Feb 2026 District 36 Newsletter: Budget Session is in full swing

District 36 Newsletter

February 2026

Greetings!

Happy Ground Hog Day!

As we all dig out of the snow and cold, things are heating up in Frankfort! We are debating and moving bills as month 2 of the long budget Session begins, and continues to April 15.

I have filed 16 bills, co-sponsored a bunch more, and now face the difficult task of getting them to Committee and a floor vote, before heading to the Senate to repeat the process.

The beautiful 116 year old marble Capitol is shut down for a multi-year renovation, so we are meeting in small "temporary chambers" in the parking lot. The (non-beautiful) Annex offices are still open for visits though! The Annex and committee rooms are where the real action happens if you want to visit.

Major Session goals are: producing a balanced KY Budget for 2 years, making a 2 year Road Budget, and a 6 year Road Plan. We will also consider probably over 1000 bills on every subject you can imagine. It is like drinking from a firehose, so I appreciate involved folks letting me know about bills and amendments they have concerns over.

Liberty is a team sport!

Watch live internet video of the session, committees, and task forces on this KET link.

My 6 assignments are:

Elections & Constitutional Amendments Committee (Vice Chair)
State Government Committee
Transportation Committee
Small Business and IT Committee
Information Technology Oversight Committee
Air Mobility and Aviation Economic Development Task Force

I welcome your input and perspective on legislative issues (online form here).

My office number is 351D in the Capitol Annex.

Office phone is 502-564-8100.

State email is John.Hodgson@KYLegislature.gov

I will do my best to answer your questions and consider your input on District 36 issues if you would like to contact me.

District 36 Road & Traffic Plans

Too Cold to Work?

The bitter cold and snow has ground almost all construction to a halt across the state, which is somewhat normal for this time of year. Asphalt and concrete will not cure properly in the cold, and the ground is too frozen to dig. Hopefully the Groundhog will do whatever he is supposed to do on Tuesday, and spring will be just around the corner!

The long-awaited signal light at the deadly intersection of Pope Lick and KY155/Taylorsville Road looks like it is very close to activation. An unbelievable amount of wreck reports, citizen advocacy, complaints, and efforts by Metro Councilman Benson and several State Reps for the last 10-15 years have finally yielded results. Never give up!

For safety reasons, the bridge had to be widened from 2 to 5 lanes before the turning lane light could be installed. It took years to get that planned, budgeted and constructed. I cannot fathom why it took so long to get the light done after that, but I am choosing to just be happy it is finally here!

These are the highest ranked near term road priorities in our District 36 for the 2027/28 Road Budget debate:

Widen KY155 (Taylorsville Road) from I265 to the Fisherville intersection.
Widen US60 (Shelbyville Road) to 6 lanes from Old Shelbyville Rd to North English Station
Reconstruct KY 1531 (Johnson Rd) to make it wider with smoother curves
Widen KY 155 (Taylorsville Rd) PHASE 2, from KY 148 on into Spencer County
Extend Plantside Drive from Rehl Road to Taylorsville road by I265 light
Widen KY 1819 through the Jtown Industrial Park (multiple phases)

Looking farther out, projects like the Johnson/Aiken intersection, the proposed I64 new exit and connector road did not rank high enough to be added to the 2 year budget, but will be on the horizon in the 6 year plan.

Help Metro stay on top of potholes by reporting online!

These District 36 projects from the 2025-26 budget cycle are funded for completion before the next budget takes over:

Gilliland Rd intersection at US 60 - in work
KY 1819/Billtown Rd reconstruction - in work
~~Eastwood-Fisherville I64 exit & Connector road study~~ DONE!
~~Clark Station bridge replacement~~ DONE!

Constitutional Minute

Citizenship Requirements to Run for Office

Duration of Citizenship is a requirement to hold Federal Offices:

Article 3, Section 1:

"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States." [in modern times, that means only a native born citizen can serve]

Article 1 Section 2:

"No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States,"

Article 1 Section 3:

"No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States"

[the United States was only 12 years old at the time the Constitution was written]

In addition, 16 states in their Constitutions require US Citizenship of 3, 5, 7,12, 15,or 20 years to hold certain offices like Governor, in addition to 2-10 years state residency requirements.

I have filed a bill for a KY Constitutional Amendment that would require 2 things:

1) 18 years US Citizenship before being allow to hold any elected office - to ensure our leaders are fully "Americanized" in their loyalties, values, culture and politics before being allowed to make major policy decisions about KY. [NJ and MS require 20]

2) 18 years of NOT being a dual citizen with another country. We need elected leaders without dual loyalties to another country (who could demand taxes, military service and other political allegiances of them).

If the bill passes, it would go on the ballot for the vote of all Kentuckians.

About 95% of Kentuckians are native born and have to wait 18 years to vote or hold office,

The average immigrant has been here about 10 years (unknown how many hold dual citizenship); they would need to have the same 18 years of "American assimilation" that our native born citizens experience before holding office.

Write/email and share your thoughts with me about this idea.

Legislative Update

My 2026 Filed Legislation now with videos! The bills below are bills I filed, and I have co-sponsored a bunch of other bills filed by colleagues that I support.

HB10 - Gubernatorial Transition - puts additional legal guardrails and records retention policies in place for the last days of a Governor's administration, to ensure that executive powers are not abused.

