A bill prefiled in the Kentucky legislature would make it a felony to partake in certain types of protests against natural gas pipelines.

State Republican Rep. Jim Gooch, of Providence, crafted the bill. In it, Gooch amends an existing statute to say that anyone who "tampers with, impedes or inhibits" operations of pipelines or other assets is guilty of first-degree criminal mischief.

Fist-degree criminal mischief is a Class D felony, which can carry a penalty for the offender of one to five years in prison.

Gooch said he is proposing this bill to deter protesters from damaging pipelines and other property owned by utility companies. He pointed to damages caused by protesters who were opposing the Dakota Access pipeline, a $3.8 billion project that runs 1,200 miles through the Dakotas, Iowa and Illinois, in 2016 and 2017.

“If you trespass on one of these facilities with the intention of tampering and impeding of the infrastructure assets, then you could be responsible for the damage that you do," Gooch said.

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But critics fear the bill's language may be too vague and lead to an overprosecution of protesters, creating a chilling effect on First Amendment rights.

“The mere threat of imposing such a harsh penalty over such activity would cause some protesters to second guess if their activities would be a Class D felony and therefore make them second guess if they want to protest," said Corey Shapiro, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky.

Shapiro added that it isn't clear what the bill means when speaking of "impeding or inhibiting operations" and what would cause protesters to be arrested.

When asked about the meaning of those terms, Gooch said that they refer to physical damage of property and assets, and that he would be open to tightening up the language in the bill to clarify.

The bill also is not meant to prevent people from protesting peacefully, Gooch said.

Kentucky has been no stranger to pipeline controversy. Last month, a pipeline blast killed one person and injured six others in Lincoln County. And Louisville Gas & Electric is in a battle with Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest and some residents in Bullitt County over building a natural gas pipeline in the area.

LG&E spokeswoman Liz Pratt said the utility has "not yet had an opportunity to review" Gooch's legislation.

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Another source of tension in the bill is its last section, which states that civil action may be taken "against any person that knowingly compensates or remunerates a person" who is convicted of criminal mischief for the above actions.

Shapiro said that it is unclear who would be penalized under this section and that he's worried it may lead to further infringement of First Amendment rights.

For Gooch, this section is meant to hold groups that pay protesters who end up causing damage accountable. He added that Russian money has been traced to some of these groups, though he didn't name specific examples when asked.

"(Russians) have a vested interest in whether we continue to export liquefied natural because the European market is very much dependent on Russian gas, and we’re trying to export more and more of that to our allies in Europe," Gooch said. "They’re going to do what they can to protect their interests.”

This isn't the first time Gooch, the chairman of the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee, has proposed this type of legislation. In the 2019 regular session, he had a similar bill that passed the House of Representatives 81-16 but died in the Senate.

The legislation is the most recent in a nationwide trend of state legislatures attempting to block natural gas pipeline protests. Oklahoma was the first to pass pipeline-protecting legislation in 2017, which has become the model on the website for the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative group that drafts and shares model state-level legislation.

Local ACLU affiliates have sued state legislatures in attempts to block similar legislation in other states, such as in South Dakota. Though Shapiro wouldn't say what the ACLU of Kentucky would do in the case of the legislation's passage, he said the organization "is watching the bill carefully."

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Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-582-4181 or follow on Twitter @TobinBen. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: subscribe.courier-journal.com.