April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Today, Governor Andy Beshear signed three bills into law aimed at helping protect children from abuse.

That begins tonight's legisla tive update.

Senate Bill 229 strengthens reporting requirements when a child is suspected of being abused, neglected, or is a victim of human trafficking.

Kentucky is already a mandatory mandatory reporting state.

This bill, sponsored by State Senator Julie Rocky Adams of Louisville, removes red tape and the reporting process and ensures reports are shared with other involved agencies.

Senate Bill eight prohibits registered sex offenders from being within 1000 feet of a school playground or daycare.

And House Bill 78 helps police and judges identify incest by clarifying the legal definition.

Here's some of what was said at today's rally at the Capitol Rotunda today.

Dear community, I, Andy Beshear choose to be a community supporter, available for you to lean on me.

I ask each of you to take that same pledge.

Be the person that kids can lean on.

I'm acting on that pledge today because today in this rotunda, I'm going to sign five bills into law that will help protect our kids or get them back on a path towards prosperity.

Too many kids in this Commonwealth suffer from abuse and neglect, but we can all be a part of the solution, helping to support education and prevention.

We need to invest in our kids, of course, and that means we also have to invest in our parents.

We can all advocate for children.

In a few minutes we will plant 4000 pinwheels to raise awareness about child abuse and make sure that Kentucky kids never have to go through it.

Each pinwheel represents 40 children under the age of four in Kentucky.

You all there is so much good going on and we want to draw attention.

We've got 40,000 kids under the age of four with extreme potential in our state that will grow up to be politicians and scientists and reporters.

And it depends on each of us to make sure that they achieve their potential on the job.

We're here to support all of Kentucky.

We're here to support all of Kentucky's children.

And that's why we make the pledge.

We work every day to make sure that those children who are abused or neglected have a place and have support so that they can improve their lives and live up to their full human potential, because that's what we want for ourselves.

That's what we want for our children, our families, our communities.

No exceptions.

For all.

Not only is it the big things like state agencies funding and policies that help keep kids safe.

It's also the little things that each of us do every day, like making sure that your neighbors know how to reach you in case they need help.

Making sure that dads in your community know that they are one of the most important factors in ensuring positive outcomes for their children.

Making sure that you give a listening ear or a helping hand to someone in need.

All these little things that we can do every day add up to supporting families and ensuring individuals at all levels of the community are involved in the important work of preventing child abuse.

As a dad of two kids myself, there is nothing more important than protecting our children, not just our own children.

But as responsible adults, we have an obligation to every child in this commonwealth, this country.

And my faith teaches me across the world.

For several years, Kentucky had the highest rate of child maltreatment in the US.

While there have been modest improvements.

Much work remains.

Join us tonight for a special report that will examine the difficult topic of child abuse and neglect in Kentucky.

The program presents stories from those whose lives have been upended by mistreatment and examines the challenges and possible solutions to protecting Kentucky's children.

Like in all, Brink recounts her heartbreaking experience of sexual abuse from a close relative.

Liz Reiner describes how her son Colton survived the deadliest type of physical child abuse shaken baby syndrome.

And Mandy Colwell shares a story of redemption after breaking the cycle of addiction and regaining custody of her three children.

Contributing to the conversation is Erik Friedlander, secretary of Kentucky cabinet for health and Family Services, and a panel of experts who will discuss ways we can all get involved.

Sometimes it can seem like a really daunting task when you think, well, there is a child I know that's in need.

I don't know whether I should get involved.

I'm afraid to get involved.

What if I'm wrong?

All of the questions people ask themselves when you're doubtful of a situation or fearful to get involved, what would you say when you have those concerns?

You know, I think it's hard for us to figure out what that fine line is.

So I like to use the story of Sam.

So a young man who a young boy about eight years old, sitting on his front steps and he might look a little scruffy, just sitting there alone in the neighbor looks out and she sees him and she thinks, well, he's alone.

I don't see the parents car getting a little concerned.

So 10 minutes passes and he's still there.

20 minutes an hour passes, and she calls the authorities to check on him.

Well, mom was at work, couldn't get off and the babysitter was sick.

So now we have launched an investigation into this child's life when ideally what we want to have happen is we want that neighbor looking out the window to step outside and say, hey, Sam, what's going on?

How can I support you in whatever is going on in your life right now?

And we can see if we we take that step to ask questions and see how we can support others, even if it is just a listening ear.

And we don't have to have those answers that we can see that change.

Join us tonight as we raise awareness about this issue in Kentucky.

Child abuse and neglect.

