Kentucky House passed a bill

By Piper Hansen
Lexington Herald-Leader

(Lexington Herald-Leader) A Kentucky bill to criminalize harassing or obstructing the work of a first responder, including police, EMTs, federal immigration agents and firefighters, took another step toward becoming law Wednesday.

Senate Bill 104, known as the Halo Act, passed the state House of Representatives 79-16 March 25, with three Democrats joining Republicans in casting yes votes.

The bill creates a 25-foot “buffer zone” around first responders, making it illegal to interfere, threaten or harass them after being given a warning.

The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Matt Nunn, R-Sadieville, defines first responder to include medics, local law enforcement and federal law enforcement, including Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. Interfering with or harassing first responders is described as intentionally engaging in conduct that causes emotional distress with no purpose.

If a person enters and remains in the buffer zone around a first responder after a warning, their first three offenses would be misdemeanors. For a fourth or additional offenses, the person would be charged with a Class D felony.

In late February, SB 104 passed the Senate along party lines with all six Democrats voting no and 32 Republicans voting yes.

Since the House revised the bill March 25, it will be sent back to the Senate for concurrence before being delivered to Gov. Andy Beshear.

Supporters continue to say the bill protects first responders, some of whom are volunteers while they do their jobs, said Rep. Ryan Bivens, R-Hodgenville.

Kentucky House passed a bill

“The focus of this bill is to protect first responders. It’s not to protect protesters, it’s not to protect free speech because we’ve already got laws in place that does that,” Rep. Mark Allen Hart, R-Falmouth, said on the House floor Wednesday. “This bill is to give clear guidance to how to safely protect our first responders.”

Those opposed contend the bill violates the First Amendment rights of Kentuckians engaging in protest and cite existing statutes already protecting first responders.

On the House floor Wednesday, two amendments sponsored by Rep. Adam Moore, D-Lexington, failed.

One was meant to allow people to continue documenting and observing a first responder as long as they do not physically obstruct them. The other aimed to ensure the offense does not apply to people who do not intentionally impede first responders but break buffer zones.

In casting no votes, several Democratic lawmakers said it’s possible the bill would be challenged in court, it lacked specifics in defining harassment and would allow law enforcement to have subjective interpretation in determining who is in violation of the law.

“It seems to me that we have a number of threats to public safety right now, but I don’t believe that peaceful protesters are among them,” said Rep. Lisa Willner, D-Louisville. “We’ve seen national coverage where citizens are threatened, arrested, brutalized for allegedly impeding or for aggression that is later contradicted by video footage.

“If we’re sincere about our desire to protect Kentuckians, I think it would be more useful for us to focus on preventing the kind of federal law enforcement overreaction to peaceful protests that we’ve seen … in American cities that have resulted in unjust and unwarranted arrests, grave injuries and even death.”