Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 83A
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060 (2026)

Enactment of ordinances

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) Each ordinance shall embrace only one (1) subject and shall have a title that shall clearly state the subject.

(2) Each ordinance shall be introduced in writing and shall have an enacting clause styled "Be it ordained by the City of ________:".

(3) No ordinance shall be amended by reference to its title only, and ordinances to amend shall set out in full the amended ordinance or section indicating any text being added by a single solid line drawn underneath it. Text that is intended to be removed shall be marked at the beginning with an opening bracket and at the end with a closing bracket. The text between the brackets shall be stricken through with a single solid line.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, no ordinance shall be enacted until it has been read on two (2) separate days. The reading of an ordinance may be satisfied by stating the title and reading a summary rather than the full text.

(5) A city legislative body may adopt the provisions of any local, statewide, or nationally recognized standard code and codifications of entire bodies of local legislation by an ordinance that identifies the subject matter by title, source, and date and incorporates the adopted provisions by reference without setting them out in full, if a copy accompanies the adopting ordinance and is made a part of the permanent records of the city.

(6) Unless otherwise provided by statute, a majority of a legislative body shall constitute a quorum and a vote of a majority of a quorum shall be sufficient to take action.

(7) In an emergency, upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership, a city legislative body may suspend the requirements of second reading and publication to provide for an ordinance to become effective by naming and describing the emergency in the ordinance. Publication requirements of subsection (9) of this section shall be complied with within ten (10) days of the enactment of the emergency ordinance.

(8) Every action of the city legislative body shall be made a part of the permanent records of the city and on passage of an ordinance the vote of each member of the city legislative body shall be entered on the official record of the meeting. The legislative body shall provide by ordinance for the maintenance and safekeeping of the permanent records of the city. The person assigned this responsibility and the presiding officer shall sign the official record of each meeting. All ordinances adopted in a city shall, at the end of each month, be indexed and maintained in the following manner:

(a) The city budget, appropriations of money, and tax levies shall be maintained and indexed so that each fiscal year is kept separate from other years.

(b) All other city ordinances shall be kept in the minute book or an ordinance book in the order adopted and indexed in a composite index or maintained in a code of ordinances.

(9) Except in cities of the first class, a charter county government, and as provided in subsection (7) of this section, no ordinance shall be enforceable until published pursuant to KRS Chapter 424. Ordinances may be published in full or in summary as designated by the legislative body. If the legislative body elects to publish an ordinance in summary, the summary shall be prepared or certified by an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and shall include the following:

(a) The title of the ordinance;

(b) A brief narrative setting forth the main points of the ordinance in a way reasonably calculated to inform the public in a clear and understandable manner of the meaning of the ordinance; and

(c) The full text of each section that imposes taxes or fees. Ordinances that include descriptions of real property may include a sketch, drawing, or map, including common landmarks, such as streets or roads in lieu of metes and bounds descriptions.

(10) A city may specify by ordinance additional requirements for adoption of ordinances in greater detail than contained herein, but a city shall not lessen or reduce the substantial requirements of this section or any other statute relating to adoption of ordinances.

(11) At least once every five (5) years, each city shall cause all ordinances in the composite index or code of ordinances to be examined for consistency with state law and with one another and to be revised to eliminate redundant, obsolete, inconsistent, and invalid provisions.

(12) The legislative body may adopt municipal orders. Orders shall be in writing and may be adopted only at an official meeting. Orders may be amended by a subsequent municipal order or ordinance. All orders adopted shall be maintained in an official order book.

(13) In lieu of an ordinance, a municipal order may be used for matters relating to the internal operation and functions of the municipality and to appoint or remove or approve appointment or removal of members of boards, commissions, and other agencies over which the city has control.

(14) All ordinances, and orders of the city may be proved by the signature of the city clerk; and when the ordinances are placed in a printed composite index or code of ordinances by authority of the city, the printed copy shall be received in evidence by any state court without further proof of the ordinances.

