---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to firearms liability protections and declaring an emergency."
description: "Create a new section of KRS Chapter 411 to define terms; establish liability protections for manufacturers and sellers of firearms against specified legal actions arising from criminal or unlawful use of firearms or ammunition; establish criteria for proceedings including timelines and burden of proof; establish a civil cause of action for violation of the extended protections for manufacturers and sellers and delineate available damages; provide the Attorney General with enforcement authority; provide that the Act may be cited as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms (PLCAA) Clarification Act of 2026; EMERGENCY."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "HB 78"
citation: "Kentucky HB 78 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Attorney General", "Civil Actions", "Civil Procedure", "Effective Dates", "Emergency", "Federal Laws And Regulations", "Firearms And Weapons", "Short Titles And Popular Names"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["D. Elliott", "D. Lewis", "J. Calloway", "J. Hodgson", "K. Moser", "M. Whitaker", "S. Rudy", "T. Roberts", "V. Grossl", "W. Lawrence", "W. Williams"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 45
vote_count: 5
first_action: "2026-01-07T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/59d7151c-a09d-49d1-bdec-89293211cf9c"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb78.html"
source_hash: "a6f07dff6684c5004a198c3c593598928ce63a4d76172a5c303975a1fee9232c"
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 78 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to firearms liability protections and declaring an emergency.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 411 to define terms; establish liability protections for manufacturers and sellers of firearms against specified legal actions arising from criminal or unlawful use of firearms or ammunition; establish criteria for proceedings including timelines and burden of proof; establish a civil cause of action for violation of the extended protections for manufacturers and sellers and delineate available damages; provide the Attorney General with enforcement authority; provide that the Act may be cited as the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms (PLCAA) Clarification Act of 2026; 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/26RS/hb78/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 177** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0177.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb78/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Pass — **75–17** (pass) · lower
- OVERRIDE VETO FINAL PASSAGE HB 78 — **31–6** (pass) · lower
- PASS HB 78 w/ SCS 1 — **32–6** (pass) · lower
- Veto Override — **80–19** (pass) · lower
- Final Passage — **76–16** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- D. Elliott — primary (person)
- D. Lewis — primary (person)
- J. Calloway — primary (person)
- J. Hodgson — primary (person)
- K. Moser — primary (person)
- M. Whitaker — primary (person)
- S. Rudy — primary (person)
- T. Roberts — primary (person)
- V. Grossl — primary (person)
- W. Lawrence — primary (person)
- W. Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-07T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2026-01-07T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-14T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-12T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Monday, March 16 2026
- **2026-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 75-17 with Committee Substitute (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-18T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-03-18T04:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Judiciary (S)
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Judiciary (S)
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Judiciary (S)
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading `reading-2`
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Judiciary (S)
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** placed in the Orders of the Day
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 32-6 with Committee Substitute (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-27T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-03-27T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1)
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** House concurred in Committee Substitute (1)
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** passed 76-16 `passage`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2026-04-03T04:00:00+00:00** Vetoed `executive-veto`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** posted for consideration of Governor's veto
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** veto overridden `veto-override-passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** passed 80-19 `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for consideration of Governor's veto
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** veto overridden `veto-override-passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** passed 31-6 `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Secretary of State (Acts Ch. 177) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/59d7151c-a09d-49d1-bdec-89293211cf9c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).