{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-39a.305","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 39A.305","heading":"West Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies (WKSAFE) fund.","body":"(1) The West Kentucky State Aid Funding for Emergencies (WKSAFE) fund is\nestablished and shall be:\n(a) Administered by the Department of Military Affairs, Division of Emergency\nManagement, in accordance with this section;\n(b) A separate fund to provide financial assistance for those impacted by the\nDecember 2021 storms and tornadoes that occurred in the west Kentucky\nregion; and\n(c) Used to provide financial support to the west Kentucky region to recover from\nthe devastation caused by the storms and tornadoes.\n(2) The Department of Military Affairs or the Division of Emergency Management\nshall not publicly advertise or solicit contributions from the general public that\ncould potentially impact fundraising efforts of not-for-profit disaster relief agencies.\n(3) The WKSAFE fund may receive state appropriations, gifts, grants, federal funds,\nand any other funds, both public and private.\n(4) Moneys in the WKSAFE fund as of June 30, 2022, thr ough June 30, 2026, shall not\nlapse and shall carry forward until June 30, 2026.\n(5) Any interest earnings of the WKSAFE fund shall become a part of the WKSAFE\nfund and shall not lapse.\n(6) Eligibility to receive financial support from the WKSAFE fund shal l be limited to\na:\n(a) City, county, urban -county government, consolidated local government,\nunified local government, or charter county government;\n(b) Nonprofit or public utility service provider;\n(c) State agency;\n(d) School district; or\n(e) Qualified lender as defined in KRS 154.20-580;\nthat has disaster -related needs as a result of the devastation experienced from the\nDecember 2021 storms and tornadoes.\n(7) An eligible recipient may receive moneys for expenses to pro vide disaster and\nrecovery relief if the recipient:\n(a) Is located in the areas named in a Presidential Declaration of Emergency\nrelating to the storms and tornadoes that occurred in December 2021; and\n(b) Has disaster -related needs in response to the stor ms and tornadoes that\noccurred in December 2021.\n(8) Eligible expenses shall be those used to support disaster and recovery relief,\nincluding but not limited to:\n(a) 1. Replacement or renovation of publicly owned buildings damaged by the\nstorms and tornado es, but only to the extent of damage directly caused\nby the storms and tornadoes; and\n2. Replacement, renovation, or expansion of an essential government\nfacility that was used for existing services at the time of the disaster,\nincluding police, fire, and ambulance stations, functioning above\ncapacity at the time of application, but only to the extent of damage\ndirectly caused by the storms and tornadoes;\n(b) Reimbursement for services, personnel, and equipment provided during the\nresponse and recovery to c ommunities impacted by the storms and tornadoes,\nbut only to the extent of damage directly caused by the storms and tornadoes;\n(c) Funding to cities, counties, and publicly owned utilities for the costs of\nreplacement or repair of publicly owned buildings and their contents due to\nthe damage from the storms and tornadoes, but only to the extent of damage\ndirectly caused by the storms and tornadoes;\n(d) Assistance to cities and counties for expenses related to planning efforts for\nrebuilding and recovering f rom the damage, but only to the extent of damage\ndirectly caused by the storms and tornadoes;\n(e) Assistance to support disaster recovery and relief needs of local school\ndistricts, but only to the extent of damage directly caused by the storms and\ntornadoes, including but not limited to:\n1. Financial support for school districts that will experience a default in\nbond payments; and\n2. Financial support to assist school districts with building and tangible\nproperty replacement needs;\n(f) Contracted employees to administer and report on the funds; and\n(g) 1. Financial assistance to cities, counties, and school districts for realized\nrevenue losses, but only to the extent the loss is directly caused by the\nstorms and tornadoes, and to be determined on a quarterly basis by the:\na. State-local finance officer within the Department for Local\nGovernment for cities and counties; and\nb. Department of Education for school districts.\n2. The financial assistance determined in subparagraph 1. of this paragraph\nshall be limited to:\na. One hundred percent (100%) of the lost revenue in fiscal year\n2022-2023;\nb. Sixty-six percent (66%) of the lost revenue in fiscal year 2023 -\n2024; and\nc. Thirty-three percent (33%) of the lost revenue in fiscal year 2024 -\n2025.\n(9) (a) Moneys used for the eligible expenses described in subsection (8)(a)1. or 2. of\nthis section shall be:\n1. Issued in the form of a loan; and\n2. Used to replace, renovate, or expand an essential government facility\nthat was used for existing services at the time of the disaster at up to one\nhundred twenty percent (120%) of capacity at the time of application for\nproceeds.\n(b) Any loan issued under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall contain the\nfollowing terms:\n1. An interest rate of zero percent (0%);\n2. A time for repayment of no longer than twenty (20) years; and\n3. A repayment structure of quarterly payments due on the thirtieth day of\nMarch, June, September, and December of each year until the loan is\nrepaid.\n(c) The recipient of any loan issued under paragraph (a) of this subsection shall\nreport to the Department of Military Affairs, Division of Emergency\nManagement, on a quarterly basis:\n1. The amount of any insurance proceeds received related to the\nreplacement, renovation, or expansion of an essenti al government\nfacility for which the loan was granted; and\n2. The name and address of the insurance provider.