Constitutional carry since 2019. No AWB, no mag limit, strong preemption. Stand-your-ground codified. Suppressors legal. No waiting period, no red-flag law.

Medical cannabis program launched January 2025. No decriminalization (possession up to 45 days jail). No recreational, no psychedelic reform. Drug courts available. Harm reduction expanding via legislation.

State minimum wage $7.25/hr (state matches federal). MIT living wage for 1 adult: $14.16/hr. Ratio 0.51 — minimum-wage workers earn 51% of what's needed to live there alone.

Moderate tax burden, NAEP scores below national average, life expectancy among lowest (73.6). Modest spending, modest outcomes. No efficiency premium given outcomes lag spending.

IJ grades KY D+. No QI reform. SB 4 (2021) post-Breonna Taylor restricted no-knock warrants - limited reform requiring senior approval and body cams during execution. No statewide body cam mandate but partial post-Breonna. No comprehensive privacy law. Limited ICE cooperation policy.

No-excuse mail voting added 2020 (limited reasons). Early voting 3 days only (one of shortest). No same-day registration. Strict photo ID since 2020. Governor Beshear's 2019 executive order restored most non-violent felons; 2025 Republican legislation rolling back. Bipartisan but politicized redistricting. Mixed picture; recent expansions paired with restrictions.

Medicaid expansion adopted 2014. Total abortion ban (trigger law in effect post-Dobbs). Trans youth gender-affirming care ban (SB 150). Rural hospital strain in Appalachia. Maternal mortality elevated. Opioid-driven mental health crisis.

No qualified immunity reform. No statewide BWC mandate. Disciplinary records confidential. KLEC decertification. SB 4 (2021, post-Breonna Taylor) restricted but did not ban no-knock warrants - requires supervisor approval and judicial findings. No necessity standard. Local prosecution.

Total abortion ban. No statewide LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination. Gender-affirming care ban for minors. RFRA. Legislature overrode Beshear veto to rescind conversion therapy ban executive order in 2025. Anti-trans bathroom/sports laws. Strong Christian-nationalist legislative trend.

Right-to-work state (2017). No paid family leave. No paid sick leave. State OSHA plan (Kentucky OSH). Prevailing wage repealed (2017). Weak wage theft enforcement. Above-median fatal injury rate. No heat or scheduling protections.