AN ACT relating to hospital police departments.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 216B to allow certain hospitals licensed under that chapter to establish hospital police departments; provide each hospital police officer with full general police powers, including the power to arrest, in performing his or her duties; specify the qualifications each officer shall have at the time of his or her employment; provide for the appointment or promotion to the ranks and grades of the department; prohibit persons from falsely representing themselves to be an officer; establish a citizen complaint and investigation process for complaints against an officer alleging misconduct.

Introduced: January 8, 2026

Last action: March 16, 2026

To Committee On Committees (S)

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This bill would allow certain licensed hospitals in Kentucky to create their own police departments with officers who have full law enforcement powers, including the authority to make arrests. It sets out requirements for hiring and promoting officers, establishes a process for handling citizen complaints about officer misconduct, and makes it illegal to impersonate a hospital police officer. Who it may affect: patients, visitors, and staff at hospitals that choose to establish a police department, as well as people who wish to file a complaint against a hospital police officer.

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