Safer Kentucky Act

Some Kentucky cities have “white flag” operations that activate at certain temperature thresholds, often 32 degrees Fahrenheit, when certain buildings are made available to the public for warming and shelter space is expanded. But in rural counties the warming options may be limited.

A woman cited for unlawful camping while in labor is calling for her citation to be dismissed and for the underlying state law to be found unconstitutional.

Nearly two dozen unhoused people in Louisville have faced bench warrants after they failed to appear in court for “unlawful camping,” as a result of the Safer Kentucky Act. Advocates say it's what they feared, but expected.

The Safer Kentucky Act, which penalizes people experiencing homelessness for camping outside, will take effect next week. Some service providers in Louisville say it’s going to make homelessness worse.

In a decision Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court gave wide discretion to states and localities to create policy around homelessness. It clears the way for a Kentucky ban on outdoor homelessness to go into effect in July.

The outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case based in Grants Pass, Oregon, could have consequences for street camping bans that effectively ban public homelessness across the country — including a similar statewide ban passed in Kentucky this year.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Democratic governor has vetoed a GOP-backed criminal justice bill that would impose harsher sentences for a range of crimes. Gov. Andy Beshear says the bill would saddle the state with sharply higher incarceration costs.

Democrats made their final impassioned pleas against the tough-on-crime legislation as it made final passage through the Kentucky General Assembly, until Republicans moved to limit debate.

A sweeping GOP anti-crime bill passed the Senate Friday despite some lawmakers’ concerns the bill lacks an evidence-based approach.

A Kentucky Public Radio analysis found many of the sources provided in support of the so-called Safer Kentucky Act have little to do with the bill itself. Now, KPR has obtained a source list for a 2023 paper that appears to use the same citations.