KY bill would ban standing near highways. Critics say panhandling is the target
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- Kentucky bill would ban standing in state road right-of-way to protect pedestrians.
- Backers cite traffic safety and police guidance; local exemptions remain allowed.
- Critics say measure targets panhandlers and risks criminalizing homelessness.
Kentucky lawmakers are moving a bill forward that would prohibit people from standing in the right-of-way alongside state-maintained roads.
The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved House Bill 189, which includes a ban on standing in shoulders, medians and entrances or exits to highways, and sent it to the full Senate. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kevin Jackson, R-Bowling Green, told the committee he wants to protect pedestrians.
But critics said the bill appears to be aimed at panhandlers who stand alongside roads to ask motorists for money.
Jackson said his bill will allow police to keep people off roadsides if there aren’t sidewalks or bus stops and there is no legitimate reason for them to stand near traffic. Under state law, violations of pedestrian safety rules can bring a fine of $20 to $100.
“Across Kentucky, we have many state roads that were designed for fast-moving traffic, not for pedestrian occupancy,” Jackson said. “When pedestrians are present in those travel corridors, it creates dangerous and unpredictable situations that risk the public safety of both drivers and pedestrians.”
In 2017, the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down a Lexington ordinance that banned asking for money on public streets, calling it a violation of First Amendment free speech rights. House Bill 189 is an attempt to do the same thing a slightly different way, said Ginny Ramsey, director of the Catholic Action Center, a privately run homeless shelter in Lexington.
“If panhandling is not illegal, then the only way you can control it is to control the areas where it can happen with this kind of law,” Ramsey told the Herald-Leader.
Even a small fine issued by police would be enough to wipe out the meager savings of most homeless people and trap them in a cycle of court dates, contempt citations and jail cells, Ramsey said.
“And you know, that’s where it all happens — alongside the roads,” she said. “You drive around and you see it. You see the exits at (the interstates). We find a lot of our people are at those. Their encampments are close by, and that’s how they — that’s their little pop-up economic development.”
The state legislature already has criminalized “public camping” in an attempt to outlaw homelessness in Kentucky, she added, referring to the Safer Kentucky Act, which passed in 2024.
“They end up in the mindset that these things are helpful for the homeless, and instead of trying to create a more compassionate response, something that will have a positive effect on the community, it’s ‘Let’s get rid of them. Throw them in jail,’” Ramsey said.
No one at the Senate committee hearing on Wednesday used the words “panhandlers” or “homeless.” Instead, Jackson said the Kentucky League of Cities and the state’s law enforcement organizations are backing his bill as a matter of traffic safety.
“This bill provides clear guidance for police officers — first responders — who are often placed in difficult positions when existing law does not clearly define safe or unsafe pedestrian access to these roadways,” Jackson said.
The bill includes exceptions for specific situations, such as a vehicle breakdown or a medical emergency. Local governments would be allowed to craft narrow exemptions to the law if there was a particular reason they want to allow people to stand on a roadside, Jackson added.
“Think about our local cheerleaders having a car wash fundraiser,” Jackson told the senators. “That could be permitted by date, time and scope.”
The Kentucky Office of Highway Safety reported 97 non-motorized fatalities on state highways in 2025, which could include pedestrians and bicyclists, down from 109 in 2024.
