Issue · Criminal Justice

Criminal Justice

Every criminal justice bill, vote, and legislator stance in Kentucky, automatically classified by Maddy, our AI policy reader.

Total bills
9
2026 Regular Session
Top supporter
Cassie Armstrong
100% support rate
Top opponent
Aaron Reed
0% support rate
Ranked legislators
10
5 support · 5 oppose
Key legislators

Who's moving criminal justice in Kentucky

Legislators moving criminal justice in Kentucky
Legislator Party Stance Support rate Decisive votes
Cassie Armstrong
Cassie Armstrong Senate · District 19
D
Strong +
100% 6
Gary Clemons
Gary Clemons Senate · District 37
D
Strong +
100% 6
Gerald Neal
Gerald Neal Senate · District 33
D
Strong +
100% 6
Karen Berg
Karen Berg Senate · District 26
D
Strong +
100% 6
Keturah Herron
Keturah Herron Senate · District 35
D
Strong +
100% 6
Aaron Reed
Aaron Reed Senate · District 7
R
Strong −
0% 6
Amanda Bledsoe
Amanda Bledsoe Senate · District 12
R
Strong −
0% 6
Chris McDaniel
Chris McDaniel Senate · District 23
R
Strong −
0% 6
Craig Richardson
Craig Richardson Senate · District 3
R
Strong −
0% 6
Danny Carroll
Danny Carroll Senate · District 2
R
Strong −
0% 6
Showing 9 of 9 bills

All criminal justice bills

passed · Kentucky · Senate Apr 15, 2026

SB 312: AN ACT relating to court-ordered transports.

Amend KRS 70.280 to authorize certified court security officers to transport individuals being detained or in custody as ordered by the court and to go outside the immediate area of the court facility to provide the transport; authorize arrest powers for certified court security officers while engaged in transporting, monitoring, or supervising prisoners or other individuals ordered transported by the court; amend KRS 202A.028 and 202A.101 to permit certified court security officers to transport individuals under specified circumstances.
signed · Kentucky · Senate Apr 13, 2026

SB 90: AN ACT relating to behavioral health.

Amend KRS 533.272 to extend the behavioral health conditional dismissal program pilot project until January 1, 2031; amend KRS 533.288 to extend the Behavioral Health Conditional Dismissal Program Implementation Council until December 31, 2031; amend 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 230, sec. 13, to establish that moneys appropriated for the behavioral health conditional dismissal program through June 30, 2026, shall not lapse and shall be carried forward.
signed · Kentucky · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 185: AN ACT relating to employment and declaring an emergency.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 335B.010 to 335B.070 to require hiring or licensing authorities to establish an application process that gives persons convicted of a crime an opportunity to obtain a determination about whether the crime will disqualify the individual from a position of public employment or occupational license before pursuing employment or training; require hiring or licensing authorities to formulate policies and procedures for the application process by promulgating regulations no later than January 1, 2027; provide an annual report to the Legislative Research Commission by November 1, 2027; provide that certain entities are exempted from the requirements of the application process; amend KRS 335B.020 to add criteria for hiring and licensing authorities to consider when determining if a conviction directly relates to the position of public employment or occupational license sought; amend KRS 335B.030 to require hiring or licensing authorities to evaluate information and provide written findings of fact to the applicant upon determination.
signed · Kentucky · House Apr 9, 2026

HB 5: AN ACT relating to prison educational programs.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 197 to establish the Kentucky Community and Technical College System Prison Education Program within the Department of Corrections in partnership with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) to provide inmates with job training; require KCTCS to construct a facility to house the program at Northpoint Training Center; establish convictions that preclude participation in the program; require the parties to enter into a memorandum of agreement establishing the responsibilities of each party; amend KRS 196.281 to establish entitlement to a certificate of employability upon successful completion of the program and require reporting by the department; amend KRS 335B.020 to establish that a person shall not be disqualified from public employment or obtaining an occupational license solely because of previous criminal conviction and obtaining a certificate of employment from the department shall constitute rebuttable evidence of rehabilitation and fitness for the occupation; amend KRS 355B.030 to remove a conviction of a Class A felony, Class B felony, or any other felony offense other than a conviction that would qualify the individual as a registrant as defined in KRS 17.500 as supportive of a rebuttable presumption of a connection between that conviction and a license issuance request.
signed · Kentucky · House Apr 3, 2026

HB 188: AN ACT relating to public safety.

Amend KRS 508.025 to expand assault in the third degree to include causing or attempting to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider in a jail, penitentiary, or local or state correctional or detention facility; amend KRS 65.1591 to add jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers employed by a local detention center, local correctional facility, or regional jail to the list of public safety employees eligible to participate in a peer support counseling program.
signed · Kentucky · Senate Apr 1, 2026

SB 10: AN ACT proposing to amend Section 77 of the Constitution of Kentucky relating to limiting the Governor's ability to grant pardons and commute sentences.

Propose to amend Section 77 of the Constitution of Kentucky to prohibit the Governor's ability to grant pardons or commute sentences beginning 60 days prior to a gubernatorial election and ending at that gubernatorial inauguration; amend Section 240 of the Constitution of Kentucky to conform; provide ballot language; submit to voters for ratification or rejection.
passed · Kentucky · House Mar 18, 2026

HB 442: AN ACT relating to privacy for attorneys involved in criminal actions.

Amend KRS 61.7991 to add state and federal prosecutors and public defenders to the definition of "covered person"; authorize standing for a civil action for injunctive or declaratory relief for unauthorized disclosure; provide that the removal of information does not apply to financial disclosures required under KRS Chapter 61.
passed · Kentucky · House Mar 3, 2026

HB 299: AN ACT relating to machine gun conversion devices.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to define "machine gun"; establish the offense of possession of a machine gun conversion device as a Class C felony.
passed · Kentucky · House Jan 29, 2026

HB 320: AN ACT relating to combating human trafficking.

Amend KRS 529.110 to enhance the penalty for promoting human trafficking to a Class B felony unless the victim is a minor, in which case it is a Class A felony.