Louisville Public Safety Committee Meeting - July 22, 2026: Late-Night Business Security Ordinance Advanced
Louisville Metro Public Safety Committee Meeting - July 22, 2026
The Public Safety Committee of the Louisville Metro Council met at 4:04 PM on July 22, 2026, to consider O-280-25, an ordinance enacting a new chapter of Title XI relating to in-person security at late-night businesses. After extensive debate and two amendments, the committee voted 9-1 to recommend approval, sending the measure to the full Metro Council's Old Business for the July 30, 2026 meeting.
Discussion Items
- O-280-25 – Late-Night Business Security Ordinance: Sponsored by Council Member Tammy Hawkins (D-1) and co-sponsored by Betsy Ruhe (D-21), the ordinance would require certain late-night businesses (open 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.) to provide on-site security after they are cited for persistent illegal activity. The definition of persistent illegal activity property was clarified via an amendment by Council Member Ginny Mulvey-Woolridge (R-24), which separated criteria for hotels/motels (five or more enforcement actions in 12 months) from other properties (more than one enforcement action in 12 months). County Attorney Alice Lyon explained that enforcement would follow existing code processes, with code enforcement issuing a notice and citation after two incidents for most businesses. Discussion included:
- Concerns about code enforcement capacity and whether the department has resources (raised by Council Members Winkler and Chappell).
- Questions about how a single incident (e.g., a fight involving multiple arrests) would be counted (raised by CM Winkler).
- Anecdotal evidence from CM Owen about the difficulty of reaching national tenants when citations go to property owners.
- Council Member Hawkins emphasized that existing nuisance ordinances already allow code enforcement to shut down businesses, and that the ordinance targets repeated criminal activity (e.g., prostitution, gambling, assault) rather than one-off events.
- Council Member Chappell expressed concerns about unintended consequences, cost burdens on small businesses, and the lack of an unarmed security licensure option. She stated she could not support the measure.
- Council Member Parrish-Wright voiced similar concerns about equity and enforcement, noting she would vote no.
Key Outcomes
- Amendment (Mulvey-Woolridge): Passed by voice vote to clarify the definition of persistent illegal activity property for hotels/motels.
- Amendment by Substitution (Hawkins): Passed by voice vote, incorporating the first amendment and other changes from previous versions.
- Final Vote on O-280-25 (as amended): 9 Yes (Seum, Hawkins, Owen, Joseph, Reed, Winkler, Ruhe, Bratcher, Mulvey-Woolridge), 1 No (Parrish-Wright). The ordinance was sent to Old Business for the full Metro Council meeting on July 30, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
And younger to provide a nutritious meal while physically dining on the bus. Easing the challenge to locate resources. As we all know, mental health is an important issue nationally and certainly is in our community as well. And sometimes those individuals don't recognize that they have mental health needs. During the last two years, we have worked to strengthen having someone to respond when someone's in crisis. That has included having someone to talk to through nine eighty eight or the call crisis line. And then we also have a new crisis center that will be opening the end of this month, beginning of next month. We're in construction right now. We've just hired staff and begun training. I'm the commander of the LMPD homicide unit. At that location, we had three shooters who approached on foot where there was a crowd, a line of people waiting to go into the DMV. All three of these suspects fired weapons into this line of people. And I'm okay with these. Um, I'm gonna start. Good afternoon. The time is 4 04 p.m. This is the regularly scheduled meeting of the public safety committee. I'm your chair, councilman Dan, and I'm joined by my vice chair, councilwoman Tammy Hawkins. Today we have the following committee members in attendance is Jonathan Joseph, Kevin Bratcher, Betsy Ruey, Andrew Owen, and virtually we have Marcus Winkler, Scott Reed, Shemika Parrish Wright, and Jenny Malvey Woolridge. Clerk, will you please read the virtual meeting language? This meeting is being half percent of care is six one point eight two six in council rule five A read in full. Thank you, Madam Clerk. We have one item on the agenda. Madam Clerk, please read item number one into the record. Item one is enacting a new chapter of title 11 of the Louisville Metro Code of Ordinance relating to in-person security at the late night businesses read in full. Thank you. Do we have a motion to return motion to return to the table? Motion to return to the table. Then probably moved and seconded. The sponsor of the ordinance, Councilwoman Hawkins. Do we have to vote to return it to Okay? We're gonna have to vote to return this to the table. Is that of it's a remote vote? A voice vote to return to the table. All in favor say aye. Again, the eyes have it. So we're back to the table, and councilwoman Hawkins, you have the floor. Thank you, Chair. Um, first I want to say uh I'm gonna give my colleague an opportunity to go ahead and make this amendment. Um anybody that has had any concerns. I've worked really long on this, as we know that we've had a lot of um balance in our not only just our communities, but the entire city. Um I've worked diligently on this, uh, work with restaurant bars, my colleagues, and hopefully, today we can go ahead and get this passed with um another new amendment, which was a great amendment that I missed. That's why it is so important to um for everyone to kind of look at it, you know, in a different set of lenses. So I missed something. My colleague picked it up. Hopefully, she'll be a co-sponsor. That's uh councilwoman uh Ginny Morey Woolridge. I want to go ahead and give her the floor and the opportunity. Yep, thank you. Um so on page three.
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