Kentucky Law: Legislative

Often the answer to a particular legal question will be found in statutes, not in case law. Kentucky's official statutory code is the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS).

Every year the Kentucky General Assembly meets and proposes bills (prior to 2001, the legislature met every other year). If the bills pass they become law. These laws are passed in chronological order and published in the Kentucky Acts.

In order to make researching statutes more reliable and efficient, the laws are arranged by subject into a statutory code (KRS) by the Legislative Research Commission.

A citation to the KRS will be in one of the following formats:

• KRS § Section
  • For example: KRS § 417.240
• Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § Section (Publisher Year)
  • Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 417.240 (Michie 1996)