Introduced January 7, 2026
HB188
Log in to followAN ACT relating to public safety.
Amend KRS 508.025 to expand assault in the third degree to include causing or attempting to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider in a jail, penitentiary, or local or state correctional or detention facility; amend KRS 65.1591 to add jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers employed by a local detention center, local correctional facility, or regional jail to the list of public safety employees eligible to participate in a peer support counseling program.
In effect since July 15, 2026
Acts from the 2026 Regular Session that don't carry an emergency clause or set their own effective date took effect 90 days after the session adjourned (Ky. Constitution § 55).
Plain-language summary
This law does two things related to safety in Kentucky's jails and prisons. It makes it a criminal offense of assault in the third degree to cause or attempt to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider working inside a jail or correctional facility. It also allows jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers at local detention centers and regional jails to take part in peer support counseling programs that were previously available only to certain…
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Legislative History
Primary Sponsor
Kevin Jackson
Representative · House District 020
Co-sponsors (10)
Robert Duvall
Representative · House District 017
Daniel Elliott
Representative · House District 054
David Hale
Representative · House District 074
John Hodgson
Representative · House District 036
Scott Lewis
Representative · House District 014
Shawn McPherson
Representative · House District 022
Michael Meredith
Representative · House District 019
Kimberly Moser
Representative · House District 064
Steve Riley
Representative · House District 023
Wade Williams
Representative · House District 004
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