2022 Kentucky General Assembly Report
The 2022 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly passed numerous pieces of legislation that impact law enforcement agencies throughout the Commonwealth. Most of the new legislation will become effective on July 14, 2022. Legislation that was designated as emergency legislation became effective upon the Governor’s signature and is indicated as such below. Some legislation has specific, later effective dates. The following summaries are of bills that are deemed to be of interest to law enforcement.
This new law amends KRS 600.020 to define, “abused or neglected child” as failing to provide a child with adequate care, supervision, food, clothing, shelter, and education/medical care, “when financially able to do so, or, offered financial or other means to do so.” This new law also expands the definition of “fictive kin” to include, “an emotionally significant relationship with a biological parent, siblings, or half siblings if in the case of a child from birth to 12 months of age, prior to placement.”
SENATE BILL 23 – THEFT OF MAIL MATTER
This new law amends KRS 514.140 to include items delivered by common carriers and delivery services, such as the United States Postal Service, United Parcel Service, Federal Express, Amazon.com, DHL, and other delivery services, as theft of mail matter. In essence, stealing packages left at a residence or other location for delivery now constitutes a Class D felony in Kentucky.
This new law amends KRS 439.3401 to include incest as a violent offense.
SENATE BILL 64 – PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES
This new law creates a new section of KRS Chapter 65 to authorize public agencies to create and design peer support counseling programs to provide support to public safety employees, such as law enforcement personnel, who have been in or exposed to emotionally traumatic experiences. Any communications made during counseling are confidential unless required to be disclosed by law.
This new law creates a section of KRS Chapter 72 establishing procedures for the notification of a spouse or next of kin with respect to death notifications. The procedures created by this law include the coroner contacting EMS and verifying availability to provide services; arranging for another member of the coroner’s office, a law enforcement officer, clergy, or grief counselor to assist with notification; providing such notification orally, and in a respectful manner; assisting the recipient of the notification in contacting family/friends; staying with the recipient (if alone) for as long as practical or until another person can arrive and attend to the recipient, and; providing information concerning grief counseling, coroner’s office contact information, handling remains, and performing follow-up contact within 48 hours.
SENATE BILL 96 – KENTUCKY LAW ENFORCEMENT COUNCIL (KLEC)
This new law amends KRS 15.315 by adding the Bowling Green Police chief as a member of the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council. This law also changes the quorum requirements for meetings of the Council to a simple majority.
SENATE BILL 97 – CHILD FATALITIES AND NEAR FATALITIES
This new law amends KRS 620.040(5). If a report includes any child fatality or near fatality, and the law enforcement officer has reasonable grounds to believe a parent, custodian, or person with supervision of the child was under the influence of alcohol/drugs, the officer shall request a blood, breath, or urine test. If consent for blood, breath, or a urine test is not granted, the officer shall request a search warrant, upon probable cause that the child fatality or near fatality occurred and the person was exercising custodial control or supervision of the child while under the influence.
SENATE BILL 174 – SLOW-MOVING VEHICLES
This new law amends KRS 189.330 and KRS 189.940 to permit public safety vehicles that meet the definition of a slow-moving vehicle under KRS 189.810, and any vehicle acting as an escort for a slow-moving vehicle, to travel at a speed that may impede and/or block normal and reasonable movement of traffic. The following procedures must be met for the law to apply: the vehicle is being operated in an official capacity; the vehicle is being operated in compliance with all state/local governmental policies; and the action is necessary for the vehicle’s safe operation.
SENATE BILL 176 – FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY
This new law creates a section of KRS Chapter 61, mandating law enforcement agencies to adopt policies concerning the use of facial recognition technology. This policy must be enacted prior to the agency’s use of facial recognition technology. A model policy will be developed before Jan. 1, 2024, by a workgroup that will be attached to the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
SENATE BILL 179 – CRIMES COMMITTED DURING A DECLARED EMERGENCY
This new law creates the definitions of, “impacted by the disaster” and, “natural or man-made disaster” in KRS 500.080. Further, an enhanced penalty (one-degree higher) is imposed if a person is convicted of third-degree assault, burglary, criminal trespassing, criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, receiving stolen property, or robbery, if the offense was committed during a declared emergency arising from a natural or man-made disaster.
