AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Pamela Stevenson

Kentucky bills requires proof of a voluntary act or legally required omission plus a culpable mental state for each offense element, except for absolute-liability offenses.

to Judiciary (H)

#crimesandpunishments #criminalprocedure

Overview

Jurisdiction: Kentucky

Session: 2026 Regular Session (2026RS)

Title: AN ACT relating to crimes and punishments

Purpose: Clarify the mental-state and conduct requirements for criminal offenses under Kentucky law, by reaffirming the traditional principle that guilt requires a voluntary act (or omission) and a culpable mental state, with an exception for absolute liability offenses.

Main purpose and intent

Establishes the foundational criteria for determining criminal liability in Kentucky.

Emphasizes that a person is not guilty of a criminal offense unless they engaged in:

a voluntary act or a legally required omission, and
such conduct was committed with a culpable mental state (intentionally, knowingly, wantonly, or recklessly) as the offense requires.

Keeps existing rule that absolute liability offenses (no mental-state requirement) are excluded from this standard, per KRS 501.050.

Key provisions

Amends KRS 501.030 to state:

A person must have engaged in conduct consisting of a voluntary act or a legally required omission.
The conduct must be performed with a culpable mental state (as defined: intentionally, knowingly, wantonly, or recklessly) for each element of the offense.
The culpable-mindset requirement does not apply to offenses that impose absolute liability (as defined in KRS 501.050).

Who is affected

Individuals charged with criminal offenses in Kentucky.

Prosecutors and defense counsel, because the standard for establishing guilt is reaffirmed or clarified.

Courts, which must apply the voluntary-act and culpable-state requirements when evaluating criminal liability.

Entities and professionals navigating compliance with Kentucky criminal law, particularly in understanding which offenses carry absolute liability.

Procedural and timeline aspects

The bill action history indicates:

Introduced in the House on February 9, 2026.
Referred to the Judiciary Committee on February 17, 2026 (via H).

The changes would be applied to existing statute (KRS 501.030) upon enactment, affecting future prosecutions and interpretations of criminal liability.

No new penalties, programmatic provisions, or funding measures are included in the provided text; the focus is on the definitional and standardization aspects of criminal liability.

Potential impact

Reaffirms traditional elements of criminal liability, potentially reinforcing defense strategies centered on voluntary conduct and culpable mental state.

Clarifies that absolute-liability offenses are exempt from the required mental-state and voluntary-conduct criteria.

Could influence charging decisions, jury instructions, and statutory interpretation in Kentucky courts.

May impact cases involving omissions as well as affirmative conduct by ensuring a legally required duty to act is part of the offense elements.