Bevin signs HB 169, controversial 'gang bill'

FRANKFORT, KY (WAVE) - Governor Matt Bevin signed HB 169 into law on Thursday afternoon. The bill, commonly referred to as the "gang bill", creates a new section of KRS Chapter 506 to define "criminal gang" and a "pattern of criminal gang activity."

The gang violence bill is a controversial measure that makes gang association a crime. Proponents say the bill will fight crime; opponents say the law criminalizes individuals by association and targets minorities.

The bill was passed by the Kentucky Senate on April 13 by a vote of 21-17.

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Governor Bevin also vetoed the following bills, the Kentucky Secretary of State's Office said:

House Bill 75

House Bill 75 primarily set investment guides for local governments, but one section required high schools to make the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery test (ASVAB) available for students in grades ten to 12.

House Bill 97

Changed the filing dates for some campaign finance reports. Bevin's veto message said it created different standards for local and other offices, potentially causing confusion with "no constructive purpose."

House Bill 130

House Bill 130 would have allowed the legislature to act on executive branch regulations between sessions of the General Assembly. In his veto message, Bevin said the bill served "as a solution for a problem that does not exist."

House Bill 201

Bevin issues a dozen line-item vetoes to HB 201, the transportation budget.

House Bill 273

HB 273 prevented voters from removing their names from the state's voter registration list and subsequently registering to vote in the next primary as a newly registered voter. The goal was to prevent voters from circumnavigating existing law which prevents switching registration just to vote in another party's primary. Bevin said the measure would make Kentucky's "closed primary" system even more closed.

House Bill 274

Altered time to request an absentee ballot.

Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes also Tweeted on the issue:

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