{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-218b.130","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 218B.130","heading":"Local government -- Ordinances regulating or prohibiting cannabis --","body":"Establishment of local fees -- City within a county that prohibits cannabis may\nenact ordinance to approve -- Public question -- Procedures -- Local\ngovernment to notify cabinet of decision to prohibit cannabis business.\n(1) For the purposes of this section, \"local government\" means a city, county, urban -\ncounty government, consolidated local government, charter county government, or\nunified local government.\n(2) A local government:\n(a) Prior to the cabinet issuing a license to a cannabis business to conduct\nbusiness operations within its territory, may:\n1. Prohibit all cannabis business operations within its territory through the\npassage of an ordinance; or\n2. Enact resolutio ns directing that the question of prohibiting cannabis\nbusinesses from operating within its territory be submitted to the voters\nof its territory at the next regular election pursuant to subsection (3)(b)\nof this section;\nexcept as provided in KRS 218B.090(5); and\n(b) Within whose territory cannabis business operations are permitted, may enact\nordinances:\n1. That are not less restrictive than this chapter or any administrative\nregulations promulgated thereunder, relating to the time, place, and\nmanner of cannabis business operations, except that a local government\nshall not, except as permitted in paragraph (a) of this subsection, enact\nordinances that impose an undue burden or make cannabis business\noperations unreasonable or impractical; and\n2. To establish and assess reasonable local fees to compensate for any\nadditional costs caused by the operation of cannabis businesses within\nits territory. Any fees assessed pursuant to this subparagraph shall not\nexceed the additional costs caused by the op eration of cannabis\nbusinesses.\n(3) (a) If a county, consolidated local government, charter county government, or\nunified local government prohibits all cannabis business operations, the\nlegislative body of a city located within the county, consolidated lo cal\ngovernment, charter county government, or unified local government may:\n1. Approve cannabis business operations within the limits of the city\nthrough the passage of an ordinance; or\n2. Enact resolutions directing that the question of allowing cannabis\nbusinesses to operate within the limits of the city be submitted to the\nvoters who are eligible to vote in that city's elections at the next regular\nelection pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection.\n(b) If, not later than the second Tuesday in August preceding the day established\nfor a regular election, the county clerk has received a local government\nresolution pursuant to subsection (2) of this section or paragraph (a) of this\nsubsection, the county clerk shall have prepared to place before the voter s of\nthe affected territory at the next regular election the question, which shall be\n\"Are you in favor of the sale of medicinal cannabis at a licensed dispensary\nand the operation of other cannabis businesses in (affected territory)?\nYes....No....\". The county clerk shall cause to be published in accordance with\nKRS Chapter 424, at the same time as the remaining voter information, the\nfull text of the proposal. The county clerk shall cause to be posted in each\npolling place one (1) copy of the full text of the proposal.\n(4) If a local government legislative body with jurisdiction prohibits cannabis business\noperations through the passage of an ordinance, a public question that is initiated by\npetition and that proposes allowing a cannabis business to operat e within the\naffected territory is authorized.\n(5) A public question that is initiated by petition and is authorized by subsection (4) of\nthis section shall be submitted to the voters within the affected territory at the next\nregular election by complying with the following requirements:\n(a) Before a petition for submission of the proposal may be presented for\nsignatures, an intent to circulate the petition, including a copy of the unsigned\npetition, shall be filed with the county clerk of the affected terr itory by a\nperson or group of persons who have been registered to vote in the affected\nterritory for at least the previous twelve (12) months seeking the submission\nof the public question. The statement of intent shall include the addresses of\nthe person o r group of persons and shall specify the person or group of\npersons, as well as the address, to whom all notices are to be sent. Within ten\n(10) days after the intent to circulate the petition is filed, the county clerk shall\ndeliver a copy of the intent t o circulate the petition, including a copy of the\nunsigned petition, to the legislative body of the affected territory;\n(b) The petition shall set out in full the following question: \"Are you in favor of\noverturning the decision of the local government leg islative body and\nallowing the sale of medicinal cannabis at a licensed dispensary and the\noperation of other cannabis businesses in (affected territory)?\";\n(c) The petition for the submission of the proposal shall be signed by a number of\nconstitutionally qualified voters of the territory to be affected equal to ten\npercent (10%) of registered voters for the affected territory;\n(d) Each signature shall be executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be\nfollowed by the legibly printed name of each voter, f ollowed by the voter's\nresidence address, year of birth, and the correct date upon which the voter's\nname was signed;\n(e) No petition for the submission of the proposal shall be circulated for more\nthan six (6) months prior to its filing;\n(f) After a petition for the submission of the proposal has received no fewer than\nthe number of qualifying signatures required by paragraph (c) of this\nsubsection, the signed petition shall be filed with the county clerk. When it is\nfiled, each sheet of the petition shall  have an affidavit executed by the\ncirculator stating that he or she personally circulated the sheet, the number of\nsignatures