Requirements for participation in fund distribution -- Service and training in another state -- Eligibility of government unit contingent on police department compliance -- Deputies -- Deadlines
KRS 15.440
in effect15.440. Requirements for participation in fund distribution -- Service and training in another state -- Eligibility of government unit contingent on police department compliance -- Deputies -- Deadlines
(1) Each unit of government that meets the following requirements shall be eligible to share in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund:
(a) Employs one (1) or more police officers;
(b) Pays every police officer at least the minimum federal wage;
(c) Requires all police officers to have, at a minimum, a high school degree, or its equivalent as determined by the council, except that each police officer employed prior to the date on which the officer's police department was included as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this subsection;
(d) 1. Requires all police officers to successfully complete a basic training course of nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours' duration within one (1) year of the date of employment at a school certified or recognized by the council, which may provide a different number of hours of instruction as established in this paragraph, except that each police officer employed prior to the date on which the officer's police departm ent was included as a participant under KRS 15.410 to 15.510 shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this subsection. 2. As the exclusive method by which the number of hours required for basic training courses shall be modified from that which is s pecifically established by this paragraph, the council may, by the promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A, explicitly set the exact number of hours for basic training at a number different from nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours based upon a training curriculum approved by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council as determined by a validated job task analysis. 3. If the council sets an exact number of hours different from nine hundred twenty-eight (928) in an administrative regulation as provided by this paragraph, it shall not further change the number of hours required for basic training without promulgating administrative regulations in accordance with the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A. 4. Nothing in this paragraph shall be interpreted to prevent the council, pursuant to its authority under KRS 15.330, from approving training schools with a curriculum requiring attendance of a number of hours that exceeds nine hundred twenty-eight (928) hours or the number of hours established in an administrative regulation as provided by subparagraphs 2. and 3. of this paragraph. However, the training programs and schools for the basic training of law enforcement personnel conducted by the department pursua nt to KRS 15A.070 shall not contain a curriculum that requires attendance of a number of hours for basic training that is different from nine hundred twenty -eight (928) hours or the number of hours established in an administrative regulation promulgated by the council pursuant to the provisions of KRS Chapter 13A as provided by subparagraphs 2. and 3. of this paragraph. 5. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: a. Years of service credit as a law enforcement officer with previous service in another state; and b. Basic training completed in another state. 6. KRS 15.400 and 15.404(1) and subparagraphs 1. to 4. of this paragraph to the contrary notwithstanding, the council may, through the promulgation of administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A, approve basic training credit for: a. Completion of eight hundred forty-eight (848) hours of training at a school established pursuant to KRS 15A.070; b. A minimum of fifteen (15) years of experience as a certified law enforcement instructor at a school established pursuant to KRS 15A.070; c. Completion of an average of forty (40) hours of Kentucky Law Enforcement Council approved in -service training annually from January 1, 1997, through January 1, 2020; d. Three (3) years of active, full-time service as a: i. City, county, urban-county, charter county, consolidated local, or unified local government police officer; ii. Sheriff's deputy, excluding special deputies appointed under KRS 70.045; iii. Department of Kentucky State Police officer; or iv. Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources game warden exercising peace officer powers under KRS 150.090; and e. Completion of the: i. Twenty-four (24) hour legal update Penal Code course; ii. Sixteen (16) hour legal update constitutional procedure course; and iii. Forty (40) hour basic officer skills course within one (1) year prior to applying for certification;
(e) Requires all police officers to successfully complete each calendar year an in- service training course, appropriate to the officer's rank and responsibility and the size and location of the officer's police department, of forty (40) hours' duration, at a school certified or recognized by the council which may include a four (4) hour course which meets the requirements of paragraph (j) of this subsection. This in-service training requirement shall be waived for the period of time that a peace officer is serving on active duty in the United States Armed Forces. This waiver shall be retroactive for peace officers from the date of September 11, 2001;
(f) Complies with all provisions of law a pplicable to police officers or police departments, including: 1. Transmission of data to the centralized criminal history record information system as required by KRS 17.150; and 2. Transmission of reports as required by KRS 15.391;
(g) Complies with all rules and regulations, appropriate to the size and location of the police department issued by the cabinet to facilitate the administration of the fund and further the purposes of KRS 15.410 to 15.510;
