House and Senate Override Governor’s Veto on House Bill 272

On Monday, both the House and Senate voted to override Governor Andy Beshear’s veto of House Bill
272, sponsored by Josh Bray (Rep. – Mt. Vernon). The House acted first with a 69-26 vote to override.
The Senate followed up a few hours later by voting to override by a 24-12 tally. The legislation was
enrolled in the House and signed by the Speaker of the House and then enrolled in the Senate and
signed by the Senate President. Later in the evening it was sent on to the Secretary of State.

The new law will go into effect in July. It will allow any water district or water association to assess a
customer who fails to pay a bill for rendered services by the due date shown on the bill a late payment
charge of ten percent (10%) of the amount billed. Any late payment charge imposed shall be waived for
any bill or portion of a bill for which a customer has received third-party billing assistance.

Additionally, during a declared emergency, state government cannot impair the right of a municipal
utility created under KRS Chapter 96 from terminating service for non-payment or assessing customary
fees or penalties for non-payment of customer utility bills.