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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky expands Safe at Home address confidentiality program to include prosecutors, public defenders, and legal staff
Last action · March 18, 2026: received in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)Sponsor: Nick Wilson
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 442 expands the Safe at Home address confidentiality program to cover commonwealth's attorneys, county attorneys, Department of Public Advocacy attorneys, federal defenders, and criminal defense counsel, while establishing election petition signature protections and taking effect January 1, 2027.
The measure shields the residential addresses and personal locations of criminal law attorneys from public record disclosure and ballot publication, altering how state agencies handle records and how judicial candidates file nominating petitions.
- The Safe at Home Program is Kentucky's address confidentiality program administered by the Secretary of State. context
- Kentucky HB 442 relates to privacy protections and record exemptions for attorneys involved in criminal actions. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Prosecutors and Government Attorneys
Commonwealth's attorneys, county attorneys, and attorneys in the Office of the Attorney General become eligible to participate in the Safe at Home address confidentiality program.
Public Defenders and Appointed Counsel
Attorneys employed by the Department of Public Advocacy, federal defender organizations, and Criminal Justice Act panel attorneys gain eligibility to protect their residential addresses.
Office of the Secretary of State
The agency is required to process new categories of applications, administer substitute mailing addresses, conduct employee fingerprint background checks, and issue program verification cards.
State and Local Agencies
Agencies must accept participant substitute addresses on newly created public records and update existing records upon notification, subject to specific statutory exceptions.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is newly eligible to join Kentucky's Safe at Home Program under this bill?
How long does a Safe at Home program certification last before renewal is required?
What happens to a participant's actual residential address on government records?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Bias ratings based on AllSides / Media Bias/Fact Check
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in the Senate.
Procedural history
7 actions- Mar 18, 2026SenateIntroducedreceived in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
- Mar 17, 2026HouseFloor3rd reading, passed 89-4 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (1)
- Mar 13, 2026Houseposted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Monday, March 16 2026
- Mar 12, 2026HouseFloor2nd reading, to Rules floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute
- Mar 11, 2026Housereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
- Jan 28, 2026HouseCommitteeto Judiciary (H)
Show 1 earlier action
- Jan 20, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Confidentiality Beyond Crime Victims
The bill shifts the Safe at Home Program from protecting only crime victims to also protecting active participants in the criminal justice system, including prosecutors and public defenders.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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