republic-os/legislation/us/states/ky/2024rs/hb-553.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to the Kentucky rural veterinary student loan repayment program and making an appropriation therefor."
description: "Create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to define terms; establish the Kentucky Rural Veterinary Medicine Student Loan Repayment Program for an eligible livestock practitioner who engages in veterinary medicine in an underserved rural area or veterinary shortage area for five consecutive years; authorize the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to promulgate administrative regulations; set forth program eligibility requirements; authorize the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to award loan repayment benefits to applicants selected by the Veterinary Student Loan Repayment Selection Committee; establish compliance requirements; create the rural veterinary care trust fund; establish purposes of the fund; APPROPRIATION."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2024RS"
identifier: "HB 553"
citation: "Kentucky HB 553 (2024RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Administrative Regulations and Proceedings", "Advisory Boards", "Commissions", "and Committees", "Agriculture", "Animals", "Livestock", "and Poultry", "Appropriations", "Education", "Finance", "Education", "Higher", "Fiscal Note", "State Agencies", "Veterinarians"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["A. Neighbors", "C. Aull", "C. Freeland", "C. Stevenson", "D. Fister", "D. Hale", "DJ Johnson", "J. Dixon", "J. Tipton", "K. King", "K. Timoney", "M. Koch", "M. Pollock", "P. Flannery", "P. Pratt", "R. Raymer", "S. Bratcher", "S. Heavrin"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 25
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2024-02-14T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2024-04-10T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/6f59194c-4255-440a-aa04-fd570c1f95ae"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24RS/hb553.html"
source_hash: "f21b79747dc2872295bf55f238d27e53920b80782750c6bb99a995776ba24a71"
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 553 (2024RS) — AN ACT relating to the Kentucky rural veterinary student loan repayment program and making an appropriation therefor.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 164 to define terms; establish the Kentucky Rural Veterinary Medicine Student Loan Repayment Program for an eligible livestock practitioner who engages in veterinary medicine in an underserved rural area or veterinary shortage area for five consecutive years; authorize the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to promulgate administrative regulations; set forth program eligibility requirements; authorize the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority to award loan repayment benefits to applicants selected by the Veterinary Student Loan Repayment Selection Committee; establish compliance requirements; create the rural veterinary care trust fund; establish purposes of the fund; APPROPRIATION.

## 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/24RS/hb553/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 161** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/24RS/documents/0161.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/24RS/hb553/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Pass — **pass** (pass) · lower
- PASS HB 553 — **pass** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- A. Neighbors — primary (person)
- C. Aull — primary (person)
- C. Freeland — primary (person)
- C. Stevenson — primary (person)
- D. Fister — primary (person)
- D. Hale — primary (person)
- DJ Johnson — primary (person)
- J. Dixon — primary (person)
- J. Tipton — primary (person)
- K. King — primary (person)
- K. Timoney — primary (person)
- M. Koch — primary (person)
- M. Pollock — primary (person)
- P. Flannery — primary (person)
- P. Pratt — primary (person)
- R. Raymer — primary (person)
- S. Bratcher — primary (person)
- S. Heavrin — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2024-02-14T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2024-02-14T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2024-02-21T05:00:00+00:00** to Appropriations & Revenue (H) `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-12T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2024-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 14, 2024
- **2024-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 88-4 with Committee Substitute (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2024-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-21T04:00:00+00:00** to Education (S) `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-21T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Education (S)
- **2024-03-21T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2024-03-21T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Education (S)
- **2024-03-22T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Education (S)
- **2024-03-22T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading `reading-2`
- **2024-03-22T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Education (S)
- **2024-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, to Rules as a consent bill `committee-passage`
- **2024-03-27T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Thursday, March 28, 2024
- **2024-03-28T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 38-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2024-03-28T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2024-03-28T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2024-03-28T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2024-03-28T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2024-04-09T04:00:00+00:00** filed without Governor's signature with the Secretary of State
- **2024-04-10T04:00:00+00:00** became law without Governor's Signature (Acts Ch. 161) `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/6f59194c-4255-440a-aa04-fd570c1f95ae`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).