Michael Minger Act
The Michael Minger Act is a Kentucky state law that requires public colleges and universities as well as private institutions licensed by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) to report campus crimes to their employees, students and the public on a timely basis. It was championed by Gail Minger after her 19 year-old son Michael was killed in an arson fire at Murray State University on September 18, 1998. Information about an earlier arson fire in Minger’s residence hall had been kept from students and their parents. The law took effect July 14, 2000 and additional provisions dealing with student housing fire safety took effect on July 13, 2004.
The Minger Act requires a public crime log, to be available on-line, recording incidents known to campus police and other campus officials, as well as special reports when there is an ongoing threat to the safety of students and employees. Schools must also report their crime statistics annually to the CPE which has responsibility for developing formats for reporting crime statistics and for ensuring that annual reports are received from the institutions.
The State Fire Marshal is granted access to the property of any institutions that is covered by the Michael Minger Act for the purpose of inspection, investigation or any other action necessary to prevent fire loss or to determine the origin of any fire.
Campus officials must also immediately report each fire or threat of fire to the State Fire Marshal’s office and local authorities. School officials that violate the law may be fined up to $1,500, be imprisoned in their county jail for up to 30 days or both.
Copies of the entire Michael Minger Act are open for review in the Department of Campus Police or by going to http://cpe.ky.gov.