thereon, that all signatures were affixed in his or her presence, that\nhe or she believes them to be the genuine signatures of re gistered voters\nwithin the affected territory, and that each signer had an opportunity before\nsigning to read the full text of the proposal;\n(g) No signer of the petition may withdraw his or her name or have it taken from\nthe petition after the petition ha s been filed. If the name of any person has\nbeen placed on the petition for submission of the public question without that\nperson's authority, the person may, at any time prior to certification of\nsufficiency of the petition by the county clerk as required  by paragraph (h) of\nthis subsection, request the removal of his or her name by the county board of\nelections and, upon proof that the person's name was placed on the petition\nwithout his or her authority, the person's name and personal information shall\nbe eliminated, and he or she shall not be counted as a petitioner;\n(h) Within thirty (30) days after the petition is filed, the county clerk shall\ncomplete a certificate as to its sufficiency or, if it is insufficient, specifying\nthe particulars of the insu fficiency, and shall send a copy to the person or\npersons specified in the statement of intent to receive all notices and to the\nlegislative body of the affected territory, all by registered mail. A petition\ncertified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may\nbe amended once by filing a supplemental petition upon additional sheets\nwithin thirty (30) days after receiving the certificate of insufficiency. The\nsupplemental petition shall comply with the requirements applicable to the\noriginal petition and, within ten (10) days after it is filed, the county clerk\nshall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended\nand promptly send a copy of the certificate to the person or persons specified\nto receive all not ices and to the legislative body of the affected territory by\nregistered mail;\n(i) A final determination as to the sufficiency of a petition shall be subject to\nreview in the Circuit Court of the county of the affected territory and shall be\nlimited to the  validity of the county clerk's determination. A final\ndetermination of insufficiency shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition\nfor the same purpose; and\n(j) If, not later than the second Tuesday in August preceding the day established\nfor a regular election, the county clerk has certified that a petition is sufficient,\nthe county clerk shall have prepared to place before the voters of the affected\nterritory at the next regular election the question, which shall be \"Are you in\nfavor of overturning the decision of the local government legislative body and\nallowing the sale of medicinal cannabis at a licensed dispensary and the\noperation of other cannabis businesses in (affected territory)? Yes....No....\".\nThe county clerk shall cause to be published in  accordance with KRS Chapter\n424, at the same time as the remaining voter information, the full text of the\nproposal. The county clerk shall cause to be posted in each polling place one\n(1) copy of the full text of the proposal.\n(6) If the question submitt ed to the voters under subsection (3) or (5) of this section\nfails to pass, three (3) years shall elapse before the question of medicinal cannabis\nsales and cannabis business operations may be included on a regular election ballot\nfor the affected territory.\n(7) If the question submitted to the voters under subsection (3) or (5) of this section\npasses, medicinal cannabis sales and cannabis business operations may be\nconducted in the affected territory, notwithstanding any local government\nordinances which prohibit all cannabis business operations within its territory.\n(8) In circumstances where a county, consolidated local government, charter county\ngovernment, or unified local government prohibits cannabis business operations but\na city within that county, consolidated local government, charter county\ngovernment, or unified local government approves cannabis business operations\neither through the adoption of an ordinance or following the affirmative vote of a\npublic question allowing cannabis business operations, then:\n(a) The cannabis business operations may proceed within the limits of the city;\nand\n(b) The county, consolidated local government, charter county government, or\nunified local government may assess an additional reasonable fee to\ncompensate for any additional corrections impact caused by the approval of\ncannabis business operations. Any additional fees collected pursuant to this\nsubsection shall not exceed the additional corrections impact caused by the\napproval of cannabis business operations.\n(9) In circumstances where neither a city nor the county, urban -county government,\nconsolidated local government, charter county government, or unified local\ngovernment in which the city is located prohibit cannabis business operations, a\ncannabis business that is located within the jurisdiction of both the city and the\ncounty shall only pay the reasonable established local fees of either the city or the\ncounty. The fee shall be established, assessed, collected, and shared between the\ncity and the county, in a manner to be negotiated between the city and the county.\n(10) The provisions of general election law shall apply to public questions submitted to\nvoters under this section.\n(11) If a local government elects, pursuant to subsection (2)(a) of this section, to prohibit\ncannabis business operations within its territory, the local government shall notify\nthe cabinet in writing of its decision to prohibit cannabis business operations within\nfive (5) days after passage of such an ordinance or after the results of a ballot\nquestion to prohibit cannabis business operations are certified.","path":["KRS Chapter 218B"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54619","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:31Z","sha256":"615fdc18ddb9f869b4b0c6b1bbf0c0b2b4d3ce66a9d90bab13bf32109621eb4b","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-218b.125","next":"us-ky/krs-218b.135"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}