---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to the Department of Corrections."
description: "Amend KRS 197.020 to establish that the Department of Corrections shall not be required to promulgate administrative regulations regarding the death penalty; establish that execution protocols and procedures may be prescribed by internal policy, memorandum, or another form of action; amend KRS 13A.105 to conform; make technical corrections."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "SB 251"
citation: "Kentucky SB 251 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Administrative Regulations And Proceedings", "Corrections And Correctional Facilities", "State", "Corrections Impact", "Crimes And Punishments", "Criminal Procedure", "Deaths", "State Agencies", "Technical Corrections"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["M. Nunn", "S. West"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 42
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/8c50f6c2-d0b5-499d-bae2-015fb37ed228"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/sb251.html"
source_hash: "1f8f1bbbd39cba81c31434d3bc7524af770782d6c90bd70e4d9f9a1eb98e2c11"
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 251 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to the Department of Corrections.

Amend KRS 197.020 to establish that the Department of Corrections shall not be required to promulgate administrative regulations regarding the death penalty; establish that execution protocols and procedures may be prescribed by internal policy, memorandum, or another form of action; amend KRS 13A.105 to conform; make technical corrections.

## 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/sb251/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 181** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0181.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/sb251/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- PASS SB 251 — **24–11** (pass) · upper
- OVERRIDE VETO FINAL PASSAGE SB 251 — **30–7** (pass) · upper
- FINAL PASSAGE OF SB 251 w/ HFA 2 — **27–9** (pass) · upper
- Adopt — **53–18** (pass) · upper
- Pass — **68–23** (pass) · upper
- Veto Override — **74–16** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- M. Nunn — primary (person)
- S. West — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-09T04:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-12T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-13T04:00:00+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
- **2026-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 24-11 `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** to State Government (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-03-27T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-03-27T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (2) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** placed in the Orders of the Day
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 68-23 with Floor Amendment (2) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** Senate concurred in Floor Amendment (2)
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** passed 27-9 `passage`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in House Floor Amendment (2)
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2026-04-13T04:00:00+00:00** Vetoed `executive-veto`
- **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 30-7 `passage`
- **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 (H)
- **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 74-16 `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-04-14T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Secretary of State (Acts Ch. 181) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/8c50f6c2-d0b5-499d-bae2-015fb37ed228`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).