Sen. Otello Taigi and witnesses told a Sept. 21 hearing that Bill 359-38 would separate medical decisions from administration at the Office of Post Mortem Examinations and help maintain operations during chief medical examiner vacancies; BBMR estimated added personnel costs of about $109,009.

KDADS briefed the committee that the South Central Regional Mental Health Hospital is scheduled for construction completion in January 2027, will house 104 beds (52 forensic competency and 52 acute civil commitment beds), and will phase staffing and openings to reach full operation by July 1, 2027.

New Kentucky regulations mandate timely transmission of DNA evidence and victim updates.

Witness highlights shortage of female CSIs impacting case processing in San Antonio.

House Bill 2730 and House Bill 2657 advance to appropriations after successful votes.

The House of Regents and Institutions Committee on April 21 examined an amended draft of S.193 to create a forensic facility for certain criminal-justice-involved people, debating admission criteria, six‑month competency reviews, restorability and dangerousness hearings, supervision, and victim-notification rules.

State's attorneys and a judge described S.193 as a narrowly tailored bill to provide competency restoration and placements in secure forensic facilities for a small subset of life-offense cases; the committee deferred votes and asked for edits and additional stakeholder input.