SENATE BILL 245 – PROTECTIVE ORDERS
This new law amends KRS 403.740 and KRS 456.060 to permit courts to authorize, at the request of the petitioner, limited contact and/or communications between the parties that the court deems necessary, or that the parties are permitted to remain in a common area, which may necessitate them being closer than 500 feet under limited circumstances with specific parameters established by the court. Further, Senate Bill 245 amends KRS 403.730 and KRS 456.040 to permit courts to establish in a protective order which communications, if any, as requested by the petitioner, are authorized, and to permit either party to retrieve personal belongings from the shared residence. Courts may also direct law enforcement to assist with the retrieval of personal belongings from the shared residence.
The Executive Branch budget bill increases the Kentucky Law Enforcement Foundation Program Fund (KLEFPF) training incentive to $4,300, appropriated $2.5 million dollars for a site and feasibility study of the establishment of a law enforcement training facility in Madisonville, and appropriates over $28 million for a new indoor firing range at DOCJT’s Richmond campus.
HOUSE BILL 48 – EMERGENCY RESPONSES
This new law addresses the practice of “swatting.” KRS 519.040 makes it a Class D felony when a person knowingly causes a false alarm of fire or other emergency to be transmitted within any organization, or to an official or volunteer who deals with emergencies involving danger to life or property. It is a Class D felony if the false report results in an emergency response, or initiates or circulates a report/warning of an alleged occurrence, impending fire, or other emergency likely to cause public inconvenience or alarm when the person knows the information is false or baseless. This new law makes the venue for any prosecution for this offense in any county where the defendant resides, where the false report was communicated, or where the emergency response occurred.
HOUSE BILL 63 – SCHOOL SECURITY
This new law amends KRS 158.4414 mandating that school boards shall ensure that at least one certified school resource officer is working full-time in the school building(s) on each campus by Aug. 1, 2022. Should funds or qualified personnel not be available for a school district to meet the Aug. 1 deadline, the local school board shall fulfill the requirements on a per-campus basis, as approved in writing by the state school security marshal until a certified school resource officer is located on each campus. This legislation clarified that local governments are not required to fund the school resource officer positions required of local school boards. Further, new sections of KRS Chapter 158 authorize school districts to create police departments.
HOUSE BILL 79 – MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT FOR TELECOMMUNICATORS
This legislation amends KRS 15.518, the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program, to include telecommunicators in the program and amends KRS 15.550 to include training on recognizing the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), guidelines for identifying the symptoms of PTSD, and a resource guide of available services for treatment. The legislation also requires that the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council incorporate mental health trainings into the program. Each DOCJT telecommunicator in-service training course will include a mental health component highlighting PTSD and work-induced stress, and a guideline for recognizing symptoms of and treatment resources for PTSD and work-induced stress will be provided to all telecommunicator supervisors.
HOUSE BILL 154 – DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE – EMERGENCY
This law amends KRS 189A.085 to permit courts to order the impoundment of motor vehicle license plates at sentencing, or within 45 days after a sentencing hearing, if a person is convicted of driving under the influence and no ignition interlock device is issued. Further, KRS 189A.105 is amended with respect to the ability of law enforcement to search warrants for blood and/or urine testing in connection with a refusal to submit to a test requested by law enforcement. Under this new law, judges are permitted to issue search warrants to obtain blood or urine from a suspect charged with violation of KRS 189A or other statutory violation arising from the incident, without the necessity of a death or physical injury occurring as a result of the incident. If a fatal motor vehicle accident occurred, the officer shall seek a search warrant for a blood test unless obtained by consent.
HOUSE BILL 206 – PEACE OFFICER CERTIFICATION
This legislation amends KRS 15.382, KRS 15.386, and KRS 15.391 to prohibit a person from being a certified police officer if convicted of second-degree sexual abuse, third-degree sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, two or more convictions for second-degree indecent exposure, or any attempted/inchoate offense related to any degree of rape, sodomy, sexual abuse or sexual misconduct.
