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HB 188 Kentucky House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to public safety.

Summary
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.
Issues: ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeExpands assault protections for healthcare providers in correctional facilities and adds correctional officers to peer support programs, enhancing safety and mental health support within corrections.90% confidence
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Mar 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 7, 2026 Signed Apr 3, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Current/Final · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered and reorganized to clarify the list of protected individuals covered under the act. The most significant substantive change is the addition of a new category protecting juvenile employees in state residential treatment facilities from physical abuse or bodily fluid attacks by delinquent juveniles. Other changes include reordering the list of protected workers and updating the page header with new bill identifiers.
Scope change
The scope of protection was expanded to explicitly include juvenile staff in state residential treatment facilities, while the list of other protected workers was reorganized for clarity.
SCOPE

Added protection for juvenile employees in state residential treatment facilities against physical injury or bodily fluid attacks by delinquent juveniles.

TECHNICAL

Renumbered the list of protected workers from items 7-11 to items 4-11 and reorganized the text structure.

Updated document headers and page numbers to reflect the new bill number (HB 188) and session information.

Floor votes · House Feb 5, 2026

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
7
Committee
6
Amendments
1
Apr 3, 2026
Signed into law
signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 28)
lower
Mar 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
upper
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
lower
Mar 25, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 38-0
lower
Mar 19, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar
lower
Mar 16, 2026
Committee
to Judiciary (S)
upper
Feb 6, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 97-0 with Floor Amendment (1)
lower
Feb 3, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (1) filed
lower
Jan 28, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
lower
Jan 14, 2026
Committee
to Judiciary (H)
lower
Jan 7, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Jan 7, 2026
Introduced
introduced in House
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.