In Kentucky.

Every licensed lawyer is required to join the Kentucky Bar Association, which sets ethical standards for practicing law and provides professional development.

House Bill 526, which passed the House floor Friday, would make it voluntary to join the Bar Association.

Our Makenzie Spink tells us why supporters say the bill is important, and why opponents are worried about a lack of oversight of the state's attorneys.

More about this in tonight's legislative update.

Nowhere else in Kentucky.

Nowhere are you required to join an association to put food on the table.

Nowhere.

Not doctors, not nurses.

Not architects.

Nowhere.

Only lawyers.

Currently, if you want to practice law in Kentucky, you must be a member of the Kentucky Bar Association, which costs 220 to $350 a year.

Under House Bill 526, the Kentucky Supreme Court would have the power and responsibility of the state bar, meaning lawyers who want to practice in Kentucky would not need to pay the bar association dues, only the fees required by the Supreme Court.

When you're fresh out of law sch in a steady job yet.

300 and some dollars can be a lot of money, and other folks have maybe retired or they're in government jobs, but they want to keep their law license.

This gives folks the option to decide to join the bar association or not.

It may not be a one size fits all.

You're automatically required to join.

So I although I'm going to remain in the bar association, I commend the gentleman for bringing this bill.

House Minority Caucus Chair Representative Lindsey Burke says the Bar Association provides oversight and resources to lawyers that should be mandatory.

On its best day.

It's a public protection agency, making sure that attorneys don't abuse the public, that they don't take advantage of their position of trust, that they don't succumb to the mental health and substance abuse issues that plague our profession and cause people to do very regrettable things.

The Supreme Court of Kentucky doesn't want us to do this.

Every attorney I've talked to in the last 48 hours doesn't want us to do this.

I ask you, please don't do this.

This is just going to hurt your constituents.

Representative Jason Nemeth is a lawyer in both Kentucky and Indiana, a state that does not require bar association membership.

Nemeth says the Supreme Court in Indiana provides the necessary services and discipline that Representative Burke is concerned about.

I have to pay $180 every year to the Indiana Supreme Court.

And what that covers this is very important because it goes directly to what my friend said.

What that covers is it covers classes.

It covers discipline.

It covers the ethics hotline.

And it also covers what we have in Kentucky called the Kilat program, which is very important.

So if a lawyer has a substance abuse program, which is what my friend was referring to, that kind of thing is covered in Indiana by the dues that I pay in Indiana, the Supreme Court.

If I want to join the Indiana Bar Association, I'm allowed to do that.

But I don't have to.

But those things that I've just identified to make sure lawyers stay within the lines of ethics, to stay within the lines of not mistreating their clients, to stay within the lines of helping them if they have substance abuse that's covered by the Indiana Supreme Court.

Even though I don't have to join the association.

House bill 526 past 70 to 21 and will next head to the Senate for consideration.

But if the bill does become law, it will not be effective until July 2027.

In order to give the Kentucky Supreme Court time to enact it.

For Kentucky edition, I'm McKenzie Spink.

Thank you.

McKenzie.

The Kentucky Bar Association is already an independent agency of the Kentucky Supreme Court, and its authority comes from the Kentucky Constitution.