A special report airs tonight in place of Kentucky tonight at eight Eastern, seven Central right here on KCET.

The governor signed more bills into law today.

Two bills come from the loss of a child.

Senate Bill nine is named in honor of Lofton Hazelwood.

He was a pledge at a University of Kentucky fraternity when he died of alcohol poisoning.

Lofton Law makes it a Class D felony for hazing that results in serious injury or death.

Speaking in Frankfort, Lofton mother explained why she fought so hard for this bill.

It's a phone call nobody ever wants to get.

And we hope this never happens to anybody else again.

This is not going to bring that baby back, but this is going to save other lives.

That's all.

We just want the safety of the students.

Loftus Law makes Kentucky the 14th state to elevate hazing to criminal status.

The governor also signed House Bill 262 into law today.

It strengthens Kentucky's DUI laws by making vehicular homicide A, Class B felony and an immense state law to ensure that anyone arrested for driving under the influence is detained for 6 hours instead of four.

House Bill 262 is named to Lilly's law after Lilly Fairfield, the high school student, was killed by an impaired driver in Oldham County and the crash seriously injured her sister, Zoe.

Lily's family was in Frankfort for today's bill signing.

The day that my sister passed away, I lost my best friend in a person that was a part of me.

And being here today, I feel like I can really honor her.

And it makes me feel a lot better about losing that part of her.

The latest traffic collision report by Kentucky State Police says 806 people were killed in crashes in the Commonwealth in 2021.

More than half were due to drivers under the influence of drugs.

A juvenile detention center in Jefferson County will be renovated and reopened now that the governor has signed House Bill three.

The new law will make appropriate over $13 million to reopen the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center, which closed in 2019.

House Bill three also strengthened standards for mental health treatment and accessibility in juvenile detention facilities.

The governor said this about the bill today.

The state of that juvenile justice system is the result of decades of underfunding, underfunding our people and underfunding our facilities.

It contains the dollars to provide the raises to ensure that we can have sufficient staff levels that each and every one of these facilities.

Understaffing which has been occurring since pensions were eliminated, has been our biggest obstacle in those facilities.

The governor signed another bill impacting the juvenile justice system today.

Senate Bill 162 sets standards for emergency response and juvenile facilities and allows the state to enter contracts with third party organizations to provide mental health services.

The governor didn't just use his pen to sign bills today.

He also issued a new veto.

Senate Bill seven will be sent back to the General Assembly for potential legislative override.

The bill prevents government employees from using automatic payroll deductions to collect union dues.

This would prevent unions like the Kentucky Education Association from automatically collecting union dues when teachers are paid.

But labor organizations representing police and fire departments would be exempt from the regulations.

In his veto message, Governor Andy Beshear said Senate Bill seven is an attack on unions and teacher associations that support and protect hardworking Kentucky families.

A bill that supporters say would protect Kentucky's electrical grid and help the coal industry has been allowed to become law without the governor's signature.

Senate Bill four prohibits the Public Service Commission from allowing utility companies to retire coal fired power plants unless several conditions are met.

Here are those conditions.

First, the utility must replace the retired unit with new electric generating capacity.

Second, rate payers wouldn't have to pay for the new unit.

And finally, retiring a unit can't be the result of financial incentives from the federal government.

Some opponents said the bill could have unintended consequences, including negatively impacting Kentucky's ability to explore other energy sources.

The governor did sign Senate Joint Resolution 79.

It calls for establishing the Nuclear Energy Development Working Group.

The group's goal is to determine the barriers to nuclear power generation in Kentucky.

To submit a report to the governor and the LRC by the end of the year and to help create a permanent nuclear energy Commission.

The fight over Senate Bill 150 continues.

The bill was vetoed by Governor Andy Beshear on Friday.

SB 150 would ban medical care for transitioning youth and restricts conversion conversations about gender identity in Kentucky schools.

Today, the Fairness Campaign released statewide radio ads featuring two former Republican elected officials.

In two separate commercials, former Secretary of State Trey Grayson and former State Representative Bob Ringer call for people to oppose SB 150.

I'm a conservative who can't believe state lawmakers are working in the final days to take rights away from Kentucky.

Parents with Senate Bill 150.

They want to overrule parents and doctors when it comes to care for transgender kids.

Did we wait almost a century to get the majority just to wage an all out war against defenseless transgender children?

Wow, what a bad look for the party of Abraham Lincoln.

The Fairness Campaign says the ads will run through tomorrow.

The General Assembly returns for the last two days of the legislative session on Wednesday.

Legislators could override any of the governor's vetoes during that time.