Representative TJ Roberts

Please see my explanation regarding my YES vote on HR 124, to impeach Circuit Judge Julie Goodman. As a lawmaker, as a lawyer, and as a Kentuckian, this was not a decision I or any of my colleagues take lightly. Impeachment is an extraordinary power of the legislature. But knowing the law as a judge, and violating it anyway, is an extraordinary breach of trust and abuse of office. For this reason, and Judge Goodman’s own admission that she disregarded the law when she disagreed with it, the record is clear she committed impeachable conduct. As a result, and after careful review of the record, prayer, and consideration, I voted yes.

I’m honored to announce that my HB 78 has passed the House Floor, which protects the industries essential to the 2nd Amendment from BS lawsuits designed to bankrupt the gun industry.   HB 78 would establish clear liability protections for manufacturers, sellers, and trade associations involved in the lawful production and sale of firearms and ammunition. The measure would ensure these entities cannot be held responsible for damages caused by the criminal or unlawful use of their products by third parties. The bill would also incorporate the federal standard in PLCAA, which passed in 2005 with bipartisan support, into Kentucky law while clarifying the limited circumstances in which a civil action could move forward. Criminals who break the law in Kentucky must be held solely responsible for their actions. HB 78 would bring the Commonwealth law in line with federal standards and ensure that businesses operating responsibly are protected from politically motivated lawsuits designed to cripple an industry that is vital to Kentucky’s economy and to a basic constitutional right. HB 78 would further clarify that general statutes, such as public nuisance laws, cannot be used to circumvent the protections established by the legislation. This is about protecting lawful commerce while maintaining accountability where bad actors break the law. This legislation would strike a responsible balance. It would protect Kentucky jobs and businesses from abusive litigation designed to shut down the lawful exercise of a constitutional right while ensuring that bad actors who truly violate the law can still be held accountable to the fullest extent. Thank you to all who have supported this effort! Let’s get it done in the Senate!

I’m honored to announce that my HB 78 has passed the House Judiciary Committee, which aims to protect Kentucky’s firearm and ammunition industry from liability tied to criminal misuse for which the industry is not responsible.   HB 78 would establish clear liability protections for manufacturers, sellers, and trade associations involved in the lawful production and sale of firearms and ammunition. The measure would ensure these entities cannot be held responsible for damages caused by the criminal or unlawful use of their products by third parties. The bill would also incorporate the federal standard in PLCAA, which passed in 2005 with bipartisan support, into Kentucky law while clarifying the limited circumstances in which a civil action could move forward. Law-abiding manufacturers and retailers should not face the blame for the criminal acts of others. We don’t do this in ANY other industry. HB 78 would bring Kentucky law in line with federal standards and ensure that businesses operating responsibly are protected from politically motivated lawsuits designed to cripple an industry that is vital to Kentucky’s economy and to a basic constitutional right. HB 78 would establish immunity from certain civil liability claims, known as “qualified civil liability actions,” against firearm and ammunition manufacturers, sellers, and related trade associations. It would also preempt local laws or regulations that attempt to impose similar liability. At the same time, the bill would clarify that legitimate claims against those who break the law or produce defective products may still proceed. Under HB 78, plaintiffs bringing claims under those limited exceptions would be required to plead specific facts demonstrating that the manufacturer or seller directly and proximately caused the alleged harm. Courts would determine whether the facts meet the legal standard before allowing a case to proceed. HB 78 would also outline procedures for resolving these claims efficiently, including allowing defendants to file a special motion for dismissal or summary judgment. Courts would be required to hear those motions within 45 days unless limited discovery, capped at 60 days, is required. Additionally, the bill would place the burden of proof on plaintiffs to establish their claims with clear and convincing evidence and would include penalties for lawsuits filed in violation of the statute, including dismissal, attorney’s fees, and civil penalties. HB 78 would further clarify that general statutes, such as public nuisance laws, cannot be used to circumvent the protections established by the legislation. This is about protecting lawful commerce while maintaining accountability where bad actors break the law. This legislation would strike a responsible balance. It would protect Kentucky jobs and businesses from abusive litigation designed to shut down the lawful exercise of a constitutional right while ensuring that bad actors who truly violate the law can still be held accountable to the fullest extent. I look forward to codifying HB 78 into law!

Super SHORT legislative update!

Government should never be a barrier between a parent and their child's future. With the passage of HB 1 through the House and its movement in the Senate, we are making a clear statement: Kentucky students come first! HB 1 secures education freedom for students who would otherwise be denied this basic opportunity without using a single dime of our tax dollars. By opting in, Kentucky students in public, private, or parochial schools or homeschool co-ops will be able to receive the benefits of the Big Beautiful Bill, which allows Americans to donate to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) that helps students get the education they need and deserve, and receive a dollar to dollar federal tax credit. If HB 1 does not become law, Kentuckians can still donate, but it would only benefit students in other states. We can’t afford to leave Kentucky students behind. I look forward to HB 1 passing the Senate, and I REALLY look forward to overturning Andy Beshear’s veto. Our children deserve every chance to succeed, and today we took a major step toward making that a reality.

