Published: July 11, 2008 10:29 pm            

New laws aimed at protecting children

Legislation goes into effect Tuesday

From booster seats and bullying to sex offenders and tourism, several new laws approved during the Kentucky General Assembly’s 2008 regular session will go into effect Tuesday.

Bills go into effect 90 days after a legislative session ends, unless they contain emergency clauses or specify delayed effective dates, according to the Kentucky Constitution.

The General Assembly wrapped up the 2008 session April 15.

Dealing with the hot topic of school bullying, House Bill 91 will require local school authorities to alert law enforcement when school harassment involves a potential felony.

Yearly reports about school harassment also will be made to the state Department of Education and the legislature.

The Madison County School District, which already has anti-bullying measures in place, is waiting on official guidance from Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky School Board Association about an addendum for student handbooks about bullying that will be sent home to parents, said Superintendent Tommy Floyd.

“I think it’s important for the community to know that Madison County Schools’ personnel are going to do everything in their power to insure that every student has a safe day at school,” he said. “The most important tool we have, not only in the education of every child, but for the safety of every child, is communication. It’s imperative that relationships be established on our part and on the part of parents so that if something is going on in your child’s day that you let the school officials know.”

One new law, Senate Bill 58, will increase penalties for those who torture dogs or cats.

Causing physical injury to a dog or cat as a result of torture would be a Class A misdemeanor that carries a punishment of up to a year in jail, while causing serious physical injury or death would be a Class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

All torture cases involving a dog or cat currently are Class A misdemeanors for a first offense.

“Those types of crimes definitely need to be stopped,” said Keith Crawford, director of the Madison County Animal Shelter. “As the economy gets worse, it’s a real good time for this law because a lot of people who have stress put upon them sometimes take it out on their animals. Fortunately, we don’t see much of that, but it definitely needs a stronger penalty. I’m tickled to death to see it coming.”

A change in the age requirements for blood donations also is expected to help with supply demands.

HB 139 will allow 16-year-olds who weigh at least 110 pounds to donate blood with written parental or legal guardian consent. The current age requirement is 17 years old.

“The blood supply is always teetering near the edge of a shortage and we have to ensure that as many Kentuckians as possible are given the chance to donate,” said Jim Tinker, director of marketing and communications for the Kentucky Blood Center. “This is a safe, sound decision that has been enacted in many states across the nation.”

About 300 blood donors are needed every day to continue meeting hospital needs, he said.

“We expect to see a 30-percent increase in blood donations made at high school blood drives in the coming year,” Tinker said. “Conservatively, we predict we will receive an additional 2,000 more blood donations.”

Parents may need to purchase a new car seat for their child under another new law.

SB 120 will require young children who are too big for infant car seats to be placed in booster seats when riding in vehicles.

The bill states that children under 7 years old and between 40-50 inches tall must use the boosters.

Police will only issue courtesy warnings to violators until July 1, 2009. After that, a violator will face a $30 fine, which can be dismissed if the violator shows proof that a booster seat has been acquired.

“More children die from motor vehicle crashes than from any single disease,” said Capt. Tim Lucas, commander of the Kentucky State Police Highway Safety Branch. “More children in the United States are killed or crippled in car crashes than from any other cause of injury. Our goal is to save lives, and this law will better protect the children of the commonwealth.”

Similar to an Amber Alert that publicizes cases of missing children, SB 125 will create a “Kentucky Golden Alert” to make local media aware when an impaired adult, such as a person with Alzheimer’s, is reported missing.

“We probably would be able to track down some of these folks before they get three states over and run out of gas, which is what happens in many instances,” said Penny Benzing of the Richmond Alzheimer’s Association.

“As in the case of Amber Alerts, I really and truly think this would work,” she said. “It could save lives of folks with Alzheimer’s. I really think it was an excellent piece of legislation and I appreciate the fact that legislators did indeed support it and pass it.”

HB 211 will broaden Kentucky’s child sex abuse laws while increasing penalties for abusers and those who fail to report abuse.

The bill will include older children under state laws that protect minors from first-degree sexual abuse by raising the age of children covered by the law from 12 to 16, or 16 to 18, if the perpetrator is in a position of trust or authority.

“It’s always good for legislators to tighten up laws like this,” said Sgt. Willard Reardon, public information officer for the Richmond Police Department. “(Sex offenders are) an ongoing problem we have nationwide. The bottom line is that (legislators) are trying to protect kids.”

Other new laws that go into effect Tuesday include:

• Adventure Tourism. SB 196 will boost the Kentucky’s adventure tourism industry by allowing the state to enter agreements with private property owners for the use of their land for recreational activities. The agreements would allow property owners to permit public use of the land without facing the liability issues they otherwise would.

• Alcohol vaporizers. HB 202 will ban the sale, purchase or use of alcohol vaporizing devices, which can be used to inhale intoxicating fumes of alcohol.

• Amusement park safety. SB 203 will require more frequent inspections of amusement park rides and prevent anyone younger than 18 from operating the rides.

• Early voting. HB 479 will give citizens greater access to the voting process by allowing them to request absentee ballot applications via e-mail. The bill also allows members of the military to return unused absentee ballots and still be allowed to vote on Election Day.

• Elections. HB 370 will erase the requirement that runoff elections be conducted in gubernatorial primary races if no candidate receives at least 40 percent of the vote.

• Military. HB 168 will allow active duty military serving outside the state up to 90 days to renew their driver’s licenses after returning to Kentucky. They could not be cited for driving without a license during that period.

• Stolen Valor Act. HB 110 will make it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone to falsely apply for a special military license plate or misrepresent current or former military status with an intent to defraud, obtain employment or be elected or appointed to public office.

Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691.

        

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