republic-os/legislation/us/states/ky/2026rs/sb-189.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to the regulation of digital asset business."
description: "Establish Subtitle 13 of KRS Chapter 286 and create new sections thereof to regulate virtual currency kiosks; establish definitions; provide for enforcement by the commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions; establish license requirements for virtual currency kiosks; require regulatory filings to be submitted to a nationwide licensing system registry; establish initial and renewal application processes and requirements, reporting, surety bond and tangible net worth, and change of control requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators; require the commissioner to promulgate administrative regulations to establish format, document submission, fee, and trade practice requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators; establish record retention requirements for persons required to be licensed as virtual currency kiosk operators; establish trade practice requirements relating to protection of resident assets, virtual currency kiosk transactions, prohibited practices, and fraud and information security compliance procedures; authorize the commissioner to conduct investigations and examinations; provide for the confidentiality of certain documents provided to the commissioner; authorize the commissioner to share, disclose, and report information and take other actions to assist in the commissioner's duties; require the commissioner to submit an annual licensing report to the Legislative Research Commission; establish due process requirements for adverse actions taken by the commissioner against licensees and other persons; establish requirements for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license; authorize the commissioner to enter cease and desist orders and emergency orders; authorize the commissioner to order civil penalties against persons that violate the subtitle; require the commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions to promulgate any required emergency and ordinary administrative regulations on or before January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE, in part, March 31, 2027."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "SB 189"
citation: "Kentucky SB 189 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Administrative Regulations And Proceedings", "Banks And Financial Institutions", "Commerce", "Consumer Protection", "Digital Assets", "Effective Dates", "Delayed", "Licensing", "Peace Officers And Law Enforcement", "Reports Mandated", "State Agencies"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["R. Mills", "S. Rawlings"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 33
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2026-02-12T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-13T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/ab20ee80-f2b6-49b8-806f-679de6b7c2bd"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/sb189.html"
source_hash: "c41e41d0fe0a59eedea8bfb6ba5881b55a40155577d071b63b4f50f69cdc98b1"
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 189 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to the regulation of digital asset business.

Establish Subtitle 13 of KRS Chapter 286 and create new sections thereof to regulate virtual currency kiosks; establish definitions; provide for enforcement by the commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions; establish license requirements for virtual currency kiosks; require regulatory filings to be submitted to a nationwide licensing system registry; establish initial and renewal application processes and requirements, reporting, surety bond and tangible net worth, and change of control requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators; require the commissioner to promulgate administrative regulations to establish format, document submission, fee, and trade practice requirements for virtual currency kiosk operators; establish record retention requirements for persons required to be licensed as virtual currency kiosk operators; establish trade practice requirements relating to protection of resident assets, virtual currency kiosk transactions, prohibited practices, and fraud and information security compliance procedures; authorize the commissioner to conduct investigations and examinations; provide for the confidentiality of certain documents provided to the commissioner; authorize the commissioner to share, disclose, and report information and take other actions to assist in the commissioner's duties; require the commissioner to submit an annual licensing report to the Legislative Research Commission; establish due process requirements for adverse actions taken by the commissioner against licensees and other persons; establish requirements for the denial, suspension, or revocation of a license; authorize the commissioner to enter cease and desist orders and emergency orders; authorize the commissioner to order civil penalties against persons that violate the subtitle; require the commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions to promulgate any required emergency and ordinary administrative regulations on or before January 1, 2027; EFFECTIVE, in part, March 31, 2027.

## 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/sb189/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 126** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0126.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/sb189/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Pass — **81–7** (pass) · upper
- Adopt — **81–3** (pass) · upper
- PASS SB 189 w/ SCS 1, SFA 2 — **37–0** (pass) · upper
- FINAL PASSAGE OF SB 189 w/ HCS 1, HFA 2, HCA 1 (T) — **38–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- R. Mills — primary (person)
- S. Rawlings — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-02-12T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2026-02-12T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-20T05:00:00+00:00** to Banking & Insurance (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-02-26T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-02-26T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, February 27 2026
- **2026-02-27T05:00:00+00:00** passed over and retained in the Orders of the Day `passage`
- **2026-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2026-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) withdrawn
- **2026-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** passed 37-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (2) `passage`
- **2026-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** to Banking & Insurance (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-03-27T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Tuesday, March 31 2026
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (3) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** Committee Substitute (1) adopted
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (2) adopted
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 81-7 with Committee Substitute (1), Floor Amendment (2) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `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** posted for passage for concurrence in House Floor Amendment (2), Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** Senate concurred in Committee Substitute (1), Floor Amendment (2) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** passed 38-0 `passage`
- **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** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 126) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/ab20ee80-f2b6-49b8-806f-679de6b7c2bd`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).