Students won yesterday. I’m honored to announce that House Bill 1 has passed the Kentucky House of Representatives on a bipartisan basis!! House Bill 1 elects our Commonwealth to participate in the program established in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, allowing Kentuckians to claim a federal tax credit of up to $1,700 per year for donations to certified Scholarship Granting Organizations. Those SGOs will provide scholarships to eligible K-12 students from Kentucky Households, covering tuition, tutoring, books, special needs services, and more for Kentucky public, private, and homeschool students. Kentucky students continue to suffer without House Bill 1. Educational opportunity is the civil rights issue of our time, and parents have a right to a voice in their child’s eduction. Most middle- and lower-income families would qualify for SGO scholarships under HB 1. To qualify, students must be eligible for public elementary or secondary enrollment and come from families earning up to 300% of the area median income. Students across the United States will benefit from Kentucky donors, while our students will be left behind without HB 1. Our commonwealth cannot afford to leave these dollars on the table. The federal government has stepped up to provide our state with an opportunity to improve educational freedom without costing our taxpayers. Our commonwealth’s students deserve the same opportunities as those in neighboring states. HB 1 is an opportunity for us to put our students first by extending educational freedom across the commonwealth. HB 1 finally puts the commonwealth’s families first and creates opportunity for thousands of families who would otherwise be unable to access the education best for them. Education freedom is about empowering parents and children, and is the civil rights issue of our time. House Bill 1 delivers real educational opportunity through private donations and federal incentives, no new state spending, no burden on taxpayers, just more options for Kentucky children. This is a common-sense step toward better education outcomes, stronger families, and a brighter future for our Commonwealth. I’m grateful see this bill pass, and I look forward to it becoming law.

Ten years ago, a monster entered a family home in Versailles, took a knife, went into the bedroom where Logan was sleeping, and stabbed the child to death. He then attacked Logan’s sisters and father, inflicting serious injuries that changed their lives forever. Although Exantus confessed to the crime, an insanity plea resulted in his acquittal on the murder charge. He received a 20-year sentence on lesser offenses and was later released under Kentucky’s mandatory reentry supervision program after serving less than half his time. Today’s passage in the House is a significant step toward ensuring that no other family endures what the Tiptons have endured. Logan’s Law requires that when multiple charges arise from the same course of conduct, a defendant is either sane for all charges or insane for all charges, eliminating split verdicts that allow serious offenders to avoid conviction on the most severe offenses. The bill also ends mandatory reentry supervision for heinous crimes, requiring violent offenders to serve their full sentences unless the parole board unanimously approves otherwise. I am deeply grateful to Representative Dan Fister for his partnership in filing this bill with me and to every member of the House who voted in favor of this legislation. Above all, I thank the Tipton family for their courage, for sharing their story, and for working closely with us to shape a bill that honors Logan’s memory and protects all Kentuckians from dangerous, violent criminals. This is a major victory for victims and for every Kentuckian who believes justice must be certain and severe when a child’s life is taken. I will continue to fight until Logan’s Law reaches Governor Beshear’s desk and is signed into law.

