This year’s winner of the “How Bad a Bill Can We Write” award is House Bill 5, supposedly known as the “Safer Kentucky Act,” but more accurately known as the “Incarcerate Kentucky Bill.”
There are many, many things wrong with the bill, but one feature that is both mean-spirited and hilarious (an interesting combination) is that of making homelessness a crime. Specifically, if you are homeless and thus living on the street, you can be charged with a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a fine of $250 and possible jail time of up to 90 days.
I mean, what could go wrong? Homeless people are just rolling in money, right? What’s a $250 fine to them? And our jails have plenty of room, so putting all these homeless people in jail will not be any sort of financial or staffing burden.
Ugh.
So, in their infinite wisdom (not), 74 members of the Kentucky House — 73 Republicans and 1 Democrat — voted to send homeless people to jail. Here are their names.
| Baker, Shane Banta, Kim Bauman, Jared Bentley, Danny Blanton, John Bowling, Adam Branscum, Josh Bratcher, Kevin Bratcher, Steve Bray, Josh Bridges, Randy Callaway, Emily Calloway, Josh Clines, Mike Decker, Jennifer Dietz, Stephanie Dixon, Jonathan Dossett, Myron Dotson, Ryan Duvall, Robert Elliott, Daniel Fister, Daniel Flannery, Patrick Fleming, Ken Frazier Gordon, Deanna Freeland, Chris Fugate, Chris Hale, David Hart, Mark Heath, Richard Heavrin, Samara Hodgson, John Huff, Thomas Imes, Mary Beth Jackson, Kevin Johnson, DJ Justice, Jacob King, Kim | Koch, Matthew Lawrence, William Lewis, Derek Lewis, Scott Lockett, Matt Massaroni, Candy McCool, Bobby McPherson, Shawn Meade, David Meredith, Michael Miles, Suzanne Moser, Kimberly Poore Neighbors, Amy Nemes, Jason Osborne, David W. Petrie, Jason Pollock, Michael Sarge Pratt, Phillip Proctor, Marianne Rawlings, Steve Raymer, Rebecca Riley, Steve Rudy, Steven Sharp, Scott Smith, Tom Tackett Laferty, Ashley Tate, Nancy Thomas, Walker Timoney, Killian Tipton, James Truett, Timmy Upchurch, Ken Wesley, Bill White, Richard Williams, Wade Wilson, Nick Witten, Susan |
If that vote seems completely idiotic to you, remember it this fall when they run for re-election.
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