HB 305 Kentucky House · 2026 Regular Session

AN ACT relating to grand jury service.

Summary
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 29A to establish that a person present at any part of a grand jury proceeding shall not knowingly record the proceeding or disclose any information gathered while present during a proceeding; amend KRS 29A.990 to establish the penalty for knowingly recording or disclosing information gathered at a grand jury proceeding as a Class A misdemeanor unless the person is a public servant as defined in KRS 519.010, in which case it is a Class D felony; amend KRS 500.050 to provide that a misdemeanor violation of knowingly recording or disclosing information gathered at a grand jury proceeding shall be prosecuted within 10 years after the act is committed.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Signed Apr 13, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Current/Final · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered and formally titled the 'Crystal Rogers Act.' The most significant change is the expansion of who can legally observe grand jury proceedings; the text now explicitly exempts Commonwealth's attorneys, their employees, and peace officers from the general prohibition on recording or disclosing grand jury information when performing official duties. Additionally, the penalties for violating grand jury secrecy were clarified to distinguish between recording testimony (a Class A misdemeanor) and disclosing information (a Class D felony for public servants).
Scope change
The scope of the bill was expanded to explicitly include peace officers and Commonwealth's attorney staff as authorized participants in grand jury proceedings, whereas the previous version did not list these specific groups as exceptions to the secrecy rules.
SCOPE

Added explicit exemptions allowing Commonwealth's attorneys, their employees, and peace officers to be present at grand jury proceedings and disclose information while performing official duties.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified penalty structures to specify that public servants who violate the disclosure rules face a Class D felony charge, while non-public servants face a Class A misdemeanor.

TECHNICAL

Updated bill numbering from '26 RS BR 1531' to '26 RS HB 305/EN' and added a formal title, the 'Crystal Rogers Act'.

Floor votes · House Feb 11, 2026

How they voted

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

Actions timeline

Total actions
26
Key actions
10
Committee
9
Amendments
3
Apr 13, 2026
Signed into law
signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 107)
lower
Apr 1, 2026
Upper · Passed
enrolled, signed by President of the Senate
upper
Apr 1, 2026
Lower · Passed
enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
passed 92-1
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
House concurred in Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Committee
to Rules (H)
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 38-0 with Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Mar 11, 2026
Committee
to Judiciary (S)
upper
Feb 12, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
3rd reading, passed 93-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (3)
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (3) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 10, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Introduced
floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
lower
Feb 4, 2026
Lower · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
lower
Jan 20, 2026
Committee
to Judiciary (H)
lower
Jan 12, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (H)
lower
Jan 12, 2026
Introduced
introduced in House
lower
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.