Beshear signs bill to reopen Louisville youth detention facility, require mandatory holds

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed into law legislation Monday to reopen a youth detention center in Louisville that will now be run by the state, along with adding stricter rules for youths charged with or convicted of violent crimes.

House Bill 3, along appropriation measures in Senate Bill 162, will direct $13.4 million to the renovation and reopening of the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center, which the city closed in 2019 due to lack of funding. The reopened facility will now be operated by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, which also received additional funding for staffing, raises, services and security upgrades.

The high-priority legislation of the GOP supermajority was a reaction to incidents of rioting and violence at youth detention facilities across the state, an uptick in violent crimes where a juvenile was charged and kids from Louisville being shipped across the state to be detained.

More:Juvenile justice bill to add Louisville detention center passes House, with more funding

Among the reforms in HB 3 are mandatory detention holds on youths charged with serious violent crime (until they have appeared before a judge, at a maximum of 48 hours), possible criminal charges for parents found to not be cooperating with their child's diversion program, and the unsealing of criminal records for juveniles convicted or pleading guilty to violent crimes for at least three years.

Nearly all Democrats in the legislature voted against HB 3, mostly due to concerns over the provisions on mandatory detention holds for children and the unsealing of their criminal records.

Together, HB 3 and SB 162 would also appropriate $38 million for salary increases at the Department of Juvenile Justice and Department of Corrections, $4.5 million for the renovation of DJJ's Lyndon detention center, $9.7 million to hire 146 additional DJJ youth workers, $3.2 million for DJJ youth worker raises, $4 million for security upgrades to DJJ detention centers and $1.5 million to increase diversion and treatment services for detained youths — making up much of the funding requested by the Beshear administration to retain and recruit workers in the understaffed facilities.

Beshear vetoes Senate Bill 7 targeting public employee unions

The governor also vetoed a bill that would prohibit the automatically deducted union dues of certain public employee from being used on political activities.

Senate Bill 7 would exempt firefighters and police officers, only applying to public school teachers and classified employees, with supporters decrying that union dues of the Kentucky Education Association and Jefferson County Teachers Association go toward the political campaign activities of their PACs.

While such employees can already opt out of having their dues go to political activities, under SB 7 teachers would have to opt in to contribute.

All Democrats voted against SB 7 in both chambers, with 14 Republicans peeling off to vote against it in the House and one in the Senate.

More:From anti-trans to Medicaid cuts, here are Beshear's vetoes and where they stand

In his veto message, Beshear wrote that SB 7 is an unconstitutional "attack on unions and teacher associations that support and protect hard working Kentucky families."

The governor also wrote that the bill would jeopardize $76 million of federal transit funds and is so broadly worded that it could prohibit payroll deductions for dental and vision insurance providers, financial services firms and charitable organizations.

The legislature could override the veto with the vote of a constitutional majority once lawmakers return to Frankfort Wednesday for the final two days of the 2023 session.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: KY governor signs bill to reopen Louisville youth detention facility