By Matthew Holloway |
The U.S. House of Representatives passed Kayleigh’s Law in late August, introduced in April by Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08). The Senate Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled action on the measure.
H.R. 8481, the Kayleigh’s Law Act of 2026, passed the House by voice vote on Aug. 31; no individual vote tally was recorded. Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Eli Crane (R-AZ-02), Paul Gosar (R-AZ-09), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06), and David Schweikert (R-AZ-01) were original cosponsors.
The Senate companion, S. 5372, was introduced Aug. 7 by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. No hearing or markup date has been posted.
The bill is named for Kayleigh Kozak, an Arizona mother of five who was sexually abused as a child by her soccer coach. In 2020, 13 years after the offender’s conviction, Kozak was brought back to court when her attacker sought to end his lifetime probation.
Arizona enacted its state version of Kayleigh’s Law through Senate Bill 1653 in 2022. The federal bill would require a court at sentencing to issue a lifetime no-contact order when a victim—or the government with the victim’s consent—requests one following a conviction for a qualifying federal violent felony or sex offense. The order could be suspended or terminated only under limited circumstances specified in the bill. Victims could not be charged a fee for its issuance.
Lee said in August that victims “often have to face their abusers in court over and over again.” Kozak said the harm caused by sexual assault is lifelong and its protections should be as well.
Hamadeh called the House vote “promise made, promise kept.”
In a post on X, Biggs wrote, “The U.S. House did its job to protect victims of certain violent crimes in passing Kayleigh’s Law this week. Now, the U.S. Senate must act before the clock runs out on us in January. We cannot fail these victims. We must send Kayleigh’s Law to the President’s desk.”
In a post quoting Biggs, Lee wrote, “Proud to have introduced Kayleigh’s Law in the Senate. Victims should not suffer years of unwanted contact with their abusers. And @RepAndyBiggsAZ is right: as with a large number of important House bills, we need to stop sitting around and PASS IT to President Trump’s desk!”
Legislation that does not become law before the 119th Congress ends in January would have to be introduced again in the next Congress.
AZ Free News contacted Lee’s office seeking a timeline for Senate Judiciary Committee consideration. No response was received by the time of publication.
Republicans hold the majority on the Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). The House passed the measure without recorded opposition. Its next potential steps include a committee hearing or markup on S. 5372, or Senate consideration of the House-passed bill.
Until the Senate acts, the Arizona-born proposal remains legislation and has not reached the president.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
