# Kentucky HB 521: AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. Kentucky HB 521, AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Steven Rudy (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-04-10 (signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 67)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB521-2026RS - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Kentucky HB 521 - State: Kentucky - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-27 - Last action: 2026-04-10, signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 67) - Sponsor: Steven Rudy (Republican) - Cosponsors: 12 - Subjects: Corrections Impact, Crime Victims, Crimes And Punishments, Criminal Procedure, Domestic Relations, Public Safety - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (225 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 8 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Stronger stalking rules and protections: benefit, medium. The law rebuilds stalking around a “course of conduct” of two or more acts, including following, monitoring, and using phones, email, or social media. Stalking is a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if there is a protective order or pending complaint with notice, a recent prior offense, a deadly… - Faster arrests for protective order breaks: benefit, low. Police can arrest without a warrant when certain violations occur in their presence. Police must arrest without a warrant if they have probable cause that an interpersonal protective order was violated, even if they did not see it happen. - More property forfeiture in sex crimes: cost, high. Kentucky can seize non‑residence personal property and real property used in or gained from listed sex, stalking, and related tech‑enabled crimes. Drug‑forfeiture procedures and spending rules apply. This creates a serious risk of losing valuable assets if property is tied to these crimes. - Mandatory jail time for gang crimes: cost, medium. After certain misdemeanor convictions, there is a separate jury hearing on gang membership. If the jury finds the person was a gang member acting for the gang, the court must order extra confinement: 76–90 days for listed Class B misdemeanors, and 311–365 days for listed Class A misdemeanors. This… - Mixed changes to repeat‑offender rules: mixed, medium. Persistent‑felony‑offender rules can apply to felony stalking cases under the new law, even when the penalty was raised for a repeat. A conviction under KRS 218A.1415 alone does not trigger persistent‑offender status, but it can count as a prior if there is a later, different felony conviction. - Police can subpoena account records: mixed, medium. The Attorney General and State Police can subpoena internet, social media, payment, and cloud providers in child‑exploitation and listed sex‑crime cases. They can get account identifiers like emails, usernames, IP addresses, names, addresses, phone numbers, account status, and access method. They c… - More Safe at Home help and fee: mixed, low. The Safe at Home address program now lets trained and registered helpers from government, nonprofits, or the community assist applicants. Program terms align with the new stalking rules. A $30 court surcharge applies to covered sex crimes and stalking convictions; $1.50 goes to the state general fu… - Tougher trespass rules and notices: mixed, low. The law clarifies what counts as a building, dwelling, workplace, and premises. Landowners can give notice with purple paint marks that are at least 8 inches by 1 inch, placed 3–5 feet high, no more than 100 feet apart on forest land and 1,000 feet on other land. Entering or staying in a workplace… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Steven Rudy (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Beverly Chester-Burton (Democrat), House - Cosponsor: Chad Aull (Democrat), House - Cosponsor: Chris Freeland (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Daniel Grossberg (Democrat), House - Cosponsor: Kim Banta (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Myron Dossett (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Randy Bridges (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Richard White (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Steve Bratcher (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Stephanie Dietz (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Walker Thomas (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Wade Williams (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-31 | Senate | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 38 | 0 | | | 2026-03-31 | House | passed | pass | 91 | 0 | | | 2026-02-25 | House | 3rd reading, passed | pass | 96 | 0 | | ## Actions (25) - 2026-04-10: signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 67) - 2026-04-01: delivered to Governor - 2026-04-01: enrolled, signed by President of the Senate (House) - 2026-04-01: enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House (House) - 2026-03-31: passed 91-0 (House) - 2026-03-31: House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) (House) - 2026-03-31: posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) and committee amendment (1-title) (Senate) - 2026-03-31: to Rules (H) (House) - 2026-03-31: received in House (House) - 2026-03-31: 3rd reading, passed 38-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) (Senate) - 2026-03-26: posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Friday, March 27 2026 (Senate) - 2026-03-26: reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) as a consent bill (Senate) - 2026-03-25: returned to Judiciary (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-25: 1st reading (Senate) - 2026-03-25: taken from Judiciary (S) (Senate) - 2026-03-16: to Judiciary (S) (Senate) - 2026-02-26: to Committee on Committees (S) (Senate) - 2026-02-26: received in Senate (Senate) - 2026-02-25: 3rd reading, passed 96-0 (House) - 2026-02-24: posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, February 25 2026 (House) - 2026-02-19: 2nd reading, to Rules (House) - 2026-02-18: reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar (House) - 2026-02-03: to Judiciary (H) (House) - 2026-01-27: to Committee on Committees (H) (House) - 2026-01-27: introduced in House (House) ## Bill text - Current, 2026-03-31: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb521/bill.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-02-25: [PDF](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb521/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 197: AN ACT providing funding and establishing conditions for state government agencies and institutions, making an appropriation therefor, and declaring an emergen… (became law) - SB 133: AN ACT relating to the fiscal reporting of local entities. (signed) - HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency. (signed) - HB 727: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency. (signed) - SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry. (signed) - SB 66: AN ACT relating to the operation of a motor vehicle. (signed) ## Sources - [Current (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb521/bill.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb521/orig_bill.pdf) ## Related - [SB 197: AN ACT providing funding and establishing conditions for state government agenc…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB197-2026RS) - [SB 133: AN ACT relating to the fiscal reporting of local entities.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB133-2026RS) - [HB 869: AN ACT relating to fiscal matters and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB869-2026RS) - [HB 727: AN ACT relating to education and declaring an emergency.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB727-2026RS) - [SB 324: AN ACT relating to the entertainment industry.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB324-2026RS) - [SB 66: AN ACT relating to the operation of a motor vehicle.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-SB66-2026RS) - [Kentucky bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/kentucky/bills) - [Kentucky state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/kentucky) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/KY-HB521-2026RS (as of 2026-11-01).