Part ofCrimes and Punishments →

The civic record

Read. Follow. Verify.

HB 521KENTUCKYSession 2026RSState BillSigned into law

Enacted

Kentucky Re-defines Stalking Offenses, Expands Trespass Penalties, and Updates Protective Orders Under House Bill 521

Original title: AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.

Last action · April 10, 2026: signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 67)Sponsors: Steven Rudy and 12 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Does

Kentucky House Bill 521 re-defines the crime of stalking, consolidates first and second-degree stalking statutes, expands criminal trespass provisions to include workplace threats and purple paint markings, and amends administrative court fees to fund the Safe at Home Program following its enactment on April 10, 2026.

Why it matters

The measure alters criminal definitions and sentencing guidelines, directly impacting individuals involved in protective order proceedings, local property owners utilizing boundary markings, and defendants facing administrative court fees or felony enhancements.

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Crime victims

Victims are directly affected by updated stalking definitions, streamlined protective order applications, and funding allocations directed to the Safe at Home Program.

Directly affected

Property owners

Property owners gain an alternative legal method of posting notice against trespass using standardized purple paint markings on trees and posts.

Directly affected

Defendants in criminal proceedings

Defendants face updated felony classifications for stalking, revised persistent felony offender rules, and mandatory administrative fees upon conviction for specified offenses.

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

What constitutes stalking under the updated law?

A person is guilty of stalking when they intentionally engage in a directed at another person that seriously alarms, annoys, intimidates, or harasses, serves no legitimate purpose, causes substantial mental distress, and where the actor consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk of causing such distress.

How can property owners legally mark their land against trespass under the bill?

Property owners can use vertical purple paint marks on trees or posts that are at least eight inches long, one inch wide, placed between three and five feet from the ground, and spaced no more than 100 feet apart on forest land or 1,000 feet apart on other land.

Where do the administrative fees collected from stalking and sex crime convictions go?

The first one dollar and fifty cents goes to the general fund, and the remaining portion is allocated quarterly to the Safe at Home Program fund.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

13 actions

Apr 10, 2026HouseEnrolled
signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 67)
Apr 1, 2026HouseEnrolled
enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House enrolled, signed by President of the Senate delivered to Governor
Mar 31, 2026HouseFloor
3rd reading, passed 38-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) received in House to Rules (H) posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) and committee amendment (1-title) House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) passed 91-0
Mar 26, 2026HouseFloor
reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) as a consent bill posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Friday, March 27 2026
Mar 25, 2026SenateCommittee
taken from Judiciary (S) 1st reading returned to Judiciary (S)
Mar 16, 2026SenateCommittee
to Judiciary (S)

Show 7 earlier actions

Feb 26, 2026SenateIntroduced
received in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
Feb 25, 2026HouseFloor
3rd reading, passed 96-0
Feb 24, 2026House
posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, February 25 2026
Feb 19, 2026HouseFloor
2nd reading, to Rules
Feb 18, 2026House
reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar
Feb 3, 2026HouseCommittee
to Judiciary (H)
Jan 27, 2026HouseIntroduced
introduced 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 →