Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session is gonna be a long one, and Queer Kentucky is here to help.

Meet Queer Kentucky’s #KYGA26 Bill Tracker. For the second year in a row, this will be your go-to spot for real-time updates on key bills impacting Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ community.

We’ll comb through all of the legislation as it gets filed, flag bills to watch, explain what they mean and why they’re important, and then monitor them as they move through Frankfort. We’ll also watch for any last-second bill changes y’all need to know about.

To better help cut through the chaos of Frankfort, this bill tracker has two parts. (Both parts are on this page, so go ahead and bookmark it and make plans to check it regularly.)

First, we’ll have a searchable database of a larger selection of bills folks are talking about, are big legislative priorities, or are just things y’all might find interesting.

Then, we’ll have written blurbs diving deeper — but still keeping things concise — into the absolute must-watch bills impacting LGBTQ+ rights and people.

The 2026 legislative session kicks off Jan. 6 and lasts until April 15. Lawmakers have until the first week of March to submit new bills (but they can change existing bills however they want until the end of session).

Got a certain bill or topic you want us to monitor? Email lead politics reporter Olivia Krauth at [email protected] or fill out this anonymous survey.

This story was last updated Jan. 22 at 8:30 p.m.

Search through key legislation

Learn more about key bills as they arise:

House Bill 170: Protecting “religious liberty”

• Sponsor: Rep. TJ Roberts (R-Burlington)
• Quickly, what’s going on here?: HB 170 says the government could not “substantially burden” someone’s freedom of religion, including but not limited to forcing someone to serve LGBTQ+ people or having a local fairness ordinance. LGBTQ+ advocates often refer to measures like these as “jackpot justice” bills.
• Here’s a link to the full bill.
• Where is the bill:Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

Senate Bill 72: Health care professionals’ conscience

• Sponsor: Sen. Donald Douglas (R-Nicholasville)
• Quickly, what’s going on here?: Health care professionals could not be discriminated against for refusing certain treatments or procedures that violate their conscience.
• Here’s a link to the full bill.
• Where is the bill: Waiting to be assigned to a committee.

House Bill 334: Male and female only 

• Sponsor: Rep. Candy Massaroni (R-Bardstown)
• Quickly, what’s going on here?: HB 334 would establish a “Kentucky Women’s Bill of Rights,” which would allow public entities to distinguish between male and female based on biological sex and require several such entities that keep vital statistics to only use male or female.
• Here’s a link to the full bill.
• Where is the bill:Assigned to the House State Government Committee.

House Bill 360: Make drag a crime

• Sponsor: Rep. Scott Sharp (R-Ashland)
• Quickly, what’s going on here?: HB 360 would make performing in drag in public or other places where minors could be present a crime. The first two offenses would be a misdemeanor, before the third and additional offenses become Class D felonies.
• Here’s a link to the full bill.
• Where is the bill: Assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

House Bill 475: Male and female only

• Sponsor: Rep. Ryan Dotson (R-Winchester)
• Quickly, what’s going on here?: HB 475 would put it in Kentucky law that a person only has one gender: male or female.
• Here’s a link to the full bill.
• Where is the bill: Waiting to be assigned to a committee.