Crime, school ‘guardians’ and vape sales: Here are 9 new Kentucky laws taking effect today

Dozens of new laws passed by the 2024 General Assembly take effect today in Kentucky.

Among some of the most high-profile items are measures on crime, education and health care, but the 60-day legislative session also saw the passage of a two-year budget and two bills putting constitutional amendments on the November ballot.

Those laws — some passed over the veto of Gov. Andy Beshear — take effect July 15, unless they had an emergency clause, in which case they took effect immediately.

Here’s a look at some of the commonwealth’s newest laws:

• House Bill 5, called the Safer Kentucky Act by supporters, is a sweeping anti-crime law with tougher penalties for many offenses and an estimated price tag of more than $1 billion over the next decade. Republicans say it is needed to combat crime, but Democrats have largely objected to many portions, including criminal penalties for public homelessness and much longer sentences for a wide array of crimes without any additional jail or prison funding. Beshear vetoed the bill over concerns about the homelessness component and cost. Lexington Police Chief Lawrence Weathers said last week the law won’t mean more arrests of unhoused people by his officers, and the department will continue to make referrals to community partners.

• House Bill 7 legalizes and regulates self-driving cars on Kentucky roads. It was vetoed by Beshear on the grounds that Kentucky did not have enough time to test such vehicles before they were legalized. However, sponsor Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mt. Vernon, has pointed to the success of other states in legalizing them.

• House Bill 11, targeted at curbing vaping among youths, sets new rules for businesses that sell vape products in Kentucky. Critics have expressed dismay that the law — originally a crackdown on both tobacco and vape smoking by youths — ended up far weaker after lobbying from tobacco companies. The bill got a mixed reception among Republicans and Democrats, but was ultimately passed and signed into law by Beshear.

• House Bill 278 requires websites with content deemed “harmful to minors” to collect documents proving the user’s adulthood before allowing them access. In response to the measure, Pornhub, the world’s largest pornographic website, cut off access to users in the commonwealth beginning July 10, citing the risk to consumer privacy. Subsequently, searches for VPNs — which would allow users to work around the blockage — increased in Kentucky, according to Google Trends.

• House Bill 622 takes the governor out of the process of replacing a U.S. Senate vacancy and changes it to a pure special election model, similar to how vacancies for U.S. Congress seats are filled in Kentucky. The law made it past the governor’s veto easily in both chambers, and got significant media attention during a time of transition and health questions for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

• Senate Bill 2 allows Kentucky schools to hire non-law enforcement armed “guardians” to secure schools. Many Democrats and gun control advocates spoke against the measure, but it received robust Republican support in the legislature. Beshear allowed the bill to become law without his signature.

• Senate Bill 74, also called the “momnibus” bill, aims to lower soaring maternal mortality and morbidity rates in Kentucky. Pregnancy is now considered a “qualifying life event” to be covered by Medicaid, and Medicaid is required to cover lactation consultation services as well as the cost of breastfeeding equipment, maternity and post-partum care telehealth services and participation in an in-home program for treatment of substance use disorder.

• Senate Bill 299 reshapes the state’s regulatory landscape for horse racing and gaming, making gubernatorial appointments to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission subject to Senate approval and creating a new public corporation to oversee all gaming. It was vetoed by Beshear but overridden by both chambers.

• Senate Bill 349 increases regulatory hurdles for utility companies looking to retire fossil fuel-fired power plants, a move advocated for by the state’s rural electric cooperatives and coal industry interests. The commission would likely extend the life of coal plants that are no longer economical for certain companies — a point that bill opponents, the president of Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities, have said will be costly to ratepayers and make it harder to transition to renewable energy.