---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to transportation and declaring an emergency."
description: "Amend KRS 177.074 to require the Transportation Cabinet Secretary, upon passage of a joint resolution of the General Assembly, to direct the placement of signs denoting inclusion of an artist as an honoree on the Country Music Highway on United States Route 23; amend KRS 186.240 to identify the mottos and slogans that may appear on a standard issue motor vehicle license plate; amend KRS 186.240 (Effective January 1, 2024) to conform."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2023RS"
identifier: "SB 163"
citation: "Kentucky SB 163 (2023RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Arts and Crafts", "General Assembly", "Honorary Highway Designations", "Motor Vehicles", "State Symbols and Emblems", "Transportation"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 26
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-02-16T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-29T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ba6f6dcf-c315-4984-bb77-82dd7ad60239"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23RS/sb163.html"
source_hash: "f6033b69289f62726487003f11859069b833254c60a262bb14dcf6b5a79e2b57"
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 SB 163 (2023RS) — AN ACT relating to transportation and declaring an emergency.

Amend KRS 177.074 to require the Transportation Cabinet Secretary, upon passage of a joint resolution of the General Assembly, to direct the placement of signs denoting inclusion of an artist as an honoree on the Country Music Highway on United States Route 23; amend KRS 186.240 to identify the mottos and slogans that may appear on a standard issue motor vehicle license plate; amend KRS 186.240 (Effective January 1, 2024) to conform.

## Version chain

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

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/sb163/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 129** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/23RS/documents/0129.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/sb163/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- PASS SB 163 — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Pass — **pass** (pass) · upper
- FINAL PASSAGE SB 163 W/ hfa1 hfa3 hfta4 — **pass** (pass) · upper

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-16T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2023-02-16T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-21T05:00:00+00:00** to Transportation (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-22T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, February 28, 2023
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 35-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** to Transportation (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 09, 2023
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendments (1) and (2-title) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendments (3) and (4-title) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 87-12 with Floor Amendments (1) and (3) and Floor Amendment (4-title) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in House Floor Amendments (1), (3) and (4-title)
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** Senate concurred in House floor amendments (1), (3) and (4-title)
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** passed 32-2 `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2023-03-28T04:00:00+00:00** filed without Governor's signature with the Secretary of State
- **2023-03-29T04:00:00+00:00** became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 129) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ba6f6dcf-c315-4984-bb77-82dd7ad60239`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).