2026 Legislative Agenda

See below for KTIA's full 2026 Legislative Agenda and other issues the association actively monitored during the session. Click below for a downloadable version.

2026 KTIA Legislative Agenda

2026 KTIA LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Defend the 1% Transient Room Tax for Tourism Marketing Promotion to Benefit 
ALL OF Kentucky

Kentucky's 1% statewide transient room tax was established with a clear purpose: to promote tourism for the entire Commonwealth. These funds should not be diverted to narrowly focused projects. Instead, they must remain dedicated to broad-based tourism marketing efforts that deliver measurable returns, support local tourism economies, and strengthen Kentucky’s competitiveness as a travel destination. Redirecting these resources undermines their intended purpose and weakens the economic impact they were designed to generate.

Expand City Eligibility to Enact Restaurant Tax

All cities should be permitted to enact the restaurant tax IF doing so preserves current requirements in cities that currently have it and a reasonable portion of the monies from a new tax are dedicated to the city’s tourist commission.

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

Uphold the Rule of Law: Reject Attempts by Airbnb to Undermine Local 
Transient Room Tax Statutes

Airbnb must be held to the same standards as any other business operating in Kentucky. The company has consistently failed to remit all local transient room taxes as required by law — taxes that are essential to funding local tourism commissions and promoting economic development across our communities. Efforts by Airbnb to rewrite the rules in their favor should be flatly rejected. No company should be allowed to bypass its tax obligations while benefiting from the services those taxes support. The law must apply equally to everyone, and Airbnb is no exception.

Safeguard Local Control: Allow Communities to Regulate Short-Term Rentals

Local governments — not distant corporations or bureaucrats — are best positioned to decide how to manage short-term rentals in their jurisdictions. What works for Louisville may not work for Pikeville, and a one-size-fits-all mandate from a global platform like Airbnb is not in the best interest of Kentucky communities. Local leaders understand the needs, concerns, and character of their own neighborhoods, and they deserve the authority to craft regulations that reflect those realities.

The film industry in Kentucky continues to grow expedited by the passage of SB1 in 2025. The next steps are to remove some statutory barriers to a competitive program and ensuring financial stability including stable administrative and marketing resources, which should be achieved without use of 1% transient room tax funds. and a competitive, well-managed incentive program to attract larger productions to the Commonwealth. There are multiple ways to accomplish this goal and KTIA hopes to work closely with the Kentucky Film Office and Entertainment Incentive Program to accomplish these goals.

Support for expanding the options for tasting rooms to allow a distillery to open multiple tasting rooms to allow additional communities to take advantage of their tourism and workforce opportunities.

Allow distilleries to sell 50% of their private barrel selections via their gift shops. This drives tourists to distilleries and encourages them to make multiple trips to Kentucky.

ACTIVELY MONITORING

The following are issue areas that KTIA will be actively monitoring with positions to be adopted if warranted: