republic-os/legislation/us/states/ky/2026rs/hb-521.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments."
description: "Amend KRS 508.130 to define \"course of conduct\" and \"social media platform\"; establish elements of the crime of stalking and penalize as a Class D felony unless certain aggravating circumstances are met, in which case it is a Class C felony; provide that the Act shall not affect the validity of restraining orders, interpersonal protective orders, or domestic violence orders in place prior to the effective date of the Act; repeal KRS 508.140 and 508.150, relating to stalking in the first and second degrees; amend KRS 14.300, 23A.208, 24A.178, 431.005, 411.220, 456.010, 500.092, 500.120, 506.160, 508.155, and 532.080 to conform."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ky"
legislature: "Kentucky General Assembly"
session: "2026RS"
identifier: "HB 521"
citation: "Kentucky HB 521 (2026RS)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Corrections Impact", "Crime Victims", "Crimes And Punishments", "Criminal Procedure", "Domestic Relations", "Public Safety"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["B. Chester-Burton", "C. Aull", "C. Freeland", "D. Grossberg", "K. Banta", "M. Dossett", "R. Bridges", "R. White", "S. Bratcher", "S. Dietz", "S. Rudy", "W. Thomas", "W. Williams"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 25
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-01-27T05:00:00+00:00"
last_action: "2026-04-10T04:00:00+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9dce6337-e78f-4ccd-bdef-7f4e32120179"
source_url: "https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb521.html"
source_hash: "e80f5eb49b56bf2ed276615091deeeabceefe9085699ff060d90da41f2b1b4c2"
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 521 (2026RS) — AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.

Amend KRS 508.130 to define "course of conduct" and "social media platform"; establish elements of the crime of stalking and penalize as a Class D felony unless certain aggravating circumstances are met, in which case it is a Class C felony; provide that the Act shall not affect the validity of restraining orders, interpersonal protective orders, or domestic violence orders in place prior to the effective date of the Act; repeal KRS 508.140 and 508.150, relating to stalking in the first and second degrees; amend KRS 14.300, 23A.208, 24A.178, 431.005, 411.220, 456.010, 500.092, 500.120, 506.160, 508.155, and 532.080 to conform.

## 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/hb521/orig_bill.pdf)
2. **Acts Chapter 67** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/26RS/documents/0067.pdf)
3. **Current/Final** (committee substitute) — [source](https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/recorddocuments/bill/26RS/hb521/bill.pdf)

## Votes

- Final Passage — **91–0** (pass) · lower
- Pass — **96–0** (pass) · lower
- CONSENT PASSAGE OF HB 521 w/ SCS 1, SCA 1 (T) — **38–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- B. Chester-Burton — primary (person)
- C. Aull — primary (person)
- C. Freeland — primary (person)
- D. Grossberg — primary (person)
- K. Banta — primary (person)
- M. Dossett — primary (person)
- R. Bridges — primary (person)
- R. White — primary (person)
- S. Bratcher — primary (person)
- S. Dietz — primary (person)
- S. Rudy — primary (person)
- W. Thomas — primary (person)
- W. Williams — primary (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2026-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** introduced in House `introduction`
- **2026-01-27T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-03T05:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-18T05:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-19T05:00:00+00:00** 2nd reading, to Rules `reading-2`
- **2026-02-24T05:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Regular Orders of the Day for Wednesday, February 25 2026
- **2026-02-25T05:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 96-0 `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-26T05:00:00+00:00** received in Senate
- **2026-02-26T05:00:00+00:00** to Committee on Committees (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-16T04:00:00+00:00** to Judiciary (S) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** taken from Judiciary (S)
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** 1st reading `reading-1`
- **2026-03-25T04:00:00+00:00** returned to Judiciary (S)
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** reported favorably, 2nd reading, to Rules with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) as a consent bill `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-26T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage in the Consent Orders of the Day for Friday, March 27 2026
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** 3rd reading, passed 38-0 with Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** received in House
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** to Rules (H) `referral-committee`
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** posted for passage for concurrence in Senate Committee Substitute (1) and committee amendment (1-title)
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** House concurred in Committee Substitute (1) and Committee Amendment (1-title)
- **2026-03-31T04:00:00+00:00** passed 91-0 `passage`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by Speaker of the House `passage`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** enrolled, signed by President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-04-01T04:00:00+00:00** delivered to Governor
- **2026-04-10T04:00:00+00:00** signed by Governor (Acts Ch. 67) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/9dce6337-e78f-4ccd-bdef-7f4e32120179`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Kentucky legislature records).