UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1743
Page 1 of 3
XXXX 2/21/2023 6:30 PM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to assault in the third degree. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
ď˘Section 1. KRS 508.025 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) A person is guilty of assault in the third degree when the actor: 4
(a) Recklessly, with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, or intentionally 5
causes or attempts to cause physical injury to: 6
1. A state, county, city, or federal peace officer; 7
2. An employee of a detention facility, or state residential treatment facility 8
or state staff secure facility for residential treatment which provides for 9
the care, treatment, or detention of a juvenile charged with or 10
adjudicated delinquent because of a public offense or as a youthful 11
offender; 12
3. An employee of the Department for Community Based Services 13
employed as a social worker to provide direct client services, if the 14
event occurs while the worker is performing job-related duties; 15
4. Paid or volunteer emergency medical services personnel certified or 16
licensed pursuant to KRS Chapter 311A, if the event occurs while 17
personnel are performing job-related duties; 18
5. A paid or volunteer member of an organized fire department, if the 19
event occurs while the member is performing job-related duties; 20
6. Paid or volunteer rescue squad personnel affiliated with the Division of 21
Emergency Management of the Department of Military Affairs or a 22
local disaster and emergency services organization pursuant to KRS 23
Chapter 39F, if the event occurs while personnel are performing job-24
related duties; 25
7. A probation and parole officer; 26
8. A transportation officer appointed by a county fiscal court or legislative 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1743
Page 2 of 3
XXXX 2/21/2023 6:30 PM Jacketed
body of a consolidated local government, urban-county government, or 1
charter government to transport inmates when the county jail or county 2
correctional facility is closed while the transportation officer is 3
performing job-related duties; 4
9. A public or private elementary or secondary school or school district 5
classified or certified employee, school bus driver, or other school 6
employee acting in the course and scope of the employee's 7
employment;[ or] 8
10. A public or private elementary or secondary school or school district 9
volunteer acting in the course and scope of that person's volunteer 10
service for the school or school district; or 11
11. An employee, independent contractor, volunteer, affiliated physician, 12
or other medical professional of a hospital licensed pursuant to KRS 13
Chapter 216B, if the event occurs while such persons are performing 14
health care services within a hospital. 15
(b) Being a person confined in a detention facility, or a juvenile in a state 16
residential treatment facility or state staff secure facility for residential 17
treatment which provides for the care, treatment, or detention of a juvenile 18
charged with or adjudicated delinquent because of a public offense or as a 19
youthful offender, inflicts physical injury upon or throws or causes feces, or 20
urine, or other bodily fluid to be thrown upon an employee of the facility; or 21
(c) Intentionally causes a person, whom the actor knows or reasonably should 22
know to be a peace officer discharging official duties, to come into contact 23
with saliva, vomit, mucus, blood, seminal fluid, urine, or feces without the 24
consent of the peace officer. 25
(2) (a) For a violation of subsection (1)(a) of this section, assault in the third degree 26
is a Class D felony, unless the offense occurs during a declared emergency as 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 23 RS BR 1743
Page 3 of 3
XXXX 2/21/2023 6:30 PM Jacketed
defined by KRS 39A.020 arising from a natural or man-made disaster, within 1
the area covered by the emergency declaration, and within the area impacted 2
by the disaster, in which case it is a Class C felony. 3
(b) For a violation of subsection (1)(b) of this section, assault in the third degree 4
is a Class D felony. 5
(c) For violations of subsection (1)(c) of this section, assault in the third degree is 6
a Class B misdemeanor, unless the assault is with saliva, vomit, mucus, blood, 7
seminal fluid, urine, or feces from an adult who knows that he or she has a 8
serious communicable disease and competent medical or epidemiological 9
evidence demonstrates that the specific type of contact caused by the actor is 10
likely to cause transmission of the disease or condition, in which case it is a 11
Class A misdemeanor. 12
(d) As used in paragraph (c) of this subsection, "serious communicable disease" 13
means a non-airborne disease that is transmitted from person to person and 14
determined to have significant, long-term consequences on the physical health 15
or life activities of the person infected. 16