---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to public safety."
description: "Amend KRS 508.025 to expand assault in the third degree to include causing or attempting to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider in a jail, penitentiary, or local or state correctional or detention facility; amend KRS 65.1591 to add jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers employed by a local detention center, local correctional facility, or regional jail to the list of public safety employees eligible to participate in a peer support counseling program."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "HB 188"
citation: "Kentucky HB 188 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Corrections And Correctional Facilities", "State", "Corrections Impact", "Counties", "Crime Victims", "Crimes And Punishments", "Health And Medical Services", "Jails And Jailers", "Local Government", "Local Mandate", "Mental Health", "Occupational Safety And Health"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["D. Elliott", "D. Hale", "J. Hodgson", "K. Jackson", "K. Moser", "M. Meredith", "R. Duvall", "S. Lewis", "S. McPherson", "S. Riley", "W. Williams"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 20
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2026-01-07T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-03T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/64f10bdc-4afd-4ad6-805d-b95f9f34636d"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb188.html"
source_hash: "9dc9a17c9785005ab5b4c3d9dc8cde670625269467a44f92a01f55b63d97795f"
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 HB 188 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to public safety.

Amend KRS 508.025 to expand assault in the third degree to include causing or attempting to cause physical injury to a healthcare provider in a jail, penitentiary, or local or state correctional or detention facility; amend KRS 65.1591 to add jailers, deputy jailers, and correctional officers employed by a local detention center, local correctional facility, or regional jail to the list of public safety employees eligible to participate in a peer support counseling program.

## 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/26RS/hb188/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 28** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0028.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb188/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Pass — **97–0** (pass) · lower
- CONSENT PASSAGE OF HB 188 — **38–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- D. Elliott — primary (person)
- D. Hale — primary (person)
- J. Hodgson — primary (person)
- K. Jackson — primary (person)
- K. Moser — primary (person)
- M. Meredith — primary (person)
- R. Duvall — primary (person)
- S. Lewis — primary (person)
- S. McPherson — primary (person)
- S. Riley — primary (person)
- W. Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-07T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2026-01-07T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-14T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-28T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-01-29T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-02-03T05:00:00+00:00** floor amendment (1) filed `amendment-introduction`
- **2026-02-04T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Thursday, February 05 2026
- **2026-02-05T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 97-0 with Floor Amendment (1) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-06T05:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-02-06T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-19T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Consent Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-20T04:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules as a consent bill `reading-2`
- **2026-03-24T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Wednesday, March 25 2026
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 38-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2026-04-03T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 28) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/64f10bdc-4afd-4ad6-805d-b95f9f34636d`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).