Gregory’s Note argues that Kentucky must substantially reform its bifurcated cottage food regulatory framework to unlock the full economic, environmental, and public health benefits of local food production. Situating the issue within pandemic-era supply chain disruptions and rising food insecurity, the piece contends that Kentucky’s current system—distinguishing between home-based processors and home-based microprocessors—imposes unnecessary product limitations, sales restrictions, and certification burdens that suppress local enterprise without meaningfully advancing food safety. Gregory argues that the state’s narrow list of approved foods, direct-to-consumer constraints, annual certification requirements, and $60,000 sales cap collectively undermine food security, rural economic development, and environmental sustainability. To remedy these shortcomings, the Note proposes a series of targeted reforms: expanding the range of permissible foods (including shelf-stable, acidified, refrigerated, and fermented products), broadening permissible sales channels to include restaurants, schools, and online platforms, eliminating the sales cap, and easing recurring certification costs. By recalibrating its regulatory approach to better balance safety with economic freedom, Kentucky can strengthen local food systems and align its cottage food laws with contemporary economic and public health realities.

University Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law student, Bradley Simpson, argues that the Major Questions Doctrine, notwithstanding its interpretive flaws, strikes an appealing balance between two extremes: an administrative state incapable of acting versus an administrative state left unchecked.

University Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law student, John Simms, argues that car dealerships routinely and lawfully exploit consumers by secretly marking up interest rates in indirect auto financing, a practice that remains undisclosed despite imposing significant financial harm—especially on subprime and marginalized borrowers. It concludes that existing legal justifications for nondisclosure are outdated and flawed, and calls for regulatory reform requiring dealers to disclose interest rate markups to restore transparency, bargaining power, and consumer protection.

Helmuth’s piece argues that the Trump Administration’s proposed dismantling of FEMA and retreat from federal disaster preparedness represents a fundamental misreading of the causes of past emergency management failures. By shifting responsibility for disaster response and mitigation onto the states through executive action and funding cuts, the administration threatens to undermine economies of scale, institutional expertise, and cooperative federalism that have long defined effective disaster response. Because Kentucky is both resource-constrained and among the most disaster-prone states in the nation, Helmuth contends that these policies would leave the Commonwealth uniquely vulnerable to increasingly frequent and severe climate-driven disasters, exposing the dangers of replacing federal coordination with fragmented, state-level systems.

Whitridge’s piece argues that the Food and Drug Administration must adopt a proactive regulatory framework for menstrual tampons in light of emerging evidence of heavy-metal contamination. Prompted by a recent UC-Berkeley study detecting lead and other metals in widely used tampon brands, the Note contends that the FDA’s current § 510(k) “substantial equivalence” pathway is ill-suited for identifying modern chemical risks. Whitridge argues that tampons’ classification as Class II medical devices, combined with outdated guidance, leaves consumers vulnerable to untested contaminants. To remedy this gap, the piece urges the adoption of a forward-looking regulatory scheme—one that mandates routine testing, disclosure, and comprehensive risk assessments—to better safeguard public health and align FDA oversight with contemporary scientific realities.

Schaeffer’s piece argues that Kentucky should adopt a statutory scheme to facilitate the development of small modular reactors (SMRs) similar to the one recently promulgated by the Virginia legislature. SMRs are advanced nuclear fission reactors that are smaller than traditional nuclear power plants. Their scale and modular nature makes them especially optimal for efficiency. With the proliferation of Kentucky's  industrial sector, SMRs will play a crucial role in providing cost-effective electricity which will maximize Kentucky's economic output.