ZeroV 2026 Legislative Updates: February 3

Week four of Kentucky’s 60-day legislative session saw the introduction of three new bills that we've added to our tracker, as well as the House's budget bill. Read on for the details.

New Bills

HB 338 would give survivors struggling with financial insecurity a fresh start in their housing search by creating a process for expunging evictions.

HB 464 would allow survivor-parents who are facing incarceration to ask the court for an alternative sentence, which would allow them to continue parenting their child(ren). It also has built-in safeguards to prevent people 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. An identical bill has been filed in the Senate as SB 122.

HB 521 would revise 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.

You can see all the bills we're monitoring this session, along with brief descriptions of how they affect survivors, in ZeroV’s Bill Tracker. We will update our bill tracker on a weekly basis as new bills of interest are filed and relevant amendments are proposed. 

Budget

The House filed its biennial budget bill as HB 500. It 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. 

The House Budget Review Subcommittees will review HB 500 and make recommendations before the House votes on its final version of the budget. The Senate will then consider the measure.

Budget negotiations will continue throughout the legislative session. At the end of the session, the House and Senate budget bills will be sent to the Governor for either signing into law or vetoing. Learn more about the budget process. 

About ZeroV’s Policy Advocacy 

The well-being of survivors is our top policy priority.  

Throughout the legislative session, ZeroV will advocate for adequate funding for domestic violence services. We will also advocate for policies that support the safety, healing, and well-being of survivors, enabling them to thrive. As a service to our community, we will provide weekly updates throughout the 2026 Legislative Session on the status of proposed legislation impacting survivors of domestic violence. 

Thank you for staying informed and getting involved!