Bill > HB68

This bill introduces comprehensive enhancements to Kentucky's hate crime legislation by creating new legal provisions and expanding existing protections. The bill establishes an enhanced sentencing framework for crimes motivated by bias against specific personal characteristics, including race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and other protected attributes. When a defendant is convicted of certain offenses and proven to have intentionally targeted the victim because of these characteristics, they will face increased imprisonment terms: misdemeanors will have sentences increased by at least half the maximum, while felonies will see sentence enhancements ranging from one to twenty additional years depending on the underlying offense's severity. The legislation also creates a new criminal offense of "using hate symbols to intimidate," which makes it a Class A misdemeanor to intentionally display symbols historically associated with impending violence in a way that causes reasonable fear of physical injury. Additionally, the bill amends existing laws to require law enforcement training on bias-related crimes and mandates that uniform offense reports include more comprehensive documentation of potential bias motivations. Notably, defendants receiving enhanced sentences under this legislation would be ineligible for probation, early release, or parole, signaling a strict approach to prosecuting bias-motivated crimes.

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https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/25RS/hb68.html