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State Rep. Adam Moore (D) of House District 45 started his first term in the capital at the beginning of January. 

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, Moore filed his first three bills of his career. 

Moore’s press release states that his legislative priorities include more substantial wages, affordable homes, and life-saving care. The three bills filed this week represent these values. 

“I took decisive steps to move Kentucky forward by filing my first bills, delivering on my promise to fight for Kentucky’sworkers, families, and those who rely on life-saving medical care. These bills will raise wages, expand access to housing, and make essential medications more affordable,” Moore wrote in his press release.

HB 215’s official wording states it will “permit a city to establish a mandatory preference for awarding public construction project contracts to unions through a negotiated project labor agreement; permit cities to negotiate wages that are higher than the state or federal minimum wage as a condition of the project labor agreement; permit  a city to enact prevailing wage ordinances; amend KRS 65.016 to grant local governments the authority to adopt and enforce ordinances that require employers in their jurisdiction to provide leave to employees and set a higher minimum wage than state and federal rates; amend KRS 383.210 and 383.215, relating to forcible entry and detainer, to allow a local government to set an alternative time period from the date of the service of the warrant and the date of the hearing to more than the minimum of three days; require the local government to notify the sheriff, the court of jurisdiction, and the administrative office of the courts of that action; and amend KRS 65.1591 to conform.”

In Moore’s press release, he described this bill as giving “communities the power to set fair wages and strong labor protections, ensuring that hardworking Kentuckians receive the pay and rights they deserve, without interference from distant politicians or corporate interests.”

Kentucky’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, matching the federal minimum wage. Non-tipped workers make even less hourly, with their federal minimum wage being $2.13– so long as the worker’s tipped earnings match the minimum wage. The last time either the federal or state minimum wage changed was 2009. According to a report released by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy in 2023, the buying power of $7.25 is lower than it’s been since 1939. 

The first part of the bill, regarding cities having jurisdiction to mandate preference to unions for public construction project contracts, may seem unrelated to how Moore described the bill. Still, according to a 2018 report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, private and public surveys have shown that unions have historically reduced income inequality, raising wages over the last eight decades. Data from The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that union members had a median usual weekly earnings of $1,337 in 2024, while nonunion workers had a median usual weekly earnings of $1,138.

HB 236’s official wording states it will require healthcare benefit plans to cover epinephrine devices for covered persons; limit a covered person’s cost-sharing amount to $100 annually; exempt the epinephrine device coverage requirement from being suspended under state law due to the triggering of federal cost defrayment requirements; require Medicaid, KCHIP, self-insured employer group health plans offered by the governing board of a state postsecondary education institution, and the state employee health plan to comply with the epinephrine device coverage requirement; provide that various sections apply to health benefit plans issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026; require the Department of Insurance to determine whether the epinephrine devices coverage requirement would be in addition to essential health benefits required under federal law; require the Department of Insurance to obtain federal approval, if necessary; require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or the Department for Medicaid Services to get federal approval, if necessary, and comply with notice requirements; EFFECTIVE, in part, January 1, 2026.

Moore describes the bill as capping “out-of-pocket costs for EpiPens at $100 per year so that Kentuckians with severe allergies don’t have to choose between putting food on the table and life-saving medication. No one should be priced out of the medicine they need to survive. Currently, according to Medical News Today, the retail price (without healthcare coverage) for a two-pack of EpiPen in the United States may be roughly $550 to $700 for the name-brand medicine and about half those prices for generic brands. Insurance co-pays vary, but not all insurance plans cover this medicine, this bill could change that by requirement.”

HB 237’s current summary states that the bill will create time constraints for purchasing new single-family homes for businesses who own 50 or more single-family rental homes in qualifying counties except for use by the person as a residence. The bill would enforce a  purchase waiting period for single-family homes that have been advertised for sale for less than 90 days or less than 30 days if the purchaser qualifies as a small business. 

Moore’s description of the bill states it will prevent “big corporations from outbidding families and first-time homebuyers. This bill ensures that homes go to people who want to live in them—not just investors looking to make a profit.” 

According to a 2022 report by the Lexington-Herald Leader, 235 investors have controlled one in every 10 Lexington home sales since 2019. 

“These bills are about giving Kentuckians a fair shot—whether that’s earning a decent wage, buying a home, or affording critical medication.  I look forward to working with my colleagues to turn these ideas into law,” Moore wrote.

All three bills have been sent to the Kentucky House of Representatives Committee on Committees.