New laws that were passed by the Kentucky legislature in its last session are going into effect starting Monday, July 15.
One of which includes the Safer Kentucky Act, which addresses how repeat violent offenders are charged, but also makes homelessness a crime, which has been deemed constitutional by the conservative-led United States Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision.
The legislative session filed more than 1,200 bills. Of which, 200 became law. Here are just a few of the most noteworthy laws going into effect today.
House Bill 5: Safer Kentucky Act
The Safer Kentucky Act was one of the most controversial laws that made it through Kentucky’s legislative session, and was passed without signage from Governor Andy Beshear (D), whose veto was overridden by the state’s Senate.
The bill, which made street camping a misdemeanor for repeated offenses, could lead up to 90 days in jail with a $250 fine attached. The ACLU of Kentucky called the decision by the Supreme Court to let homelessness become crime-worthy “disappointing.”
“The Supreme Court’s ruling ignores decades of precedent protecting Kentuckians from the cruel and unusual punishment of criminalizing homelessness,” said ACLU of Kentucky Legal Fellow Kevin Meunch. “Homelessness can happen to anyone, and we are disappointed the Court has taken the extraordinary step of ignoring precedent to support punishing unhoused people simply for existing.”
House Bill 2: Government Money For Independent Education
Rep. Suzanne Miles (R) filed the motion back in January to give government money to families to enroll their children in private or charter schools, which include private Christian schools in Kentucky like Trinity Christian Academy in Lexington.
The bill would add a new section to the Kentucky Constitution, allowing the general assembly to provide money to parents who want to enroll their children in private schools, but can’t afford tuition, including Trinity, which has a tuition of just shy of $13,000 per school year.
Senate Bill 249: Sex Offenders On Social Media
Senate Bill 249 is a new section to a previously enacted bill that would define what is considered a “social media platform” in Kentucky. By doing so, the bill would force any legal sexual offender to use their first and last real name on any platform they join.
Any sexual offender who has committed a criminal offense against a minor would now need to display their full legal name on any of those social media platforms. These offenders, according to the bill, would have to provide any penalties they have accrued as well.
This act swiftly made it through the legislative process, being introduced to the Senate in February and signed into law by the governor in April.
This article appears in Jul 3-16, 2024.