Leading the change on issues affecting survivors

Medicaid

HB 2

Rep. Fleming

Amend KRS 205.5371 to require the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to condition eligibility for enrollment or continued enrollment in the Medicaid program on demonstrated community engagement as required under federal law; require the cabinet to continue to condition eligibility on demonstrated community engagement if federal requirements are abolished, repealed, or otherwise diminished; amend KRS 205.6312 to require the cabinet and any contracted Medicaid managed care organization to impose cost-sharing requirements for Medicaid enrollees as required under federal law no later than January 1, 2027; establish minimum cost-sharing amounts...

Passed out of the House with committee sub 1 and floor amendment 18 on 2/27/2026

Being a survivor impacts people's health, and many survivors rely on Medicaid to get the care they need to address their immediate and long-term health needs. Access to medical care and coverage for that care is critical to survivors and their children.

Protective orders, Courts, Firearms

HB 77

Rep. Roberts

Create a new section of KRS 237.060 to 237.090 to prohibit ex parte orders that restrict the ability of a person to possess firearms and ammunition, firearm accessories, holsters, or firearm storage devices; amend KRS 403.730 and KRS 456.040 to prohibit emergency protective orders and temporary interpersonal protective orders that restrict the ability of a person to possess firearms and ammunition, firearm accessories, holsters, or firearm storage devices; provide that the Act may be cited as the Red Flag Repeal Act of 2026.

Assigned to judiciary 1/14/2026

Would eliminate a judge’s power to order a Respondent to a Protective Order to not possess a firearm at the EPO/tIPO stage, increasing the risk of threats, injury, or death by firearm to petitioners and children.

Protective orders, Courts, Firearms

HB 116

Rep. Brown, Rep. Chester-Burton

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237 to define "assault weapon," "large capacity ammunition feeding device," and "seller of ammunition"; require background checks for private firearms sales; require reporting to law enforcement of firearm and ammunition thefts and losses; require the safe storage of firearms; require the Department of Kentucky State Police to promulgate administrative regulations relating to the licensing of persons to possess handguns and assault weapons, the registration of handguns and assault weapons, and the logging of firearms and ammunition sales...

Assigned to judiciary 1/14/2026

This firearm regulation bill contains a piece that would require judges in Protective Order cases to consider if the Respondent should be prohibited from possessing a firearm, and would allow prohibiting possession, thereby reducing the risk of threats, injury, or death by firearm to petitioners and children.

Protective orders, Courts, Firearms

HB 125

Rep. Brown, Rep. Chester-Burton

Amend KRS 527.010 to define "domestic abuse offense," "domestic violence protective order," and "physical force"; create new sections of KRS Chapter 527 to create the crimes of possession of a firearm by a convicted domestic abuser and possession of a firearm by the subject of a domestic violence protective order; require the surrender of firearm by individuals subject to protective orders or convicted of specified crimes; amend KRS 403.740 and 456.060 to require courts to inform the subject of a domestic violence order or an interpersonal protective order of the firearm possession prohibition.

Assigned to judiciary 1/14/2026

Creates crimes of possession of a firearm by a convicted domestic abuser and possession of a firearm by the subject of a DVO, and require the surrender of firearms, thereby reducing risk of threats, injury or death by firearm to victims of domestic violence crimes and petitioners to Protective Orders, and their children

Unemployment

HB 200

Rep. Kulkarni

Amend KRS 341.370 to prohibit disqualification from benefits for workers unemployed as a result of domestic violence and abuse, dating violence and abuse, sexual assault, or stalking; create a new section of KRS Chapter 341 to direct the secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations; amend KRS 341.125 to require the secretary to provide training to personnel who process claims related to domestic or dating violence and abuse, sexual assault, or stalking and to report to the Legislative Research Commission annually the number of claims paid involving domestic or dating violence and abuse, sexual assault, or stalking; amend KRS 341.360 to conform; amend KRS 341.530 to charge benefits to pooled account for workers displaced from employment through domestic or dating violence and abuse, sexual assault, or stalking; amend KRS 341.550 to prevent benefit payments from pooled account from impacting an employer's experience rating.

Assigned to EDWI 1/14/2026

Creates unemployment insurance benefits protection for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence, and stalking who lose employment due to the victimization they experience.

Expungement of Evictions

HB 338

Rep. Witten

Create new sections of KRS 383.200 to 383.285 to provide for expungement of records in eviction proceedings that are dismissed; prohibit minors from being named in an action for forcible detainer unless the minor is a leaseholder; provide for expungement of a minor's name from an order; amend KRS 383.250 to provide for sealing of records; amend KRS 367.310 to prohibit consumer reporting agencies from maintaining information in their files relating to dismissed eviction actions; provide that the expungement of dismissed eviction actions applies to actions initiated on or after the effective date of the Act.

