---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to the donation of food."
description: "Amend KRS 217.127 to define \"charitable food donor\" as a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or home-based processor, which produces food for distribution to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster; exempt a charitable food donor from the licensing requirements of KRS 217.005 to 217.215 and application of State Plumbing Code requirements; amend KRS 217.218 to conform; amend KRS 411.241 to exempt a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a home-based processor from civil or criminal liability arising from the production or donation of food to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "HB 281"
citation: "Kentucky HB 281 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Agriculture", "Civil Actions", "Claims", "Licensing", "Public Health", "Religion", "State Agencies"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["A. Thompson", "B. Chester-Burton", "C. Aull", "C. Freeland", "D. Gordon", "D. Grossberg", "D. Hale", "D. Lewis", "E. Callaway", "J. Bray", "J. Calloway", "J. Payne", "K. Banta", "K. Fleming", "K. Holloway", "K. Jackson", "K. King", "K. Moser", "M. Hart", "N. Tate", "P. Flannery", "R. Duvall", "R. White", "S. Bratcher", "S. McPherson", "S. Sharp", "S. Stalker", "T. Roberts", "V. Grossl", "W. Williams"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 20
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2026-01-08T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-03T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b8d0d861-7ca9-468b-8743-af2c1fd67c33"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb281.html"
source_hash: "f5ff808ba098b3bfbd8c8ef89c25c2ce7b6a2998ab093ef0161c94b21c6cc110"
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 281 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to the donation of food.

Amend KRS 217.127 to define "charitable food donor" as a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or home-based processor, which produces food for distribution to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster; exempt a charitable food donor from the licensing requirements of KRS 217.005 to 217.215 and application of State Plumbing Code requirements; amend KRS 217.218 to conform; amend KRS 411.241 to exempt a nonprofit or religious organization that is recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or a home-based processor from civil or criminal liability arising from the production or donation of food to a homeless shelter or to individuals displaced due to a declared natural disaster.

## 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/hb281/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 30** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0030.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb281/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- CONSENT PASSAGE OF HB 281 — **38–0** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **95–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- A. Thompson — primary (person)
- B. Chester-Burton — primary (person)
- C. Aull — primary (person)
- C. Freeland — primary (person)
- D. Gordon — primary (person)
- D. Grossberg — primary (person)
- D. Hale — primary (person)
- D. Lewis — primary (person)
- E. Callaway — primary (person)
- J. Bray — primary (person)
- J. Calloway — primary (person)
- J. Payne — primary (person)
- K. Banta — primary (person)
- K. Fleming — primary (person)
- K. Holloway — primary (person)
- K. Jackson — primary (person)
- K. King — primary (person)
- K. Moser — primary (person)
- M. Hart — primary (person)
- N. Tate — primary (person)
- P. Flannery — primary (person)
- R. Duvall — primary (person)
- R. White — primary (person)
- S. Bratcher — primary (person)
- S. McPherson — primary (person)
- S. Sharp — primary (person)
- S. Stalker — primary (person)
- T. Roberts — primary (person)
- V. Grossl — primary (person)
- W. Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-08T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2026-01-08T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-15T05:00:00+00:00** to Agriculture (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-21T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-01-22T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, January 28, 2026
- **2026-01-29T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 95-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-01-30T05:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-01-30T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-06T05:00:00+00:00** to Agriculture (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-10T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-11T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules as a consent bill `reading-2`
- **2026-03-20T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 24 2026
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Consent Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 38-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2026-04-03T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 30) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b8d0d861-7ca9-468b-8743-af2c1fd67c33`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).