{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-48.025","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 48.025","heading":"Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources not to be used to advocate","body":"for or against public question on ballot -- Penalties -- Exemptions.\n(1) As used in this section:\n(a) \"Local\" means and includes any city, county, urban -county government,\nconsolidated local government, unified local government, charter county\ngovernment, school district, or special district; and\n(b) \"Resources\" means any:\n1. Moneys appropriated by the General Assembly;\n2. Items of value, facilities, materials, a nd other physical resources derived\nfrom local, state, or federal tax dollars, including but not limited to\ncomputers, copiers, printers, paper, office supplies, and buildings;\n3. Digital resources derived from or supported by local, state, or federal tax\ndollars, including but not limited to any official website, email account,\nor social media account;\n4. Classified and unclassified employees, and other human resources\nwithin the scope of their state employment; or\n5. Employees and other human resources wi thin the scope of their school\ndistrict employment; and\n(c) \"School district\" means any:\n1. County school district as defined in KRS 160.010;\n2. Independent school district as defined in KRS 160.020; or\n3. Regional educational cooperative organization formed by local boards\nof education or other public educational institutions listed in KRS\n161.220(4), for the purpose of providing educational servi ces to the\nparticipating organizations.\n(2) Local, state, and federal tax dollars and resources shall not be used to advocate for\nor against any public question that appears on the ballot.\n(3) Any person who violates subsection (2) of this section shall be:\n(a) Fined five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense;\n(b) Fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second offense; and\n(c) Guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and fined one thousand dollars ($1,000) for\neach subsequent offense.\n(4) This section sha ll not prohibit a public employee who is not otherwise prohibited\nunder another provision of law from advocating for or against a public question\nappearing on the ballot on his or her personal time using nongovernment resources.\n(5) This section shall not apply to:\n(a) Educational television operating in accordance with KRS Chapter 168, so\nlong as equal opportunity is given to both sides of the public question; or\n(b) An association advocating for or against a ballot initiative that directly applies\nto its members, so long as no funds authorized or appropriated by local, state,\nor federal tax dollars or resources are expended for that purpose.","path":["KRS Chapter 48"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57901","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:49:09Z","sha256":"33f561445abd4c4ca7aa4909c2e93e492d23a35720f049203ca9a514e29848d7","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-48.020","next":"us-ky/krs-48.027"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}