All Kentuckians should be able to feel safe in their communities, but House Bill 5 does not further that goal. Instead, it turns back the clock to the tried-and-failed policies of yesterday that damaged vulnerable families and massively increased incarceration without benefiting communities.

HB 5 would:

• Criminalize homelessness by making “unlawful camping” a crime.

• Increase criminal penalties related to fentanyl, an approach that has been shown to raise the risk of fatal overdose by scaring people away from calling for help.

• Increase our already globally high incarceration levels through an antiquated “three strikes” provision and other harsher penalties that research shows aren’t effective at reducing crime and improving safety.

• Further crowd local jails by incarcerating more people pre-trial just because they are too poor to afford bail.

• Use vital state resources that could be spent on actually making our communities safer.

On top of these misguided approaches to community safety, HB 5 would squeeze out funding for investments in the evidence-backed methods of crime prevention that actually make us safer. Lawmakers should focus on investments in education, housing, food and other supports people need to thrive.

Lawmakers should reject the harmful provisions of HB5 and recognize that real public safety comes from addressing root causes of crime, drug overdoses and homelessness, not further criminalizing the symptoms of our decades-long failure to do so.

Send them a letter asking them to VOTE NO on HB 5.