Kentucky Senate bill in Session 26RS.
Status: in_committee. Latest action: March 13, 2026.
AN ACT relating to the protection of children.
Create a new section of KRS Chapter 507 to establish the offense of child abuse homicide as a capital offense; amend KRS 199.896 to require licensed child-care centers to maintain video surveillance of all public areas within the facility and retain video footage for 90 days; amend KRS 507.030 to increase the age of a child victim of manslaughter in the first degree from 12 or under to under 18; amend KRS 507.040 to increase the penalty of manslaughter in the second degree from a Class C to a Class B felony if the victim is under the age of 18; amend KRS 508.100 to add knowingly as a mental state of a person guilty of criminal abuse in the first degree; increase the age of a victim from under age 12 to under age 18; increase the penalty of criminal abuse in the first degree from a Class C to a Class B felony and from a Class B to a Class A felony if the victim is under the age of 18; amend KRS 508.110 to increase the age of a victim of criminal abuse in the second degree from age 12 or less to under 18; increase the penalty from a Class D to a Class C felony; amend KRS 508.120 to increase the age of a victim of criminal abuse in the third degree from age 12 or less to under 18; increase the penalty from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony; amend KRS 532.025, relating to aggravating circumstances in death penalty eligible cases, to increase the age of a victim of an intentional killing from under 12 to under 18; amend KRS 625.090 to create a rebuttable presumption that parental rights must be terminated if a parent has been convicted of a felony involving serious physical injury to any child or convicted of causing or contributing to the death of a child as a result of abuse; provide that the Act may be cited as Jayden's Law.
| Date | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-29 | Introduced | Bill introduced |
| 2026-03-13 | Status | in_committee |
| 2026-03-13 | Latest Action | 03/13/26: 2nd reading, to Rules |