(15) For anything said in debate, legislative body members shall be entitled to the same immunities and protections allowed to members of the General Assembly. Effective: July 15, 2020 History: Amended 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 87, sec. 5, effective July 15, 2020. -- Amended 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 5, sec. 2, effective July 15, 2014. -- Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 8, sec. 1, effective July 12, 2006. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 34, sec. 1, effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1990 Ky. Acts ch. 401, sec. 15, effective July 13, 1990. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 434, sec. 2, effective July 15, 1982. -- Created 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 235, sec. 6, effective July 15, 1980. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/15/2020). 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 91, sec. 73, which applies to fiscal years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 and expires June 30, 2022 (see 2020 Ky. Acts ch. 91, sec. 80), states the following: "Publishing Requirements: Notwithstanding KRS 83A.060, 91A.040, and Chapter 424, a county containing a population of more than 90,000 or any city within a county containing a population of more than 90,000, as determined by the 2010 United States Census, may publish enacted ordinances, audits, and bid solicitations by posting the full ordinance, the full audit report including the auditor's opinion letter, or the bid solicitation on an Internet Web site maintained by the county or city government for a period of at least one (1) year. If a county or city publishes ordinances, audits, or bid solicitations on an Internet Web site, the county or city shall also publish an advertisement, in a newspaper qualified in accordance with KRS 424.120, with a description of the ordinances, audits, or bid solicitations published on the Internet Web site, including the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) where the documents can be viewed. Any advertisement required to be published in a newspaper under KRS Chapter 424 shall contain the following statement at the end of the advertisement: "This advertisement was paid for by [insert the name of the governmental body required to advertise in a newspaper] using taxpayer dollars in the amount of $[insert the amount paid for the advertisement].".

