---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to financial support of a child or dependent after driving under the influence."
description: "Create a new section of KRS Chapter 532 allowing restitution in the form of child support to be ordered in violations of KRS 189A.010 if the violation caused the death of a parent or guardian of a minor child or resulted in a finding by the court that a parent or guardian of a minor child is disabled or totally and permanently disabled; provide that the Act may be cited as Melanie's Law."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2023RS"
identifier: "SB 268"
citation: "Kentucky SB 268 (2023RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Alcoholic Beverages", "Children and Minors", "Crime Victims", "Crimes and Punishments", "Criminal Procedure", "Disabilities and the Disabled", "Short Titles and Popular Names"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: []
version_count: 3
action_count: 32
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-02-21T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-04T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f96d23a5-6b01-4fb3-92ea-433c433ea4bd"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/23RS/sb268.html"
source_hash: "f16615e3e4a9e4b09cf934d258e6985294080ff30ccb8be1b6a9fba5c7695366"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ky"]
---

# Kentucky SB 268 (2023RS) — AN ACT relating to financial support of a child or dependent after driving under the influence.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 532 allowing restitution in the form of child support to be ordered in violations of KRS 189A.010 if the violation caused the death of a parent or guardian of a minor child or resulted in a finding by the court that a parent or guardian of a minor child is disabled or totally and permanently disabled; provide that the Act may be cited as Melanie's Law.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/sb268/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 174** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/23RS/documents/0174.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/23RS/sb268/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- FINAL PASSAGE SB 268 W/ hcs1 hcta1 — **pass** (pass) · upper
- Pass — **pass** (pass) · upper
- PASS SB 268 W/ scs1 sfa2 — **pass** (pass) · upper

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-02-21T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in Senate `introduction`
- **2023-02-21T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-23T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-02T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1) `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-03T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2023-03-07T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Friday, March 10, 2023
- **2023-03-08T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-09T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (2) filed to Committee Substitute `amendment-introduction`
- **2023-03-10T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading `reading-3`
- **2023-03-10T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) withdrawn
- **2023-03-10T05:00:00+00:00** passed 34 -0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Floor Amendment (2) `passage`
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2023-03-13T04:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Committee on Committees (H)
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Committee on Committees (H)
- **2023-03-14T04:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (H) `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Judiciary (H)
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading `reading-2`
- **2023-03-15T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Judiciary (H)
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Rules
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** placed in the Orders of the Day
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 84-12 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in House Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** Senate concurred in House Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** passed 37-0 `passage`
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2023-03-30T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2023-04-04T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 174) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f96d23a5-6b01-4fb3-92ea-433c433ea4bd`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).