We wrote the House Judiciary and Local Government Committees expressing our opposition to House Bills 309 and 479. Read the letters in the PDFs at the bottom of the page.
- House Bill 309 would increase police accountability, but the current form has too many administrative hurdles to meet community needs. It would also make Louisville's mayoral races non-partisan, but would leave the Metro Council races as partisan. We have no position on this issue alone and see the merits of both options. However, this provision is entirely unrelated to police accountability and should be decided by each community itself, not politicians in Frankfort. Lawmakers are using police accountability as a trojan horse to serve their own partisan interests.
- House Bill 479 would expand Attorney General Daniel Cameron's powers allowing him to personally charge people with protest-related crimes. It serves only to let him intimidate Kentuckians who exercise constitutionally-protected speech. HB479 would allow the Attorney General to charge protesters even if local prosecutors do not. It's a blatant attempt to stifle dissent as it only expands the Attorney General's powers to protest-related charges. It would also lead to more people facing bogus charges and increase incarceration rates.