Illustration by Lexi Ocampo

The 60-day legislative session for the Kentucky General Assembly came to a close on April 15 and resulted in nearly 200 bills becoming law.

Over half of the bills went into effect on Wednesday, July 19. Nine of those bills affect law enforcement, gambling and education.

Collection of license plate data

House Bill 58 created a new section of KRS Chapter 189 relating to automatic license plate readers and the use of their data. 

Under the new law, information gathered through an ALPR can only be used by law enforcement for regulating parking, controlling access to secured areas, addressing auto theft, deterring crime, promoting public safety or as evidence in criminal and insurance investigations.

According to WDRB, Flock cameras are classified as ALPRs. The cameras use artificial intelligence to capture and analyze license plate data and are used by local governments all around Kentucky.

The bill also states that all ALPR data must be deleted after 90 days unless it is being used by the Transportation Cabinet for toll collection, road fund revenue collection and monitoring commercial vehicles.

Child pornography, grooming

House Bill 366 would amend the Commonwealth’s prohibitions on the viewing or possession of child sex abuse material as found in Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 531.335.

The bill adds computer generated images of minors in sexual situations to the law’s definition of child pornography. Additionally, it mandates that anyone convicted of the viewing or possession of child pornography must serve 85% of their sentence before they can be released on parole or probation.

Kentucky’s current stalking laws were amended through House Bill 521. It would give certain terms legal definitions and classify stalking as a Class D Felony unless it meets the standards of aggravation that would elevate it to a Class C Felony.

House Bill 4 would officially classify grooming as a felony. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network defines grooming as “the deliberate act of building trust with a child, teen, or at-risk adult (such as an adult with a cognitive impairment) for the purpose of exploiting them sexually.” 

The bill would also allow the Education Professional Standards Board to revoke, suspend or refuse to issue or renew a license for an education-related job to those who have been convicted of or pleaded no contest to a felony, drug misdemeanor or misdemeanor relating to a minor.

Safe zone around first responders, new sentencing standards

Senate Bill 104 passed without Gov. Andy Beshear’s signature, which the General Assembly can do by overriding his veto with a majority vote.

The bill establishes the crime of impeding a first responder, such as law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics, and creates a 25-foot “safe zone” around them while working.

Anyone who willfully ignores a warning from a first responder, or someone they should “reasonably know is a first responder,” can be arrested for impeding a first responder and charged with a Class B misdemeanor. 

A second or third instance of impeding a first responder would result in a Class A misdemeanor, and any subsequent instance would be a Class D felony.

Senate Bill 122 would require Kentucky courts to consider alternative sentencing for certain nonviolent offenders who serve as the primary caretaker of a dependent child.

If a caretaker receives alternative sentencing, the bill stipulates they may need to participate in certain programs pertaining to their situation or community service work.

Additionally, the bill would update Kentucky’s laws surrounding involuntary hospitalization. Mental health providers would be required to consider the possibility of outpatient treatment for those being hospitalized.

A press release from the governor’s office stated the bill aims to ensure “Kentuckians with serious mental illness are better cared for and their rights are respected.”

Gambling, education revisions

Kentucky’s gambling laws will see adjustments due to House Bill 904, which increases the minimum age for sports betting from 18 to 21.

The bill also prevents anyone on the Attorney General’s Child Support Arrearage List, a registry of people who owe back pay on child support, from using online gambling platforms.

House Bill 5 establishes the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Prison Education Program, which aims to reduce inmate recidivism and support post-incarceration workforce development.

The bill requires the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to construct a campus at the Northpoint Training Center. 

Participants in the program can earn a college degree, certificate or GED that will be awarded to them upon release from prison.

Inmates who are convicted of escape, attempted escape, a sex crime or are serving a life sentence would be excluded from the program.

An alternative to a traditional high school diploma for students who have intellectual disabilities would be created under HB 562.

The bill also calls for the Kentucky Department of Workforce Development to create a list of all Kentucky employers that will recognize the alternative diploma as a valid high school diploma on their website.