(1) As used in this section, “communication disorder” means a health condition or disability that may impede effective communication with a peace officer.
(2) The owner or lessee of a motor vehicle may inform the county clerk that he or she, or someone who may be operating the vehicle, is deaf or hard of hearing and request that information be included in the Kentucky vehicle registration system database to assist law enforcement in identifying the operator of the vehicle as possibly being deaf or hard of hearing.

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 186.032

  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Motor vehicle: means in KRS §. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Operator: means any person in actual control of a motor vehicle upon a highway. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Owner: means a person who holds the legal title of a vehicle or a person who
    pursuant to a bona fide sale has received physical possession of the vehicle
    subject to any applicable security interest. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • vehicle: means every device in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, except electric low-speed scooters, devices moved by human and animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, or which derives its power from overhead wires. See Kentucky Statutes 186.010
  • Year: means calendar year. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(3) The owner or lessee of a motor vehicle may inform the county clerk that he or she, or someone who may be operating the vehicle, has a communication disorder and request that information be included in the Kentucky vehicle registration system database to assist law enforcement in identifying the operator of the vehicle as possibly having a communication disorder.
(4) (a) The deaf or hard of hearing protection trust fund is created as a separate trust fund in the State Treasury. The trust fund shall consist of any proceeds from gifts, grants, contributions, appropriations, or other moneys made available for the purposes of the trust fund.
(b) The fund shall be administered by the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf or
Hard of Hearing.
(c) Notwithstanding KRS § 45.229, trust fund amounts not expended at the close of a fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
(d) Any interest earnings of the trust fund shall become part of the trust fund and shall not lapse.
(e) Trust fund moneys deposited in this fund shall only be used to:
1. Reimburse the Transportation Cabinet for the cost of including information that someone is deaf or hard of hearing or has a communication disorder in the Kentucky vehicle registration system database;
2. Support other actions to protect the safety and welfare of persons who are deaf or hard of hearing or have a communication disorder; and
3. Educate the public, the deaf and hard of hearing community, and the communication disorder community on issues confronting the deaf and hard of hearing and those with communication disorders.
(5) (a) Every county clerk shall post a permanent notice containing information about the availability of a deaf or hard of hearing or a communication disorder designation in the Kentucky vehicle registration database. The notice shall be printed in bold face type of sufficient point size to be read from a distance of at least three (3) feet. The notice shall be posted in a conspicuous place to ensure that every person who enters the county clerk’s office will readily see the notice.
(b) The Transportation Cabinet shall put information on its Web site about the availability of a deaf or hard of hearing or a communication disorder designation in the Kentucky vehicle registration database.
Effective: January 1, 2024
History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 1, effective January 1, 2024. — Created
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2017.