House
Adjourned Sine Die
2026 Regular Session

HB116

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AN ACT relating to firearms and declaring an emergency.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237 to define "assault weapon," "large capacity ammunition feeding device," and "seller of ammunition"; require background checks for private firearms sales; require reporting to law enforcement of firearm and ammunition thefts and losses; require the safe storage of firearms; require the Department of Kentucky State Police to promulgate administrative regulations relating to the licensing of persons to possess handguns and assault weapons, the registration of handguns and assault weapons, and the logging of firearms and ammunition sales effective January 1, 2027; amend KRS 237.990 to establish penalties; create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to establish the offense of criminal purchase or transfer of a weapon as a Class D felony; amend KRS 395.250 to require an estate's inventory to list each firearm; amend KRS 403.735 to require judges, when issuing an order of protection, to consider whether a person against whom the order is entered should be prohibited from possessing a firearm; amend KRS 456.050 to require judges, when issuing an interpersonal protective order, to consider whether a person against whom the order is entered should be prohibited from possessing a firearm; amend KRS 504.030 to require judges in criminal cases where a person is found not guilty by reason of insanity to demand the surrender of the defendant's firearms; amend KRS 506.080 to add that the offense of facilitation includes assistance in providing firearms; amend KRS 508.020 to include physical injury to a minor by virtue of the intentional discharge of a firearm within the offense of assault in the second degree; amend KRS 527.040 to require that the sentence for a felon in possession of a firearm be served consecutively to any other felony sentence; amend KRS 527.070 to include postsecondary education facilities within the existing ban on firearms in schools; amend KRS 532.030 to require the judge pronouncing a defendant guilty but mentally ill to demand the surrender of the person's firearms; amend KRS 65.1591, 237.104, 237.115, and 532.025 to conform; repeal KRS 65.870, relating to the prohibition of local firearm control ordinances; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2027; EMERGENCY.

Introduced: January 7, 2026

Last action: January 14, 2026

To Judiciary (H)
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This bill would create new rules around firearms in Kentucky, including background checks for private gun sales, requirements to report stolen or lost firearms, and safe storage rules. It would also set up a licensing and registration system for handguns and certain weapons, expand firearm restrictions in protective order cases and criminal proceedings, and extend the existing school firearms ban to college campuses. An emergency clause is included, meaning some parts would take effect sooner than the standard timeline, with other provisions starting January 1, 2027. Who it may affect: gun owners, private firearm buyers and sellers, survivors seeking protective orders, college and university students and staff, people with criminal or mental health court proceedings, and estate administrators handling firearms in a deceased person's property.

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Legislative History

Jan 7, 2026 ·
Introduced
Jan 14, 2026 ·
To Judiciary (H)

Primary Sponsor

Portrait of George Brown
George Brown

Representative · House District 077

Primary sponsor
George.Brown@kylegislature.gov
BallotpediaOfficial profile

Co-sponsors (1)

Portrait of Beverly Chester-Burton
Beverly Chester-Burton

Representative · House District 044

Co-sponsor
beverly.chesterburton@kylegislature.gov