AN ACT relating to the protection of children.
Summary
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 507 to establish the offense of child abuse homicide as a capital offense; amend KRS 199.896 to require licensed child-care centers to maintain video surveillance of all public areas within the facility and retain video footage for 90 days; amend KRS 507.030 to increase the age of a child victim of manslaughter in the first degree from 12 or under to under 18; amend KRS 507.040 to increase the penalty of manslaughter in the second degree from a Class C to a Class B felony if the victim is under the age of 18; amend KRS 508.100 to add knowingly as a mental state of a person guilty of criminal abuse in the first degree; increase the age of a victim from under age 12 to under age 18; increase the penalty of criminal abuse in the first degree from a Class C to a Class B felony and from a Class B to a Class A felony if the victim is under the age of 18; amend KRS 508.110 to increase the age of a victim of criminal abuse in the second degree from age 12 or less to under 18; increase the penalty from a Class D to a Class C felony; amend KRS 508.120 to increase the age of a victim of criminal abuse in the third degree from age 12 or less to under 18; increase the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony; amend KRS 532.025, relating to aggravating circumstances in death penalty eligible cases, to increase the age of a victim of an intentional killing from under 12 to under 18; amend KRS 625.090 to create a rebuttable presumption that parental rights must be terminated if a parent has been convicted of a felony involving serious physical injury to any child or convicted of causing or contributing to the death of a child as a result of abuse; provide that the Act may be cited as Jayden's Law.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 29, 2026
Last action Mar 13, 2026
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
5
Key actions
1
Committee
3
Mar 12, 2026
Upper · Passed
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
upper
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
to Judiciary (S)
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Committee
to Committee on Committees (S)
upper
Jan 29, 2026
Introduced
introduced in Senate
upper
0 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
No sponsor information available.
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