HB20 ALPR Limitations: limits use, retention, and sale of Automated License Plate Reader data VIDEO HERE

HB59- outlaw "Balance billing" by labs and other providers when patient has already paid insurance negotiated rate. (Certain providers seek payment they are not legally owed via overbilling). I know many folks who have been turned over to collection agencies by this shady process. VIDEO HERE

HB60 Geoengineering Ban - outlaw risky government experiments in climate modification. Short video here. We got an interim hearing on Aug 29: Committee hearing Long video here

HB61 KY Emergency Volunteer Corps - Creates a structure for organized and trained emergency volunteers in every county to respond to floods, tornados, and other civil emergencies to offload simpler tasks from the KY National Guard. Added benefit is training and fitness and community involvement for young (and older) volunteers.

HB62- Legal Employment Act - making it a misdemeanor for illegal aliens to seek employment in KY

HB63 Malicious Use of AI Deepfakes Ban - makes it a felony to intentionally and publicly damage a person's reputation with a realistic AI fake image or video that is presented as reality vs labeled a parody. It is getting very difficult to tell what is real!

HB64 - Warrant-less Tracking ban - makes it illegal to place an electronic tracker on a person or their gear to track them without their consent or a warrant.

HB65 Road Damage Bonding for Weight Limit Exceedance: - to require developers that damage state roads with overweight loads (like Johnson/KY1531) to pay for damage repairs, vs the taxpayers paying.

HB66 - Virtual Board Meeting Limitations: allow government agencies and boards to meet via video conference and save taxpayer funds, while requiring in-person public meetings where laws, regulations, taxation, and awards of $100,000 or more are decided.

HB68- Enables Inter-County agreements on development approval binding elements (avoiding debacles like the Clark Station Road situation, which is now resolved)

HB69 - Requires 90% of Affordable Housing grant funds to go to single family homes, vs corporate owned apartments. Kentuckians need ownership opportunities.

HB70 - Require Citizenship notation on KY IDs and Driver Licenses - news article

HB441 - Constitutional Amendment to require 18 years US Citizenship and no dual citizenship to run for KY elected office - HB454 is related, more specific law change.

HR7- Resolution affirming Election Integrity principles [passed committee unanimously]

"In case you missed it" section:

Bills I have authored and passed into KY law in previous years:

2025 (Short session)

SB129/HB18 Limits on Zoning Board Approvals Passed 76-12 watch video

HB19 Drone Privacy Passed 90-1

HB45 Ban Foreign Donations for Ballot Measures Passed 85-12

2024 (long session)

HB5 -Safer Kentucky Act I was a primary co-sponsor along with 6 others. Passed 75-23

HB43 : requires Fire Districts to notify homeowners and local elected officials before downgrading fire protection services in a way that impacts insurance rates. passed 93-0

HB44 Voter roll cleanup Bill passed 75-17 watch video here.

HB53 Post-election "eyeball" audits passed 87-8 watch video here.

The Budget bills

The Road Plan

Summary listing of all the budget items.

2023 (short session)

HB 144 Ban on warrant-less government surveillance on private land Passed 81-13

District 36 Community Spotlight

Home of the Innocents - Helping Children

Some of our District 36 neighbors are helping advance the mission of Home of the Innocents - Kentucky's only statewide resource that helps children with complex medical issues that require round the clock care.

Brian Cahoe of Lake Forest has been heavily involved as a volunteer with the organization, especially involving fundraising and development. He was the first to let me know that HOTI needed to expand, because as some of the residents aged into adulthood, there was no facility in the state available to address their complex medical needs. Those released to family member care or ordinary nursing homes saw rapid decline in their health and premature death.

The KY Legislature came to understand this statewide need with help from Brian and the HOTI leadership team, and granted $30 Million in the 2024 Budget to combine with $45 million in private donations to build a massive 50 bed addition for kids who are aging out of the traditional care program.

I had the opportunity to tour the facility, and they do amazing work with kids that have complex medical conditions that are very difficult to manage successfully. The project will be able to start adding beds by early 2027.

Learn more here: https://homeoftheinnocents.org/

Let's protect faith, family, and freedom in KY - Liberty is a team sport!

Political Happenings in Dist 36

US Congress Election in Louisville 3rd

Robin and I recently got to know Maria Theresa Rodriguez over a great dinner at Havana Rumba in Middletown. She has filed to run vs Morgan McGarvey in the KY 3rd District for US Congress.

Maria has an amazing story.

Her parents were persecuted in Cuba for practicing their Catholic faith. Her family lived in grinding poverty due to the failures of Communism. In 2009 she was able to escape to the United States with a couple of family members. She was only 21, but already had graduated as a physician in Cuba.

Speaking almost no English upon arrival, she learned quickly and was able to enroll in nursing school. She is now an RN at a local hospital in addition to running a small business.

Her English is flawless now, and her family has become an American success story. She is raising 2 teenage kids who excel in school, and she a leader in the local Cuban exile community (60,000 in Louisville). Maria gained her US Citizenship about 8 years ago (meeting the Constitutional requirement to run for Congress).

She is 100% American, loves this country, and will fight to her last breath to avoid seeing our country go down the doomed road to communism that she escaped.

Maria shares the same political values around faith, family and freedom that most District 36 Republicans hold.

She is the kind of American we need in Congress.