Kentucky HB 749 Follows West Virginia in Expanding Citizens’ Access to Modern Machine Guns

Summary

Kentucky Representative TJ Roberts introduced House Bill 749 on February 25, 2026, which aims to establish an Office of Public Defense within the Kentucky State Police. This office would acquire and transfer modern, select-fire machine guns directly to law-abiding citizens, leveraging a federal exemption (18 U.S.C. § 922(o)(2)(A)) to circumvent the 1986 Hughes Amendment. The bill, inspired by West Virginia's SB 1701, seeks to make machine guns available to qualified Kentuckians at reasonable prices, prioritizing in-state manufacturers and requiring NICS background checks.