Assigned to Judiciary 1/21/2026

Gives survivors struggling with financial insecurity a fresh start in their housing search by creating a process for expunging evictions.

Education, Licensing

HB 374

Rep. Dietz

Amend KRS 317.450 and 317A.050 to require that all licensed barbers and Board of Cosmetology licensees receive up to 1 hour of anti-domestic violence training at no cost to the applicant or licensee; require the respective board to make training available online; and provide civil and criminal immunity to licensees and employers.

01/22/26: to Licensing, Occupations, & Administrative Regulations (H)

Requires one hour of DV training for barbers/beauticians so they can recognize and respond appropriately to a client’s disclosure of IPV.

Courts, Child Custody

HB 418

Rep. Nemes

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 403 to prohibit the removal from custody or the reduction in parenting time of a party solely for improvement of relationship between the child and the other party where the court has made a finding of domestic violence or abuse; require the court to make considerations of scientific validity prior to ordering therapy for reunification; require orders remediating the resistance of a child to contact with a violent or abusive parent to primarily address the behavior of that parent; amend KRS 403.270 to require a court to consider allegations of domestic violence or abuse and make written findings on the record prior to consideration of other factors relevant to determination of custody...

Passed out of House on 3/04/2026

Would protect children when there has been violence in the home and the parents are in the process of separating. It installs guardrails for the courts to ensure that the safety and welfare of children are the top consideration in all custody orders.

Courts, Child Custody

HB 464

Rep. Wilson

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 533 to define terms; require the court, upon conviction of the defendant, to consider the defendant's status as a caretaker of a dependent child; provide that a court's determination of a defendant's status as a caretaker of a dependent child shall not be admissible as evidence or be determinative in any subsequent proceeding; provide that the defendant shall have the right to present an alternative sentencing plan and a family impact statement to the court; provide that in issuing an alternative sentence, the court may require the defendant to participate in programs and services that support the parent-child relationship; provide ...

01/29/26: to Judiciary (H)

This bill would allow survivor-parents who are facing incarceration to ask the court for an alternative sentence, which would allow them to continue to parent their child. It also has built-in safeguards to prevent those committing crimes of domestic and dating violence from being eligible for such alternative sentences, so that survivors do not have to face increased risk from their abusive partner being released from custody.

Budget

HB 500

Rep. Petrie

The State/Executive Branch Budget

2/26/2026: Heard and passed out of the House

The House's biennium budget bill allocates $5.76 million for the first year and $5.58 million for the second year to ZeroV's state-designated domestic violence programs. This allocation reflects a small but significant cut from the previous biennial budget, considering the rising need. ZeroV will continue working to ensure our programs have the resources they need to provide life-saving services to survivors.

Stalking, Protective Orders

HB 521

Rep. Rudy

Amend KRS 508.130 to define "course of conduct" and "social media platform"; establish elements of the crime of stalking and penalize as a Class D felony unless certain aggravating circumstances are met, in which case it is a Class C felony; provide that the Act shall not affect the validity of restraining orders, interpersonal protective orders, or domestic violence orders in place prior to the effective date of the Act; repeal KRS 508.140 and 508.150, relating to stalking in the first and second degrees; amend KRS 14.300, 23A.208, 24A.178, 431.005, 411.220, 456.010, 500.092, 500.120, 506.160, 508.155, and 532.080 to conform.

Voted and passed out of House 2/25/2026

Revises Kentucky's criminal stalking law to make prosecutions easier. It would also make all stalking charges felonies. This bill would affect survivors being stalked by a partner or former partner by making it easier to prosecute abusive partners for stalking.

Protective orders

HB 558

Rep. Dietz

Amend KRS 456.030 to give District Courts exclusive jurisdiction over protective order petitions filed under KRS Chapter 456; amend KRS 456.140 to conform.

Heard in Judiciary 2/18 and passed

Gives district courts exclusive jurisdiction over IPOs. While this will not impact protective order hearings in counties where there is no family court, this will reduce the number of hearings on Family Court dockets, which should result in hearings happening faster in those counties.

Guardians Ad Litem (GAL)

HB 598

Rep. Dietz

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 15A to establish the Department of Family Representation and Advocacy and the Family Representation and Advocacy Commission to provide a state-sponsored and controlled system for training and appointing guardians ad litem and other counsel; amend various sections to cap guardian ad litem or counsel fees at $500; amend various other sections to conform; provide that the Act may be cited as the Family Representation and Advocacy Act; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2027.