(h) Possesses a written policy and procedures manual r elated to domestic violence for law enforcement agencies that has been approved by the cabinet. The policy shall comply with the provisions of KRS 403.715 to 403.785. The policy shall include: 1. A purpose statement; 2. Definitions; 3. Supervisory responsibilities; 4. Procedures for twenty-four (24) hour access to protective orders; 5. Procedures for enforcement of court orders or relief when protective orders are violated; 6. Procedures for timely and contemporaneous reporting of adult abuse and domestic violence to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Community Based Services; 7. Victim rights, assistance, and service responsibilities; and 8. Duties related to timely completion of records;
(i) Possesses a written policy and procedures manual related to sexual assault examinations that meets the standards provided b y, and has been approved by, the cabinet, and which includes: 1. A requirement that evidence collected as a result of an examination performed under KRS 216B.400 be taken into custody within five (5) days of notice from the collecting facility that the evi dence is available for retrieval; 2. A requirement that evidence received from a collecting facility relating to an incident which occurred outside the jurisdiction of the police department be transmitted to a police department with jurisdiction within ten (10) days of its receipt by the police department; 3. A requirement that all evidence retrieved from a collecting facility under this paragraph be transmitted to the Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory within thirty (30) days of its re ceipt by the police department; 4. A requirement that a suspect standard, if available, be transmitted to the Department of Kentucky State Police forensic laboratory with the evidence received from a collecting facility; 5. A process for notifying the victim from whom the evidence was collected of the progress of the testing, whether the testing resulted in a match to other DNA samples, and if the evidence is to be destroyed. The policy may include provisions for delaying notice until a suspect is apprehended or the office of the Commonwealth's attorney consents to the notification, but shall not automatically require the disclosure of the identity of any person to whom the evidence matched; and 6. A requirement that DNA samples collected as a result of an examination performed under KRS 216B.400 that are voluntarily submitted solely for elimination purposes shall not be checked against any DNA index, retained, or included in any DNA index;
(j) Requires all police officers to successfully complete by December 31, 2022, and every two (2) years thereafter, a training course certified by the council of not less than four (4) hours in emergency vehicle operation; and
(k) Possesses by December 1, 2026, a written policy and procedures manual related to pediatric ingestion or inhalation of controlled substances that includes a requirement that: 1. In each case where a child: a. Is suspected to have ingested or inhaled a controlled substance as defined in KRS 218A.010; and b. Requires medical attention; a police officer shall seek a search warrant for a urine, blood, or other appropriate test for the person who was responsible for the supervision of the child when the controlled substance was ingested or inhaled; and 2. Any test sought under subparagraph 1. of this pa ragraph shall test for the presence of a wide range of substances that are commonly abused, including but not limited to: a. Buprenorphine; b. Cocaine; c. Fentanyl; d. Marijuana; e. Methadone; f. Methamphetamine; g. Tetrahydrocannabinol; h. Xylazine; and i. Any salt, compound, or derivative of any substance listed in subdivisions a. to h. of this subparagraph.
(2) A unit of government which meets the criteria of this section shall be eligible to continue sharing in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund only if the police department of the unit of government remains in compliance with the requirements of this section.
(3) Deputies employed by a sheriff's office shall be eligible to participate in the distribution of funds from the Law Enforcement Foundation Program fund regardless of participation by the sheriff.
(4) Failure to meet a deadline established in a policy adopted pursuant to subsection
(1)(i) of this section for the retrieval or submission of evidence shall not be a basis for a dismissal of a criminal action or a bar to the admissibility of the evidence in a criminal action.
Effective: July 15, 2026
History: Amended 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 68, sec. 15, effective July 15, 2026. -- Amended 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 159, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2024. -- Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 2, effective July 14, 2022. -- Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 73, sec. 5, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 97, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2020; and ch. 124, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2020. -- Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 95, sec. 3, effective June 27, 2019. -- Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 89, sec. 4, effective July 1, 2018. -- Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 58, sec. 2, effective March 21, 2017. -- Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 58, sec. 2, effective April 8, 2016; and ch. 112, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2016. -- Amended 2007 Ky. Acts ch. 85, sec. 23, effective June 26, 2007. -- Amended 2003 Ky. Acts ch. 106, sec. 2, effective June 24, 2003. -- Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 137, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2002. -- Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 480, sec. 9, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 244, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998; ch. 510, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1998; and ch. 606, sec. 120, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 105, sec. 1. Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 74, Art. V, sec. 24(10). -- Created 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 71, sec. 4.
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57463Fetched: 10/20/2026