Kentucky Lawmakers Preview Legislative Agenda for 2027
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky lawmakers are getting an early look at issues that could surface when the next legislative session begins in January 2027, including requests from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture related to hiring, data centers, and farmland protections.
The department outlined its legislative priorities on Thursday, attributing challenges to the impact of House Bill 10, passed earlier this year. This law establishes a two-year probationary period for some state hires.
Heather Becker, general counsel for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, expressed difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified staff due to the legislation:
“We have a tremendously difficult time recruiting and retaining qualified employees. Our turnover rate is huge. And when we bring in a merit employee under House Bill 10, that person is required to be at a lower salary for the entirety of their probationary period.”
The department is advocating for changes to this legislation. Additionally, lawmakers may consider proposals to restrict data centers, with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and Kentucky Farm Bureau aiming to balance farmland protection and technological advancement.
Becker emphasized the need for greater transparency surrounding data center projects:
“Transparency around ownership of the entity that’s coming in and building the infrastructure. The second is real transparency about what impact that’s going to have on the community where it is. I think we all agree that data centers are perhaps a necessary evil.”
Other potential topics for the next session include a push for a nitrogen fertilizer plant and a proposal to designate the pawpaw as Kentucky’s official state native fruit. Lawmakers will reconvene in Frankfort in January; as a non-budget session, most spending requests will be deferred until the 2028 legislative session.