HOUSE BILL 215 – CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
This new law amends KRS 218A.142 by requiring a person convicted of aggravated trafficking to serve at least 50% of an imposed sentence for trafficking in heroin and at least 85% service of any sentence imposed for importing or trafficking in fentanyl, carfentanil, or fentanyl derivatives.
HOUSE BILL 216 – TERRORISTIC THREATENING
This legislation amends KRS 508.075 to include any real property or building owned or leased by a domestic violence shelter as a location where intentional false statements concerning the placement of a weapon of mass destruction constitutes first-degree terroristic threatening.
This bill requires that constables and deputy constables taking office after Jan. 1, 2023, who were not in office the preceding 4-year term of office, shall not possess the powers of a peace officer or police officer. After Jan. 1, 2023, newly elected constables and newly appointed deputy constables are only granted peace officer/police powers after they have been certified pursuant to KRS 15.380. A county judge-executive or the mayor determines the number of authorized deputy constable positions, approves individuals for the positions, and may remove individuals for cause from the positions. The legislation also sets qualifications for appointment to the position of deputy constable, requires fiscal reporting to the county clerk or the fiscal court, and authorizes 25% of the fees collected by constables to be directed to the fiscal court or legislative body of a county greater than 70,000. The bill authorizes vehicle emergency equipment only for constables/deputy constables who are certified by KLEC, and the fiscal court in the county of jurisdiction may revoke the authorization in its discretion if there is an issue of public safety or abuse. Under this bill, elected constables are able to apply for admission to a basic training course at a KLEC-certified training school. Schools may deny admission if the constable does not meet precertification requirements or if the school does not have the capacity to instruct the constable. DOCJT is required to accept at least one constable per training class beginning July 1, 2023.
HOUSE BILL 252 – ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
This legislation amends KRS 244.090 to permit an 18-year-old employee to sell and/or serve alcoholic beverages in licensed establishments, permits a person who is at least 18 years old to work in the warehouse of a wholesaler and distributor if another employee on the premises is over the age of 21, and prohibits anyone under the age of 20 from bartending or engaging in activities constituting commercial sexual activity.
HOUSE BILL 263 – FIRST-DEGREE CRIMINAL ABUSE
This legislation amends KRS 508.100 to increase the penalty for criminal abuse in the first degree to Class B felony if the victim is under 12 years of age.
HOUSE BILL 279 – MOTOR VEHICLES
This legislation, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, amends KRS 186.032 by permitting the owner/lessee of a motor vehicle to advise the county clerk that the vehicle’s owner and/or operator has a communication disorder that may impede effective communication with a peace officer, and request that this information be included in the state’s vehicle registration system to assist law enforcement in identifying operators as potentially having communication disorders.
HOUSE BILL 319 – INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
This new law amends KRS 403.720, KRS 403.740, KRS 456.010 and KRS 456.060 to prohibit cruelty to, torture of, or committing a sexual crime against an animal as a method of domestic violence and abuse. Courts are also authorized to award custody of any shared domestic animal to a petitioner in a Domestic Violence Order (DVO) or Interpersonal Protective Order (IPO). A domestic animal is defined as a cat, dog, or other animal that is domesticated.
HOUSE BILL 321 – MOTOR VEHICLES
This legislation amends KRS 186A.100, permitting temporary tags on a motor vehicle to be valid for 60 days.
HOUSE BILL 414 – PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL
This bill amends KRS 95.450 and KRS 95.765 concerning the procedural due process that must be afforded to police officers with respect to internally filed complaints concerning general employment policies.
HOUSE BILL 562 – FIRST RESPONDERS
This legislation amends KRS 15.518 to permit any peace officer directly involved in a critical incident to take up to 48 hours of leave immediately following the critical incident. Such leave may commence at the completion of the shift encompassing the critical incident, or when all administrative procedures relating to the incident are complete and the officer informs a supervisor of the need for leave. The leave may be paid or unpaid.
HOUSE BILL 565 – CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING
Under this legislation, DOCJT will facilitate 10% of Basic Training virtually by Jan. 1, 2024, and 30% of annual in-service training virtually by Jan. 1, 2025.