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New Kentucky
Laws Take Effect Today
Extracted Version
By Mark Harrison, President
Frankfort
—
Stricter regulations on sex offenders, a helmet requirement for
youngsters on ATVs and changes to the state's concealed deadly
weapons law are among the changes to Kentucky statutes taking
effect today.
All new laws
approved during the General Assembly's 2006 regular session that
do not carry an emergency clause or otherwise specify another
effective date take effect Wednesday, July 12, 2006. Of the 1,012
bills introduced in the 2006 General Assembly, 223 became law.
Among
the new laws slated to go into effect:
Prescription authority:
Senate Bill 65 gives advanced registered nurse practitioners the
authority to write prescriptions for controlled substances with
the approval of their supervising doctor. The legislation expands
on their current ability to write certain prescriptions, including
antibiotics.
Deadly
force:
SB 38 eliminates the "duty to retreat" if a person believes he or
she is being threatened. Instead, the law spells out a right to
use deadly force against an intruder in a person's home or
vehicle.
Concealed
deadly weapons:
HB 290 blocks the identity of concealed-carry permit holders from
the public record, and only law enforcement officers will be able
to check the records of deadly weapons training classes. In
addition, lawfully owned weapons and ammunition cannot be seized
by authorities during disasters or emergencies.
ATV
helmets:
HB 117 stipulates that anyone 16 or under riding an ATV must wear
a helmet at all times, even if on private land.
Seat
belts:
HB 117 also raises seat belt violations from a secondary to a
primary offense, allowing law enforcement officials to pull over a
driver and issue a $25 fine for not wearing a seat belt. Until
January 1, 2007, however, law enforcement will be issuing courtesy
warnings rather than tickets. Previously officers could only give
tickets for seat belt violations if drivers were stopped for
another offense.
Credit
reports:
HB 54 allows consumers to request a security freeze on their
credit report, requiring the credit agency to get express
authorization from the consumer before releasing the report to
third parties.
Rescheduling elections:
HB 135 gives the governor expanded powers to reschedule elections
in case of a disaster or emergency, allows him to delay the
election up to five weeks in such cases, and requires the State
Board of Elections to pay $255 per precinct to affected counties
that are forced to reschedule their elections.
School
employees:
SB 51 prohibits a loss of income or benefits, including leave
time, to teachers or other school employees who are assaulted on
the job. School districts would be required to maintain their
income and benefits up to one year after the injury.
Nursing
home inspections:
SB 141 allows state employees to be fired if they provide advance
notice of an upcoming inspection of a long-term care facility. The
law's goal is to preserve the "surprise" and integrity of the
inspections.
Public
safety employment:
HB 256 prohibits employers from terminating any volunteer
firefighter, EMT, police officer, or other public safety official
who misses up to a year of work because of an injury suffered in
the line of their public safety duties.
Driver's
licenses:
HB 129 eliminates the fee for a new driver's license mandated by
an address change if the driver did not move. The law targets
Kentuckians whose counties expand their 911 capabilities and
change road names as a result.
Quick
clearance:
HB 272 requires drivers in a non-fatal accident with no visible
injuries to move their vehicles to the side of the road while
waiting for law enforcement to arrive.
Telephone
service:
HB 337 deregulates all but the most basic telephone service in
Kentucky by limiting Public Service Commission oversight over
local service. Rates for basic local service will be capped for
five years for those companies that choose the oversight
exemption.
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