School Safety Alert Bill Moves Forward
Legislation that would introduce wearable panic alert technology for teachers and school staff advanced from the House Primary and Secondary Education Committee.
House Bill 643, known as Alyssa’s Law, would allow teachers and staff to instantly notify law enforcement and school administrators during emergency situations. The bill is named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old killed in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Her parents have since campaigned for faster emergency response systems in schools.
Rep. Kevin Jackson of Bowling Green, the bill’s sponsor, said the technology is intended to complement existing school safety measures rather than replace them.
“This is in no way to take the place of school resource officers,” Jackson said. “This would work in conjunction with them to make schools safer for our kids, our staff and our faculty.”
Funding for the program would operate on a cost-sharing basis, with the state and participating school districts each covering half the expense. Jackson said ideally the state would commit $8 to $10 million, with school systems that choose to participate matching those funds. He noted that no dedicated funding is currently in place, and pointed to West Virginia as a state that passed similar legislation while allowing private donations to support the program.
Co-sponsor Rep. Chad Aull of Lexington said approximately 14 to 15 public school systems across Kentucky already use the technology, with additional districts currently working through implementation.
The bill passed committee 16-0 and moves to the full House for consideration.
Sports Wagering Bill Raises Betting Age, Targets Fantasy Sports and Prediction Markets
A separate bill that would raise the sports wagering age from 18 to 21 and establish a regulatory framework for fantasy sports contests advanced from the House Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations Committee.
House Bill 904 would bring several changes to Kentucky’s sports wagering and charitable gaming laws. Among its provisions, the bill would ban proposition bets placed on individual Kentucky college athletes’ statistics and increase the charitable gaming prize limit from $599 to $1,499. The charitable gaming age would also rise from 18 to 21.
Rep. Michael Meredith of Oakland, a sponsor of the bill, noted that fantasy sports have long been offered in Kentucky without a dedicated licensing or tax structure. A companion measure, House Bill 757, which advanced from the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Tuesday, would establish a taxation framework for fantasy sports and tax prediction markets at 17.25%.
Prediction markets — platforms that allow users to bet on the outcomes of elections and other events — emerged as the most debated aspect of the bill. Meredith said federal law limits the state’s ability to regulate them directly, but HB 904 would prohibit Kentucky license holders such as tracks and gaming providers from affiliating with prediction market platforms.
“This prediction market space has been something that has happened very quickly, and we’re all trying to adapt to it the best we can,” Meredith said.
Committee Chair Rep. Matthew Koch of Paris said the goal is not to drive prediction market operators out of business, but to ensure they operate under state oversight.
“Our goal is to make sure that we can have state regulations on this,” Koch said. “We can’t have one that’s not operating by our rules.”
HB 904 passed committee 19-0 with one pass vote and now moves to the full House for consideration.
