---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to qualifications of officers and declaring an emergency. Amend KRS 16.040 to require officers appointed with a high school diploma or GED and additional experience to complete 60 hours of credit or an associate's degree prior to the end of probation; specify that not completing the education requirement will result in discharge."
description: "AN ACT relating to qualifications of officers and declaring an emergency. Amend KRS 16.040 to require officers appointed with a high school diploma or GED and additional experience to complete 60 hours of credit or an associate's degree prior to the end of probation; specify that not completing the education requirement will result in discharge."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2018RS"
identifier: "HB 512"
citation: "Kentucky HB 512 (2018RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["J. Blanton"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 18
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2018-02-26"
last_action: "2018-04-10"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/35d30385-18d7-4684-9db5-b8d234253b85"
source_url: "http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/18RS/HB512.htm"
source_hash: "ab8f057bbc9fadd2eb56fd7ebbcf1683b6cb3d09d92d72029d05676e4f58acd6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ky"]
---

# Kentucky HB 512 (2018RS) — AN ACT relating to qualifications of officers and declaring an emergency. Amend KRS 16.040 to require officers appointed with a high school diploma or GED and additional experience to complete 60 hours of credit or an associate's degree prior to the end of probation; specify that not completing the education requirement will result in discharge.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB 512 (As Introduced)** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/18RS/HB512/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **HCA1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/18RS/HB512/HCA1.pdf)
3. **HCS1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/18RS/HB512/HCS1.pdf)
4. **Most Recent Version** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.lrc.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/18RS/HB512/bill.pdf)

## Sponsors

- J. Blanton — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2018-02-26** Introduced in House `introduction`
- **2018-02-28** To Veterans, Military Affairs, and Public Protection (H) `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-08** Posted in committee
- **2018-03-14** Reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar with Committee Substitute & committee amendment (1-title) `reading-1`
- **2018-03-15** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2018-03-15** Posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Friday, March 16, 2018
- **2018-03-16** 3rd reading, passed 87-0 with Committee Substitute and committee amendment (1-title) `reading-3, passage`
- **2018-03-19** Received in Senate
- **2018-03-20** To Veterans, Military Affairs, & Public Protection (S) `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-22** Reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar `reading-1`
- **2018-03-27** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2018-03-27** Posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 29, 2018
- **2018-03-29** 3rd reading, passed 36-1 `reading-3, passage`
- **2018-03-29** Received in House
- **2018-03-29** Enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
- **2018-03-29** Enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
- **2018-03-29** Delivered to Governor
- **2018-04-10** Signed by Governor (Acts, ch. 146) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/35d30385-18d7-4684-9db5-b8d234253b85`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).