New Kentucky laws go into effect July 15

FRANKFORT -- New laws approved during the Kentucky General Assembly's 2016 regular
session go into effect on July 15.

Among the over 90 new laws taking effect this week is legislation to allow
Kentucky's courts to permanently seal the criminal records of low-level felons.
Legislation to create a permanent fund for Kentucky public employee pensions will
also be in place. And child daycare centers will be able to receive their own
prescriptions for EpiPen rescue injectors to treat life-threatening allergic
reactions of children in their care.

The state constitution specifies that new laws take effect 90 days after the
adjournment of the legislature, except for general appropriation measures and those
containing emergency or delayed effective date provisions. (For example, a bill that
provides a framework for public-private partnerships, also known as P3s, to be used
as an alternative financing method for major public projects took effect immediately
after it was signed into law on April 8.)

The General Assembly's 2016 session adjourned on April 15, making July 15 the day
that most laws will take effect.

Laws taking effect that day include the following measures:
Autism. Senate Bill 185 made permanent the Advisory Council on Autism Spectrum
Disorders (established in 2013) and the state Office of Autism (created in 2014).
The bodies will continue to ensure there are no gaps in providing services to
individuals with an autism spectrum disorder.
Booking photos. Under House Bill 132, websites or publications that use jail booking
photographs for profit could face stiff court-ordered damages. The new law makes it
illegal to post booking photos to a website or include them in a publication, then
require payment to remove them from public view. Damages start at $100 a day for
each separate offense, along with attorney fees.
Child safety. House Bill 148 allows child daycare centers to receive prescriptions
for EpiPen injectors to treat life-threatening allergic reactions while also giving
parents more time to legally surrender their newborn under the state's safe harbor
laws. The bill amended Kentucky's Safe Infants Act by giving parents up to 30 days
to surrender their child at a state-approved safe place, instead of the previous
standard of three days.
CPR in schools. Senate Bill 33 requires high school students be taught
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, taught by an emergency medical professional. The
life-saving measure would be taught as part of the students' physical education or
health class, or as part of ROTC training.
Distilleries and craft brewers. Senate Bill 11 modernizes the state's 1930s-era
alcohol regulations to aid new interest in bourbon, craft beer and small-farm wine
products. Among other provisions, SB 11 allows malt beverages to be sold at
festivals and drinking on quadricycles (better known as "party bikes"), and permits
bed and breakfasts to sell liquor by the drink. It also raises limits for on-site
sales at distilleries from three liters to nine liters.
Election regulations. Senate Bill 169, which became law without the governor's
signature, changed several election-centered statutes. Among them, it directed
county clerks to redact voters' Social Security numbers before allowing the public
to review voter rolls, and loosened restrictions on electioneering from 300 feet to
11 feet around polling sites. The law also expanded means of voter identification to
include any county, state or federally issued ID.
Felony expungement. Under House Bill 40, Kentuckians convicted of low-level felonies
can ask the court to permanently seal-or expunge-their records. The new law allows
those convicted of Class-D felonies, or those who were charged but not formally
indicted, to seek expungement after they have completed their sentence or probation.
Sex crimes and crimes against children would not be included in the law.
Harassing telecommunications. House Bill 162 includes electronic communication, if
it's done with intent to intimidate, harass, annoy or alarm another person, to
current harassment statutes. Electronic harassment would be a Class-B misdemeanor.
Helping the disabled. Designed to allow Kentuckians with disabilities to set up
savings accounts for disability-related expenses, Senate Bill 179 allows them to
save money in an ABLE account for those expenses without it being taxed, generally.
It would also not count against Medicaid and other federal means-based benefits.
Informed consent law. The first bill delivered to the governor's desk was Senate
Bill 4, which requires an in-person or real-time video conference between a woman
seeking an abortion and a health care provider at least 24 hours before the
procedure.
Juvenile court transparency. Senate Bill 40 permits some family court judges to hold
public hearings. The new law allows a handful of courts to hold the open hearings as
a pilot project. Judges could volunteer their courts for the program, and close
proceedings as necessary.
Local government. House Bill 189 makes it easier for local entities - like cities,
police and fire departments - to share services. HB 189 sets procedures for amending
interlocal agreements without the lengthy process of having to seek approval from
the state Attorney General or the Department for Local Government.
Outdoor recreation. Zip lines and other outdoor recreation will be safer, as House
Bill 38 became law. The new law directs the state to set standards for the use and
operation of zip lines and canopy tours.
Pension oversight. House Bill 271 requires all state-administered retirement systems
to report specific information on their members or members' beneficiaries to the
state Public Pension Oversight Board each fiscal year. The information is to be used
by the board to plan for future expenses and recommend changes to keep the
retirement systems solvent.
Permanent Fund. House Bill 238 creates the "permanent fund" for public pensions
funded in the Executive Branch budget bill, or HB 303. It also sets out specific
requirements for public pension system reporting, including the requirement that an
actuarial audit be performed on the state-administered retirement systems once every
five years.
Petroleum tanks. House Bill 187 extends the period of the Petroleum Storage Tank
Environmental Assistance Fund to aid in the safe removal of old underground gas and
oil tanks. The bill moved back the end date to participate in the program to 2021,
from 2016, and the date to perform corrective actions from 2019 to 2024. It also
extended a program for small operators by five years, to 2021.
Stopping dog fights. House Bill 428 makes it a felony to possess, breed, sell or
otherwise handle dogs for the purpose of dog fighting. The bill also defines dog
fighting, and allows people who intentionally own, possess, breed, train, sell or
transfer dogs for dog fighting to be charged with first-degree cruelty to animals, a
Class-D felony. In effect, it makes it easier to prosecute perpetrators.
Water resource protection. House Bill 529 created the Kentucky Water Resources Board
to research current water resources in the Commonwealth, identify new available
resources and examine efficiencies, especially to support farming. The new 11-member
board includes officials from state interior and agriculture departments along with
six gubernatorial appointees.