Kentucky courts must now decide all questions of law for themselves. Beginning last Friday, June 27, 2025, there will be a significant shift in how Kentucky courts review administrative decisions. This shift comes as a result of Senate Bill (“SB”) 84 which Kentucky’s Legislature passed in its 2025 Regular Session. While Governor Andy Beshear vetoed SB 84, his veto was overridden by the Legislature.
This newly enacted law eliminates judicial deference to state agency interpretations of statutes and regulations, marking a major development in the Commonwealth’s approach to administrative law.
Federal Backdrop:
SB 84 draws upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 603 U.S. 369 (2024), which overturned the longstanding “Chevron doctrine” and ended federal judicial deference to agency interpretations of law which was first established in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984). SB 84’s preamble expressly references the Court’s conclusion in Loper that deference to administrative decisions is now improper.
Kentucky Precedent Now Overruled:
SB 84 goes further than simply adopting the U.S. Supreme Court’s retreat from Chevron. For four decades, Kentucky courts routinely deferred to agency interpretation when statutory text was ambiguous. Key Kentucky decisions during following Chevron included:
- Board of Trustees of the Judicial Form Retirement System v. Attorney General, 132 S.W.3d 770, 787 (Ky. 2003) – Courts “afford[s] deference to an administrative agency’s interpretation of the statutes and regulations it is charged with implementing.”
- Commonwealth ex rel. Stumbo v. Kentucky Public Service Commission, 243 S.W.3d 374, 378-80 (Ky. App. 2007) – Explicitly invoked the two-step Chevron framework.
- Louisville/Jefferson Cty. Metro Gov’t v. TDC Group, LLC, 283 S.W.3d 657, 661 (Ky. 2009) – Reaffirmed that “some deference” is due when agency acts through formal adjudication.
- Metzinger v. Kentucky Retirement Systems, 299 S.W.3d 541 (Ky. 2009) – The Supreme Court confirmed courts “review an agency’s interpretation … pursuant to Chevron.”
- Ky. Occupational Safety & Health Review Comm’n v. Estill County Fiscal Court, 503 S.W.3d 924 (Ky. 2016) – Held that a reasonable agency reading controls if the statute is ambiguous.
Changes To Kentucky Statutes:
SB 84 adds new sections to the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) that govern administrative actions – KRS 13B – and amends existing ones to ensure that no legal deference is given to agencies. It revises KRS 13B to state, among other things, that:
- “An administrative body shall not interpret a statute or administrative regulation with the expectation that the interpretation . . . is entitled to deference from a reviewing court.”
- “The interpretation of a statute or administrative regulation by an administrative body shall not be entitled to deference from a reviewing court.”
- “The court shall apply de novo review of the agency’s final order on questions of law. An agency’s interpretation… shall not be entitled to deference.”
Similarly, SB 84 also revises KRS 446.084 (titled “Judicial review of an administrative body actions to be de novo”) to state that “[a] court reviewing an administrative body’s action, including without limitation a petition for judicial review of an administrative body’s rulemaking or adjudicatory actions, shall apply de novo review to the administrative body’s interpretation of statutes, administrative regulations, and other questions of law.”
With these shifts in codified Kentucky law, the Commonwealth’s courts are required to independently interpret legal questions without giving weight to how agencies have previously construed those laws or regulations.
The enactment of the new provisions of KRS 13B and KRS 446 follows Governor Beshear’s veto of SB 84 on constitutional grounds. In his veto message, Governor Beshear stated that the SB 84 improperly dictates how courts must carry out their interpretive role. His veto message argued that SB 84 “is unconstitutional by telling the judiciary what standard of review it must apply… It prohibits courts from deferring to a state agency’s interpretation… and requires courts to resolve ambiguous questions against a finding of increased agency authority. The judicial branch is the only branch with the power and duty to decide these questions.”
What’s Next:
The enactment of SB 84 has wide-reaching implications for administrative litigation in Kentucky. Agency interpretations no longer enjoy deference and instead now compete on equal footing with opposing arguments. Time will tell whether this new law will be judicially challenged on constitutional grounds, as well as how Kentucky’s courts will respond to this legislative direction. For now, it will result in a significant change in Kentucky law relating to administrative actions.
If you have any questions about how this may impact any administrative decisions involving your business or organization, please contact Mark Guilfoyle or Derek Miles to start a conversation about how we can be of help.
