Kentucky Senate passes Safe at Home Act

A sworn statement would be all that is required to implement the program

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Legislation aimed at improving the protection for victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and other sexual offenses, known as the Safe at Home Act, unanimously passed the Kentucky Senate on Wednesday.

Sen. Julie Raque Adams, R-Louisville, the sponsor of Senate Bill 79, told her colleagues, “Motivated abusers and stalkers can easily access public government records, either directly or through various websites, often without charge, to find victims’ new addresses and contact information.”

She pointed out that 38 states have programs to provide alternative masking addresses from public records to help protect those victims. “Although a program does exist here, it is too limited in scope and access. The Address Confidentiality Program is only available to persons with protective orders, and only to voting records.”   

Under the measure, a sworn statement would be all that is required to implement the program, instead of a protective order. It would be operated by the Secretary of State’s office, since they already run the Address Confidentiality Program.

The bill passed 36-0.

After learning of the passage, Secretary of State Michael Adams stated, “I’m grateful to senators of both parties for coming together to better protect victims of domestic violence, and I hope the House of Representatives will do likewise. With the Senate’s passage of the Safe at Home Act, we are one step closer to ensuring that survivors of domestic violence can get the protection they deserve.”

The Senate also passed a measure to reconstitute the board of the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television and change how some of the nine members are chosen.

Of the five gubernatorial appointments, at least one shall represent early childhood education, at least one shall represent elementary and secondary education, and at least one shall represent adult education. None of the gubernatorial appointments shall have been employees of the state executive branch within one year prior to his or her appointment and no more than two shall represent the same Supreme Court district.

The Governor’s appointments would also be required to reflect equal gender representation, the two political parties and racial composition of the state.  Each appointment would also require Senate confirmation.

That measure, Senate Bill 104, was approved 30-6, strictly along party lines.

Both SB 79 and SB 104 now head to the House for their consideration.