FRANKFORT — A Kentucky bill that is expected to officially close a monthslong dispute between Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services and Auditor Allison Ball’s Office of the Ombudsman is almost law.?

The House Families and Children Committee approved Senate Bill 85, which clarifies the ombudsman gets “any software and access rights.”?

The auditor has fought in court for access to a database the ombudsman needs to investigate complaints about the cabinet. The two offices interpreted the law regarding who had access to the database differently, which led to mediation and a court order allowing read-only access.?

Lawmakers move to ensure info is available to investigate complaints against state cabinet

Several Democrats passed on the vote — Reps. Tina Bojanowski, Rachel Roarx and Sarah Stalker.

“We did reach a resolution temporarily, with the understanding that we would come back before you to make sure the language is abundantly, 100%, no-way-around-it clear that we have access to that database,” Ball said in committee. “This is cleaning up that problem.”?

The dispute that led to the bill?

Ball’s office assumed oversight of the ombudsman from the cabinet on July 1, thanks to a law enacted in 2023 by the legislature, Senate Bill 48.??

The ombudsman’s job is to investigate and resolve complaints about agencies in the cabinet, including protective services for children and elderly Kentuckians.?

Those in favor of moving the ombudsman to the auditor and out of the cabinet said it was a conflict of interest for the cabinet to investigate complaints made about themselves.?

Despite the transfer, Ball’s office did not get immediate access to a computer system called iTWIST, which stores information about abuse and neglect cases.?

The ombudsman can’t do his job without access to iTWIST, (the Workers Information System), Ball has said.?

Ball eventually filed a lawsuit for the access, and the case was mediated and eventually settled in Franklin Circuit Court in late 2024. At that time, Judge Phillip Shepherd also said the legislature and the parties would work during the 2025 session to codify any needed clarification.?

SB 85 is that clarification. Should the bill pass on the House floor, where it heads next, it can head to Gov. Andy Beshear’s desk for a signature or veto. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, has an emergency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately upon becoming law.?