\n(d) No later than November 1, 2023, and each November 1 thereafter, the\nDepartment of Military Affairs, Division of Emergency Management, shall\ncompile the information reported by each recipient under paragraph (c) of this\nsubsection and report the compiled information to the Interim Joint\nCommittee on Appropriations and Revenue.\n(10) Each recipient of moneys from the WKSAFE fund, including any agen cy of\nKentucky state government, shall:\n(a) Timely apply for federal emergency disaster grant assistance, other financial\ndisaster assistance, and insurance proceeds; and\n(b) Adhere to the terms of the WKSAFE fund regarding reimbursement to the\nCommonwealth if funds from other sources are subsequently received after\nthe receipt of financial assistance from the Commonwealth.\n(11) (a) Moneys in the WKSAFE fund may be used for the advancement of moneys to\ncities, counties, and nonprofit or public utility servi ce providers experiencing\nstrained fiscal liquidity while awaiting reimbursement from federal\nemergency management assistance or insurance claims and shall not be used\nfor capital improvements.\n(b) Reimbursement of the advancement under paragraph (a) of th is subsection\nshall:\n1. Be determined by the:\na. State-local finance officer within the Department for Local\nGovernment for cities and counties, and nonprofit or public\nutilities; and\nb. Department of Education for school districts; and\n2. Include a quarte rly accounting of the advancement released and the\noutstanding balance through June 30, 2026.\n(12) (a) 1. If a recipient of moneys from the WKSAFE fund subsequently receives\nmoneys from any other source, the recipient shall reimburse the\nCommonwealth for t he amount of the moneys received from the\nWKSAFE fund.\n2. Before July 1, 2026, all moneys reimbursed to the Commonwealth under\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be deposited in the WKSAFE\nfund within thirty (30) days, and shall be continuously appropriated.\n3. After June 30, 2026, all moneys reimbursed to the Commonwealth\nunder subparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be deposited into the\nbudget reserve trust fund account established in KRS 48.705 within\nthirty (30) days.\n(b) 1. If a recipient receives moneys in the form of a loan under subsection\n(9)(a) of this section, the recipient shall reimburse the Commonwealth\nfor the amount of the moneys received from the WKSAFE fund\naccording to the repayment structure under subsection (9 )(b)3. of this\nsection.\n2. Before July 1, 2026, all moneys reimbursed to the Commonwealth under\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be deposited in the WKSAFE\nfund within thirty (30) days, and shall be continuously appropriated.\n3. After June 30, 2026,  all moneys reimbursed to the Commonwealth\nunder subparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be deposited into the\nbudget reserve trust fund account established in KRS 48.705 within\nthirty (30) days.\n(13) The Division of Emergency Management shall promulgate a dministrative\nregulations to carry out this section.\n(14) The following reports shall be submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on\nAppropriations and Revenue and the House Standing Committee on Appropriations\nand Revenue or the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue by the\ntenth day of each month, beginning May 10, 2022, and ending July 10, 2026:\n(a) A report from the Office of State Budget Director that includes:\n1. The name of each recipient of moneys from the WKSAFE fund;\n2. The dollar amount of moneys issued and the dates of issuance;\n3. A description of how the moneys were used; and\n4. A list of all requests:\na. Submitted, including the amount requested;\nb. Denied, including a description of the reason for the denial; and\nc. Where the  amount awarded was greater than or less than the\namount requested, including a description of the reason for the\nincrease or decrease; and\n(b) A report from the Department of Education that includes:\n1. The name of each school district receiving moneys fr om the WKSAFE\nfund;\n2. The dollar amount of moneys issued and the dates of issuance;\n3. A description of how the moneys were used; and\n4. A list of all requests:\na. Submitted, including the amount requested;\nb. Denied, including a description of the reason for the denial; and\nc. Where the amount awarded was greater than or less than the\namount requested, including a description of the reason for the\nincrease or decrease.\n(15) A report shall be submitted to the Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations\nand Revenue and the House Standing Committee on Appropriations and Revenue\nor the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue by the tenth day\nfollowing the end of each calendar quarter by the Cabinet for Economic\nDevelopment, beginning July 10, 2026, and ending when no further applications for\na loss payment may be submitted under KRS 154.20-589(7), including:\n(a) The name of each qualified lender receiving a loss payment;\n(b) The dollar amount of the payment received;\n(c) A description of the loan terms; and\n(d) An explanation regarding why the loss payment was needed.","path":["KRS Chapter 39A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=53479","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:58Z","sha256":"21333b7f1125a39ab3393b2ebc4c740c1f4ca6d4fe7f87f837a8c365ee503247","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-39a.303","next":"us-ky/krs-39a.307"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}