---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to the retirement of fossil fuel-fired electric generating units and declaring an emergency."
description: "Create new sections of KRS Chapter 278 to define terms; prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving a request by a utility to retire a coal-fired electric generator unless the utility demonstrates that the retirement will not have a negative impact on the reliability or the resilience of the electric grid or the affordability of the customer's electric utility rate; require the Public Service Commission to submit an annual report on retirements of electric generating units by December 1 to the Legislative Research Commission; EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2023RS"
identifier: "SB 4"
citation: "Kentucky SB 4 (2023RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Coal", "Cooperatives", "Effective Dates", "Emergency", "Energy", "Fuel", "Minerals and Mining", "Oil and Natural Gas", "Public Utilities", "Reports Mandated"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-02-07T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-29T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9fd2917c-503b-4e0e-8954-75dc04d0b24d"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23RS/sb4.html"
source_hash: "7512a9fd38f6594a5e7de7e8fd427904a81da9170fc0e1392a13984c274eb865"
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 4 (2023RS) — AN ACT relating to the retirement of fossil fuel-fired electric generating units and declaring an emergency.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 278 to define terms; prohibit the Public Service Commission from approving a request by a utility to retire a coal-fired electric generator unless the utility demonstrates that the retirement will not have a negative impact on the reliability or the resilience of the electric grid or the affordability of the customer's electric utility rate; require the Public Service Commission to submit an annual report on retirements of electric generating units by December 1 to the Legislative Research Commission; EMERGENCY.

## 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/sb4/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 118** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/23RS/documents/0118.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/sb4/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Final Passage — **pass** (pass) · upper
- PASS SB 4 W/ scs1 sfa2 — **pass** (pass) · upper

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2023-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-09T05:00:00+00:00** to Natural Resources & Energy (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-02-28T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-01T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 02, 2023
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** Floor Amendment (1) withdrawn
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** passed 25-8 with Committee Substitute (1) and floor amendment (2) `passage`
- **2023-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2023-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** to Natural Resources & Energy (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Natural Resources & Energy (H)
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Natural Resources & Energy (H)
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Natural Resources & Energy (H)
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Natural Resources & Energy (H)
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, to Rules `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** placed in the Orders of the Day
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 66-28 `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **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
- **2023-03-24T04:00:00+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. 118) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/9fd2917c-503b-4e0e-8954-75dc04d0b24d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).