{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-148.527","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 148.527","heading":"Kentucky Certified Retirement Community Program.","body":"(1) The Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage\nCabinet shall, after appropriate research has been conducted, establish and maintain\na Kentucky Certified Retirement Community Program whereby retirees and those\nplanning to re tire are encouraged to make their homes in Kentucky communities\nthat have met certain criteria to be certified by the Tourism, Arts and Heritage\nCabinet as a Kentucky certified retirement community. In support of this program,\nthe Kentucky Department of Tr avel and Tourism shall identify certain issues of\ninterest to retirees or potential retirees in order to inform them of the benefits of\nliving in Kentucky. Issues of interest to retirees may include but are not limited to:\n(a) Kentucky's state and local tax structure;\n(b) Housing opportunities and cost;\n(c) Climate;\n(d) Personal safety;\n(e) Working opportunities;\n(f) Health care services and other services along the continuum of services,\nincluding but not limited to home and community based services;\n(g) Transportation;\n(h) Continuing education;\n(i) Leisure living;\n(j) Recreation;\n(k) The performing arts;\n(l) Festivals and events;\n(m) Sports at all levels; and\n(n) Other services and facilities that are necessary to enable persons to age in the\ncommunity and in the least restrictive environment.\n(2) The mission of the Kentucky Certified Retirement Community Program shall be to:\n(a) Promote the state as a retirement d estination to retirees and those persons and\nfamilies who are planning retirement both in and outside of Kentucky;\n(b) Assist Kentucky communities in their efforts to market themselves as\nretirement locations and to develop communities that retirees would find\nattractive for a retirement lifestyle;\n(c) Assist in the development of retirement communities and lifecare\ncommunities for economic development purposes and as a means of providing\na potential workforce and enriching Kentucky communities; and\n(d) Encourage tourism to Kentucky in the form of mature market travel to\nKentucky in reference to retirement desirability for the future, and for the\nvisitation of those who have chosen to retire in Kentucky.\n(3) The Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet shall coord inate the development and\nplanning of the Kentucky Certified Retirement Community Program with the\nCabinet for Economic Development, the Department for Aging and Independent\nLiving in the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Kentucky Commission on\nMilitary Affairs, the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and other state and local\ngroups interested in participating in and promoting the program.\n(4) To obtain certification as a Kentucky certified retirement community, the following\nrequirements shall be met:\n(a) Official community support. A resolution by the governing authority\nendorsing the local retirement recruitment effort is required;\n(b) Designation of a sponsor. The program shall have an official sponsoring\norganization that shall appoint an indivi dual who will be accountable to the\ncommunity and to the state;\n(c) Funding. The sponsoring organization must commit a minimum of ten\nthousand dollars ($10,000) per year for the local program;\n(d) Health services. There shall be a hospital and emergency medical services that\nare readily accessible to the community;\n(e) Available housing. The community shall maintain information on both resale\nhousing and rental housing to ensure that the quantity is sufficient to meet the\nneeds of potential new retiree residents;\n(f) Retiree desirability assessment. The community shall conduct a retiree\ndesirability assessment that shall focus on a number of factors including, but\nnot limited to, medical services, adult education opportunities, shopping,\nrecreation, cultural opportunities, safety, aging services, and a continuum of\ncare including home and community based services, housing for the elderly,\nassisted living, personal care, and nursing care facilities;\n(g) Establishment of subcommittees. Each locality shall have a general retiree\nattraction committee and a minimum of four (4) subcommittees as follows:\n1. Community inventory/assessment subcommittee. This subcommittee\nshall conduct an unbiased inventory and assessment of whether the\ncommunity can offer the basics th at retirees demand and develop a\nprofessional portfolio containing brief biographies of professionals in\nthe community;\n2. Community relations/fundraising subcommittee. This subcommittee\nshall locate retirees living in the community, act as salespersons fo r the\nprogram, raise funds necessary to run the program, recruit subcommittee\nmembers, organize special events, and promote and coordinate the\nprogram with local entities;\n3. Marketing and promotion subcommittee. This subcommittee shall\nestablish a communi ty image, evaluate target markets, develop and\ndistribute promotional material, and coordinate advertising and public\nrelations campaigns; and\n4. Ambassadors subcommittee. This subcommittee shall be the first\ncontact with prospective retirees and provide tour guides when prospects\nvisit the community. The subcommittee shall respond to inquiries, log\ncontacts made, provide tours, invite prospects to special community\nevents, and maintain continual contact with prospects until the time that\nthe prospect makes a retirement location decision;\n(h) Community profile. The sponsor shall develop a community profile similar to\nthat used by many chambers of commerce. It will include factors such as\ncrime statistics, tax information, recreational opportunities, and hous ing\navailability; and\n(i) Written marketing plan. The retiree attraction committee shall submit a\nmarketing plan that shall detail the mission, the target market, the\ncompetition, an analysis of the community's strengths, weaknesses,\nopportunities and threats, and the strategies the program will employ to attain\nits goals.\n(5) During the certification process, a representative of the retirement attraction\ncommittee shall attend state training meetings.\n(6) The retiree attraction committee shall work to gain  the support of churches, clubs,\nbusinesses, and the local media, as this support is necessary for the success of the\nprogram.\n(7) Within ninety (90) days of certification, the locality shall submit a complete retiree\nattraction package to the Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism.\n(8) Before certification is awarded, the retiree attraction committee shall submit a\nwritten three (3) year commitment to the program and a long -term plan outlining\nsteps the community will undertake to maintain its desirabil ity as a destination for\nretirees. The long -range plan shall outline plans to correct any facility and service\ndeficiencies identified in the retiree desirability assessment required by subsection\n(4)(f) of this section. The written commitment and long -range plan shall be\nforwarded to the Kentucky Department of Travel and Tourism of the Tourism, Arts\nand Heritage Cabinet.\n(9) Upon being certified as a Kentucky certified retirement community, the Tourism,\nArts and Heritage Cabinet shall provide the following assistance to the community:\n(a) Assistance in the training of local staff and volunteers;\n(b) Ongoing oversight and guidance in marketing, plus updating on national\nretirement trends;\n(c) Inclusion in the state's national advertising and public relations campaigns and\ntravel show promotions, including a prominent feature on the cabinet's\nInternet Web site;\n(d) Eligibility for state financial assistance for brochures, support material, and\nadvertising; and\n(e) An annual evaluation and p rogress assessment on maintaining and improving\nthe community's desirability as a home for retirees.\n(10) The Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations\nto implement the provisions of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 148"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=1752","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:50:41Z","sha256":"52f238d7fd2ebd1a90eea7b7cdb1f75ef48eead4f4fc56f343d8d00591aaa0a2","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-148.525","next":"us-ky/krs-148.530"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}