Louisville Republicans unveil 'Safer Kentucky Act,' a sweeping bill aimed at public safety
FRANKFORT — Months after Republicans unveiled plans to address public safety in the Kentucky' General Assembly, a sweeping bill has been put forward by a Louisville lawmaker.
The legislation — House Bill 5 — was filed Tuesday by Rep. Jared Bauman, R-Louisville, who said it has 45 co-sponsors. He was joined by several other local House Republicans at a press conference after the chamber gaveled out for the day, where they said the legislation had been drafted with input from city leaders and organizations such as Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Louisville Metro Police and homeless community advocates.
"The first duty of any civilized society is to protect its honest citizens from those that prey on their innocent fellow citizens," Bauman said. "Crime is something that impacts every single Kentuckian, and it is with a deep sense of purpose and value that we put forward the critical reforms in the Safer Kentucky Act."
The proposed "Safer Kentucky Act," as it's been billed, has been in the works since the summer, with an initial draft released in late September by Louisville-area House Republicans. Bauman at the time cited a rise in murders, carjackings and fatal overdoses in Louisville as his motivation, along with constituents who "don't feel safe in their own homes and neighborhoods."
An early version of the bill was rolled out last month. The filing put forward Tuesday includes a number of changes to Kentucky law, such as:
Life in prison for individuals found guilty of three separate violent felonies;
The possibility of the death penalty for those convicted of murder of a police officer or other first responder;
Classifying carjacking as a Class B felony (carjacking is currently charged as first-degree robbery, according to Rep. Emily Callaway, R-Louisville, and a new charge would help track offenses);
Limiting bail payments by charitable bail organizations to less than $5,000, and limiting those organizations from paying bail for people accused of some violent crimes;
Allowing business owners to use force to prevent someone from escaping in cases of suspected shoplifting;
Increased penalties for fentanyl trafficking convictions;
And a ban on street camping while giving local governments the power to designate temporary camping locations, along with a provision preventing the use of federal funds to go toward permanent housing for homeless people if such initiatives lack "behavioral and rehabilitative requirements."
In a statement Wednesday morning, Greenberg said his team values "strong relationships" with the legislature and said he supports lawmakers' efforts to address public safety.
"In Louisville, we are committed to combatting violent crime and we continue to encourage lawmakers to support effective solutions that can make our city, and all of Kentucky, safer, including increased funding to local law enforcement, wiretapping, more responsible gun laws, local autonomy and strengthening the provision to destroy all confiscated weapons used in violent crimes," his statement said.
Critics spoke out against the bill even as it was being put together. The Louisville Urban League called the September draft "vengeful, reactionary, and, frankly, just bad policy," while Rep. Nima Kulkarni, D-Louisville, said it would put more people in jail without addressing the root causes of crime.
Philip Lawson, a criminal defense attorney and legislative agent for the Kentucky Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said his organization doesn't believe the proposed law would seriously deter crime and thinks it would significantly raise incarceration costs.
Provisions aimed at the homeless community have drawn concerns as well, with the Louisville Coalition for the Homeless saying in December it opposed the bill as written because it was built around "disproven approaches, including the criminalization of homelessness" and would prevent the city from funding successful housing programs.
Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, said many members of the unsheltered population suffer from drug abuse or mental issues and are not actively seeking treatment, which can create safety hazards and "devalue the business community." He also cited an August case in which a homeless man in Louisville was accused of a rape that occurred during daylight hours in downtown.
"Certainly don't want to suggest that the entire population is like that, but among the unsheltered homeless population is a high-risk element for panhandling, petty crime, things that generally endanger the public and public health," Hodgson said. A defined area for outdoor camping could let the city offer sanitary facilities and services like police and the fire department more access, he added.
"We've got empty beds that are funded every single night for rehab," Hodgson said. "People just don't want to go because they don't want rehab. If you don't want rehab and you're not going to comply with the rules of society, then that's where the law kicks in."
Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, said the legislature has taken other actions to prevent crime and to support treatment to help people addicted to drugs who may be a part of the homeless community. HB 5, he said, is about keeping violent criminals behind bars.
"To say that we're not doing things to address our friends and our neighbors and our family members who are addicted I think is wrong," he said, adding that he expects other legislation during the session to address root causes of crime. "... This bill is about better identifying those who are going to commit violence against us, finding them, and putting them in jail for a long time."
Reporter Rebecca Grapevine contributed. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Safer Kentucky Act, House Bill 5, unveiled in Kentucky legislature
