Kentucky legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Kentucky SB343: AN ACT relating to the Department of Workers' Claims and declaring an emergency.
Status: Chaptered, April 9, 2026
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 342 to establish the Department of Workers' Claims to be administratively attached to the Office of the Governor; amend KRS 342.122 to provide that the combined budgets of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Workers' Compensation Nominating Committee, Department of Workplace Standards, and the proportional support for general administration and approved indirect cost allocation to the Education and Labor Cabinet, shall not exceed 75% of the total combined budget submitted by the Workersâ Compensation Funding Commission and that the Workersâ Compensation Funding Commission, the Department of Workersâ Claims, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the Workersâ Compensation Nominating Committee, the Department of Workplace Standards, excluding the Division of Wages and Hours contained within the Department of Workplace Standards, and the Education and Labor Cabinet, shall each submit a budget which shall be combined by the Workersâ Compensation Funding Commission and reflected in the enacted budget of the Commonwealth; amend KRS 342.228 to require the commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims to have specified knowledge and experience in the areas of public administration, administrative law, and workers' compensation by having a minimum of 8 years of legal practice experience in the area of workers' compensation; amend KRS 342.230 to authorize the commissioner to fill all positions in the Department for Workers' Claims with KRS Chapter 18A employees; amend KRS 151B.015 to remove the Department of Workers' Claims from the Education and Labor Cabinet; amend various other sections to conform; provide that all records, equipment, staff, budgets, and unexpended funds associated with the Department of Workers' Claims shall be transferred as part of the reorganization; provide that all administrative regulations, decisions, and actions of the department that have not been repealed or resci
What the bill says
An act relating to the Department of Workers' Claims and declaring an emergency.
From the introduced text:
AN ACT relating to the Department of Workers' Claims and declaring an emergency. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS CHAPTER 342 IS CREATED TO READ AS FOLLOWS: (1) There is hereby created the Department of Workers' Claims administratively attached to the Office of the Governor, which shall be headed by a commissioner appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate in accordance with Section 6 of this Act. (2) The department shall be divided for administrative purposes into (b) Office of General (d) Division of Claims Processing; (e) Division of Security and Compliance; (f) Division of Workers' Compensation Funds; and (g) Division of Specialist and Medical Services. (3) The Office of Administrative Law Judges shall be headed by a chief administrative law judge appointed in accordance with Section 7 of this Act. (4) Each division in the department shall be headed by a director appointed by the commissioner with the approval of the Governor in accordance with KRS 12.050. (5) The Workers' Compensation Board shall be attached to the Department of Workers' Claims for administrative purposes only. Section 2. KRS 342.0011 is amended to read as follows: As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Injury" means any work-related traumatic event or series …
Sponsors
- Phillip Wheeler (R, SD-031) · primary sponsor
Latest actions
- : became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 61)
- : filed without Governor's signature with the Secretary of State
- : delivered to Governor
- : enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
- : enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
- : received in Senate
- : 3rd reading, passed 95-0
- : posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, March 25 2026
- : 2nd reading, to Rules
- : reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
Votes
- House: Pass RCS# 344 (March 27, 2026): 95 yea, 0 nay, passed
- Senate: PASS SB 343 w/ SFA 1 (SFA 1) RSN# 3904 (March 10, 2026): 37 yea, 0 nay, passed
Subjects: State Agencies, Funds, Governor, Effective Dates, Emergency, Reorganization, Labor And Industry, Workers Compensation, Workforce
Common questions
- What is SB343?
- SB343 is a bill in the Kentucky Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT relating to the Department of Workers' Claims and declaring an emergency.
- What does SB343 do?
- In its own words: An act relating to the Department of Workers' Claims and declaring an emergency.
- What is the status of SB343?
- Chaptered as of April 9, 2026. Latest action: became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 61) (April 9, 2026).
- Who sponsored SB343?
- Phillip Wheeler (R, SD-031).
- Where is the official record for SB343?
- On the Kentucky Legislature website: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26rs/sb343.html
Source: official Kentucky record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.