---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to the unauthorized practice of law."
description: "Amend KRS 524.130 to increase the class of the crime of the unauthorized practice of law from a Class B misdemeanor for the first offense to a Class A misdemeanor, and establish each subsequent offense as a Class D felony."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2022RS"
identifier: "HB 256"
citation: "Kentucky HB 256 (2022RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Attorney", "Commonwealth's", "Attorney", "County", "Attorneys", "Corrections Impact", "Crimes and Punishments", "Local Mandate"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["C. Massey", "D. Elliott"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 22
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2022-01-10T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2022-04-08T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2d2c98bb-ac13-42e6-af7e-4a26b8c2ad77"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/22RS/hb256.html"
source_hash: "a81f7f1036f282f156dbfbece464b315058483c901fef5ba323a76fedc955ef2"
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 256 (2022RS) — AN ACT relating to the unauthorized practice of law.

Amend KRS 524.130 to increase the class of the crime of the unauthorized practice of law from a Class B misdemeanor for the first offense to a Class A misdemeanor, and establish each subsequent offense as a Class D felony.

## 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/22RS/hb256/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 179** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/22RS/documents/0179.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/22RS/hb256/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Pass — **pass** (pass) · lower
- FINAL PASSAGE HB 256 — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- C. Massey — primary (person)
- D. Elliott — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2022-01-10T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2022-01-10T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-11T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (H) `referral-committee`
- **2022-01-12T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2022-01-13T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2022-01-13T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, January 18, 2022
- **2022-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 85-7 `passage, reading-3`
- **2022-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2022-02-07T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2022-02-09T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2022-03-17T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2022-03-18T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2022-03-21T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 24, 2022
- **2022-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2022-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2022-03-29T04:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2022-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 23-11 `passage, reading-3`
- **2022-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2022-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2022-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2022-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2022-04-08T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 179) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2d2c98bb-ac13-42e6-af7e-4a26b8c2ad77`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).