Passed out of HF&C with committee sub 1 on 2/26/2026

Creates a new state agency within the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to hire, train, and provide guardians ad litem (GALs). In cases of abuse, neglect, divorce, and custody disputes, judges appoint GALS to protect the interests of minors and incapacitated adults. HB 598 would ensure GALs receive training that increases their understanding of domestic violence so they can make the best recommendations to Judges when representing minors in protective order hearings.

Domestic Violence Data, Annual DV Data Report

HB 611

Rep. Dietz

Amend KRS 209A.122 to require the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide information regarding whether parties to a petition for an order of protection were represented by a legal counsel; to require the Department of Kentucky State Police to provide all statistical information from all JC-3 forms and all fields on a JC-3 form, relating to domestic violence or abuse or dating violence or abuse; remove the number of orders of protection in LINK; amend KRS 15A.190 to require JC-3 forms to be electronic. 

Heard and passed out of HF&C with committee sub on 2/26/2026

Updates and refines data collection for the Annual DV Data Report. Changes aim to improve data quality for illustrating the impact of intimate partner violence across Kentucky. Creates a 10-year IPO upon conviction for domestic and dating violence felony assaults.

Courts, Domestic violence registry

HB 773

Rep Holloway

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 17 to define terms; require the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to establish and maintain a domestic violence offender registry; limit the registry to persistent domestic violence offenders; require registrants to pay a $150 registration fee.

Filed 2/26/2026

Children, Incarceration, Alternative sentencing

SB 122

Sen. Adams

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 533 to define terms; require the court, upon conviction of the defendant, to consider the defendant's status as a caretaker of a dependent child; provide that a court's determination of a defendant's status as a caretaker of a dependent child shall not be admissible as evidence or be determinative in any subsequent proceeding; provide that the defendant shall have the right to present an alternative sentencing plan and a family impact statement to the court; provide that in issuing an alternative sentence, the court may require the defendant to participate in programs and services that support the parent-child relationship; provide that the court may modify or revoke the alternative sentence and commit the defendant to an institution if the defendant fails to adhere to or complete the conditions of an alternative sentence; amend KRS 610.340 to provide that a court determining whether to impose an alternative sentence for a defendant who is a caretaker of a dependent child has access to court records under KRS Chapters 600 to 645; provide that the Act may be cited as the Family Preservation and Accountability Act.

Passed out of Senate with floor amendment 1 on 2/25/2026

Child marriage

SB 156

Sen. Adams

Amend KRS 402.020 to prohibit marriage with a person under 18 years of age; exclude from being prohibited and void, marriages entered into in the Commonwealth before the effective date of this Act and marriages entered into in another state or country; amend KRS 402.080 and 402.210 to prohibit the issuance of marriage licenses to persons under 18 years of age; amend KRS 402.030 to conform; repeal KRS 402.205, relating to petitions to courts filed by minors aged 17 years seeking permission to marry.

Prohibits those under the age of 18 from getting married. This bill is a further revision to our marriage law, which was revised in 2018 and currently allows 17-year-olds to marry only with court approval and several protective requirements. There is a correlation between child marriages and domestic violence.

Courts, Domestic violence registry

SB 259

Sen Carroll

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 17 to define terms; require the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet to establish and maintain a domestic violence offender registry; limit the registry to persistent domestic violence offenders; require registrants to pay a $150 registration fee.

Filed 2/26/2026

SB 290

Sen Storm

Create a new sections of KRS Chapter 431 to establish an automatic expungement process for specific eligible misdemeanor and felony convictions; allow the Commonwealth's and county attorney to object and halt the automatic expungement of certain offenses; require the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Department of Kentucky State Police to submit a report twice a year to the Legislative Research Commission on the implementation of the automatic expungement process; amend KRS 431.073 to waive fees for an applicant whose conviction qualifies as an eligible conviction...

Filed 2/27/2026

Automatic Expungement Act - This bill creates categories of eligible misdemeanor and class D felony convictions that would be eligible for automatic expungement after five years. Most domestic violence crimes would not be eligible for automatic expungement and would require the offender to file an application. Felonies would still require a hearing and judicial review, if requested by the prosecutor or the victim.

Child support

SB 337

Sen Richardson

Amend KRS 15.808 to allow the Attorney General to pass through child support payments up to $200 per month to recipients of public assistance; require that the payments are not considered income for the purpose of determining public assistance eligibility or the recipient's monthly benefit amount.

Filed 03/02/2026

Allows a parent receiving child support, whose child also receives the KTAP public benefit, to keep up to $100 per child, up to a maximum of $200, that would otherwise go to the state and federal governments, improving survivor parents' ability to provide for their family's needs.