support commission appointments and modification standards.
SB 198 amends multiple Kentucky statutes, including provisions in KRS Chapters 13B, 15, 216B, 322A, 367, and 403. It creates new sections requiring background checks for certain Department of Child Support Services personnel, defining state agency record custody, and imposing a ten-year limitations period for Attorney General actions. It also revises administrative appeal procedures, certificate-of-need appeals, professional licensing board counsel authority, consumer protection coordination, and child support guideline administration, thereby changing the powers and procedures of the Attorney General, state agencies, and affected regulated parties.
The bill appears to have received generally positive legislative treatment. The Senate passed it unanimously on third reading, and the House later voted to override a veto with a clear majority. With no committee transcript available, there is no detailed record of floor or committee debate, but the voting history suggests broad support for the bill’s overall package of administrative and procedural changes.
The most likely points of contention are the bill’s reduction of the Attorney General’s role in agency records, appeals, and legal representation, along with the transfer of some authority to state agencies and private counsel. Child support-related changes may also draw scrutiny, especially the revised commission appointment structure and the modification standards for support orders. The bill’s background-check requirement for employees handling federal tax information is less likely to be controversial, but it does impose new compliance obligations and costs on the Department of Law.