KY HB607

Restructures the ethics commission for consolidated local governments to consist of 7 members: 3 appointed by the mayor and 4 appointed by the legislative council (2 from each of the two largest political caucuses), with 4-year terms and no more than 3 members from the same political party

Establishes new redistricting requirements for council districts, including a maximum population deviation of ±2.5% from ideal, no divided precincts unless necessary, and creation of a 6-member bipartisan redistricting committee co-chaired by the two largest caucuses

Creates a mandatory independent Office of Internal Audit reporting directly to the legislative council, headed by a chief audit executive serving a 4-year term with authority to conduct financial and performance audits of all consolidated local government departments and boards

Reduces the population threshold for incorporating new cities within a consolidated local government from 6,000 to 3,000 residents, and lowers the petition signature requirement from 75% to 66% for mandatory approval of incorporation

Authorizes consolidated local governments to adopt a split-rate property tax system within former first-class city boundaries, allowing separate ad valorem rates for land versus improvements, with improvements potentially taxed at a lower rate than land