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1982–2025 · leading case: Smith v. Martin, 331 S.W.3d 637 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011).
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Smith v. Martin, 331 S.W.3d 637 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 6× “050 was eventually repealed, but it was substantively reenacted in KRS 83A.060(15), which reads: For anything said in debate, legislative body members shall be entitled to the same immunities and protections allowed to members of the General Assembly.”
D.F. Bailey, Inc. v. GRW Engineers, Inc., 350 S.W.3d 818 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 2× “KRS 83A.060, which contains virtually identical language, now applies to all cities.”
Berger Fam. Real Est., LLC v. City of Covington, 464 S.W.3d 160 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015). “provides: “After the public hearing, the legislative body may give seeond reading to the ordinance that shall become effective if passed and approved pursuant ■ to KRS 83A.060.” The City of Covington is a second-class city that operates under a city manager form of government…”
Commonwealth v. Bishop, 245 S.W.3d 733 (Ky. 2008). “KRS 83A.060(13) states that “[i]n lieu of an ordinance, a municipal order may be used for matters relating to the internal operation and functions of the municipality .”
Leslie v. City of Henderson, 797 S.W.2d 718 (Ky. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 2× “Conversely, appellant argues that the date of the final action of the Board was on October 11, 1988, the date of the second reading of the ordinance evidencing the zoning change, whereby the ordinance was definitively enacted.”
Shelton v. Brown, 71 F. Supp. 2d 708 (W.D. Ky. 1998). “When it attempted to enact the order, the city council also failed to comply with KRS 83A.060(12). Failure to comply with the statute negates the lawfulness of the Order.”
United Dry Forces v. Citizens for a Progressive Cmty., 635 S.W.2d 478 (Ky. 1982). · cites it 6× “The ordinance itself was challenged as vio-lative of KRS 83A.060, in that it was not enacted on two separate days and there was *480 no named and described emergency which would have allowed the city Board of Commissioners to dispense with the second reading.”
Merritt v. City of Campbellsville, 678 S.W.2d 788 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984). · cites it 2× “420, received its second and final reading [KRS 83A.060(4) ] on February 9, 1981. Publication, as required by KRS 83A.”
Albert Marshall v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 3× “101(3)(i), and KRS 83A.060(11) would render that statute invalid.”
City of Corbin, Kentucky v. City of London, Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). “427(3)(a), (b), (c). A city owning utility infrastructure as described which receives such a notice “shall have the right to object and prevent the annexation by sending a certified copy of a municipal order enacted pursuant to KRS 83A.”
Hal Snowden, Jr., D/B/A Roseglade Farm v. City of Wilmore, Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). “He claims the conservation easement is void because the City did not comply with the procedure for passing ordinances under KRS 83A.060. In its July 20, 2020 interlocutory order, the circuit court found that acceptance and approval of a conservation easement do not constitute an…”
Laura McCarty as the Adm'x of the Est. of Leah Carter v. James Willett as Co-Ex'r of the Est. of Tom Robert Willett, III (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). “Legislative immunity has been extended to city officials by KRS 83A.060(15), which states: “For anything said in debate, [city] legislative body members shall be entitled to the same immunities and protections allowed to members of the General Assembly.”
Show all 13 citing cases →
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(11) — 1 case
Albert Marshall v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). “101(3)(i), and KRS 83A.060(11) would render that statute invalid.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(12) — 1 case
Shelton v. Brown, 71 F. Supp. 2d 708 (W.D. Ky. 1998). “When it attempted to enact the order, the city council also failed to comply with KRS 83A.060(12). Failure to comply with the statute negates the lawfulness of the Order.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(13) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Bishop, 245 S.W.3d 733 (Ky. 2008). “KRS 83A.060(13) states that “[i]n lieu of an ordinance, a municipal order may be used for matters relating to the internal operation and functions of the municipality .”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(15) — 3 cases
Smith v. Martin, 331 S.W.3d 637 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011). “050 was eventually repealed, but it was substantively reenacted in KRS 83A.060(15), which reads: For anything said in debate, legislative body members shall be entitled to the same immunities and protections allowed to members of the General Assembly.”
D.F. Bailey, Inc. v. GRW Engineers, Inc., 350 S.W.3d 818 (Ky. Ct. App. 2011). “KRS 83A.060, which contains virtually identical language, now applies to all cities.”
Laura McCarty as the Adm'x of the Est. of Leah Carter v. James Willett as Co-Ex'r of the Est. of Tom Robert Willett, III (Ky. Ct. App. 2023). “Legislative immunity has been extended to city officials by KRS 83A.060(15), which states: “For anything said in debate, [city] legislative body members shall be entitled to the same immunities and protections allowed to members of the General Assembly.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(4) — 3 cases
Leslie v. City of Henderson, 797 S.W.2d 718 (Ky. Ct. App. 1990). “Conversely, appellant argues that the date of the final action of the Board was on October 11, 1988, the date of the second reading of the ordinance evidencing the zoning change, whereby the ordinance was definitively enacted.”
Merritt v. City of Campbellsville, 678 S.W.2d 788 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984). “420, received its second and final reading [KRS 83A.060(4) ] on February 9, 1981. Publication, as required by KRS 83A.”
Cunningham v. Whalen, 373 S.W.3d 438 (Ky. 2012).
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(6) — 1 case
Albert Marshall v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). “101(3)(i), and KRS 83A.060(11) would render that statute invalid.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(7) — 1 case
United Dry Forces v. Citizens for a Progressive Cmty., 635 S.W.2d 478 (Ky. 1982). “The ordinance itself was challenged as vio-lative of KRS 83A.060, in that it was not enacted on two separate days and there was *480 no named and described emergency which would have allowed the city Board of Commissioners to dispense with the second reading.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(8) — 1 case
Albert Marshall v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). “101(3)(i), and KRS 83A.060(11) would render that statute invalid.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 83A.060(9) — 1 case
Merritt v. City of Campbellsville, 678 S.W.2d 788 (Ky. Ct. App. 1984). “420, received its second and final reading [KRS 83A.060(4) ] on February 9, 1981. Publication, as required by KRS 83A.”
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