Kentucky targets squatters, sextortion with new laws boosting criminal penalties

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Legislation passed during the 2025 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly took effect Friday.

The new laws address issues such as squatting, drone surveillance, campus diversity programs, workplace safety and gift card scams.

Several of the new laws were enacted over Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto with the state’s Republican supermajority in the House and the Senate.

Those include House Bill 4, which requires the state’s public universities and colleges to defund initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion and eliminate those offices. It also bans DEI training sessions for students and staff. When vetoing the bill, Beshear said it would be seen as part of an “anti-civil rights” movement.

Legislation passed during the 2025 regular session of the Kentucky General Assembly took effect Friday.

Another new law that took effect despite Beshear’s veto is House Bill 90, a Republican-backed bill touted as an attempt to bring clarity to Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban. In vetoing the bill, Beshear said it would do the opposite by undermining the judgment of doctors while further imperiling the lives of pregnant women in emergency situations, as well as block access to health care.

Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban has been in place since a so-called trigger law took effect when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Here’s a look at some of the new laws:

House Bill 1: Lowers the state’s individual income tax to 3.5% beginning in January 2026.House Bill 4: Prohibits what lawmakers call wasteful and discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices at Kentucky’s public universities.House Bill 10: Streamlines the process for law enforcement to remove squatters from private property and increases penalties for those who damage real estate.House Bill 19: Protects people and their property from unauthorized drone surveillance when they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.House Bill 208: Requires school districts to establish policies limiting cell phone use, with exceptions for emergencies and instructional purposes.House Bill 240: Mandates that schools administer reading assessments to kindergarten and first-grade students within the final 14 days of school. First-graders who fail to meet benchmarks must repeat the year.House Bill 342: Requires high school students to complete one credit in financial literacy before graduating.Senate Bill 3: Allows student athletes in the state to get Name, Image and Likeness deals with their own universities in response to the 2024 settlement in which the NCAA and the nation’s five biggest conferences announced they had agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle a host of antitrust claims. It sets the stage for a revenue-sharing model that could steer millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as the this fall semester.Senate Bill 73: Imposes tougher penalties for sexual extortion offenders and expands legal remedies for victims.Senate Bill 120: Requires school coaches to receive training on how to report child abuse.Senate Bill 130: Makes tampering with gift cards a felony offense.House Joint Resolution 15: Authorizes the return of a granite monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments to the Capitol grounds.

A law passed to strengthen the state’s film industry by creating a Kentucky Film Office won’t take effect until July 1. The goal of Senate Bill 1 is for the office to administer the state’s film incentive program and serve as a hub for industry coordination, including marketing and workforce development.

For a full list of laws going into effect, click here.

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