🚨 LOGAN’S LAW PASSES HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE 🚨 I’m honored to announce that Logan’s Law, House Bill 422, has passed the House Judiciary Committee. With more than half the House already cosponsoring the bill, it now advances to the full House for a vote. Logan’s Law carries the name of a six-year-old boy stabbed to death in his own bed while he slept. A monster used every loophole in our broken system and walked free far too soon. Enough is enough. It’s time for justice. Logan’s Law shuts down the loophole allowing for murderers to be found not guilty by reason of insanity on some counts, but guilty on others, that let Logan’s killer go free. It cracks down on early release that rewards violent offenders. It forces consecutive sentences when predators attack multiple victims. A life sentence will finally mean life in prison for the worst criminals, allowing murderers to be sentenced to Life without the Possibility of Parole regardless of aggravators, unlike current law. I am honored to sponsor this bill with Rep Dan Fister. I stand with the Tipton family all the way and will fight until this bill is signed into law. Their strength turned their loss into the change that will protect so many Kentucky families in the future. To every parent who wants to put their kids to bed safely, To every victim who fears their attacker will walk free, This bill is for you. I thank the Tipton family for their courage and for meeting with us to help shape this bill, especially to Dean Tipton for his powerful testimony today. Their strength drives this fight. With overwhelming support already in place, we will not rest until HB 422 is law.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Representative TJ Roberts House steps up to protect children with anti-grooming measure A middle school student starts getting extra attention from an adult at school. It begins with compliments and small favors. Soon there are private messages, encouragement to keep secrets, and reassurance that no one else really understands them. Nothing overtly criminal happens at first. By the time the behavior becomes unmistakably wrong, the child is already isolated, confused, and afraid to speak up. This example is fictional, but it is drawn from patterns law enforcement and families across Kentucky have described again and again. In another case, a trusted authority figure offers mentorship to a young person struggling at home. The relationship seems supportive on the surface. Over time, boundaries erode. Conversations become inappropriate. The child is conditioned to accept behavior he or she knows feels wrong, but has been taught to normalize. The harm does not begin with physical abuse. It begins with manipulation. This is grooming, and it is evil. Kentucky law has struggled to clearly define it. Lawmakers are working to fix this problem with HB 4, which passed the House unanimously on the 20th day of the session. The bill would formally define grooming and make it a criminal offense, recognizing it as a deliberate and calculated process used to gain access to vulnerable children for exploitation or abuse. It is an important and overdue step toward protecting kids before irreversible harm occurs. It was an honor to cosponsor this bill the day the great Marianne Proctor filed it and to speak in favor of the bill in our interim Judiciary Committee hearing on the bill! Rep. Proctor, the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, and our great Boone County Attorney and Commonwealth’s Attorney put in excellent work to ensure Kentucky’s children are protected! Grooming is not accidental. It is not a misunderstanding. It is not innocent relationship-building that gets misinterpreted after the fact. It is a pattern of behavior that predators use intentionally, often patiently, to break down a child’s defenses and silence them long before abuse is visible to the outside world. The legislation was brought forward in response to concerns raised directly by families who encountered grooming firsthand. Parents, law enforcement, and prosecutors discovered that while existing laws addressed abuse after it happened, they did not adequately account for the warning signs that come earlier. The absence of a clear legal definition also makes it harder to intervene when red flags were obvious but the conduct had not yet crossed into physical abuse. HB 4 seeks to fix this, spelling out what grooming looks like and attaching meaningful consequences to it. Penalties are based on the age of the child and whether the adult involved holds a position of trust or authority. After all, when those in a position of trust exploit their access to children, the betrayal compounds the harm and deepens the trauma. By structuring penalties this way, the legislation recognizes two critical truths. Younger children are more vulnerable and require stronger protections. And authority figures who abuse their position cause greater damage because children are conditioned to trust them and fear the consequences of speaking out. Grooming is manipulative, deceptive, and aimed at exploitation. It must end. Protecting children is a basic role of government and community alike. HB 4 draws a clear line and acknowledges what families, advocates, and prosecutors have long known: grooming is often the first step toward abuse, not a harmless precursor. By defining it, criminalizing it, and holding offenders accountable, Kentucky moves closer to a system that prioritizes prevention over regret. HB 4 now goes to the Senate for consideration. I am hopeful that our colleagues there will act quickly to protect children from predators.

I’m honored to announce my House Bill 84 has passed out of the House Judiciary Committee! I believe government has a DUTY to protect life, liberty, and property - especially during riots. That’s why I sponsored HB 84 to hold local governments accountable when they defy Kentucky’s anti-Riot laws. Thank you to Jason Nemes for primary cosponsoring, and cosponsors Josh Calloway, John Hodgson, and Candy Massaroni! Riots have no place in Kentucky, and you deserve to be protected from violent riots. But the last time it happened in Kentucky, courts carved out a loophole that leaves more than a million Kentuckians without recourse. In 2020, rioters and looters destroyed cities throughout America, including cities in Kentucky. Louisville knew full well that the riots were coming, and they were going to be horrible. Despite this, the former mayor of Louisville issued a stand down order to Louisville Metro Police, demanding they not protect Louisville from riots and looters. With the stand down order, Louisville predictably burned. Looters committed Smash-and-Grabs, destroying small, family businesses. In the aftermath, these small shops needed recourse. Kentucky is blessed to have KRS 411.100, a law enacted in the mid-1800s that says that if a city knows a riot is occurring or is about to occur and the government has the means to prevent property damage, that city has a DUTY to do so. If the city abandons that duty, then innocent Kentuckians have a right to sue the city for the damage done to them and their property. JJ Wig Shop sued Louisville, invoking this statute. The Kentucky Supreme Court, however, decided that Louisville is not a city. It’s a very odd holding given that a mere Google search of Louisville reveals it is, and was when KRS 411.100 was adopted, a “city in Kentucky.” But the Court decided that Louisville can avoid liability by simply becoming a Metro - a system of government that didn’t exist until more than 100 years after the adoption of this law. Justice was denied through an absurd interpretation of the law. Louisville is a city, period. HB 84 makes sure this NEVER happens again by simply clarifying that Kentucky’s anti-Riot laws apply to every form of Local Government. Louisville used a clearly erroneous, technical loophole to avoid accountability for their blatant refusal to protect their people. HB 143 makes sure that moving forward, they (or Lexington) can never make that argument in court again. You are taxed so the government can protect your life, liberty, and property. Every Kentuckian should know they are safe from rioters. That’s what HB 84 is about. I’m thankful it passed out of Committee, and look forward to seeing it become law!