A bill passed by the House contains a number of provisions that its supporters wish were not necessary.
Sponsored by Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center) and Sen. Mee Moua (DFL-St. Paul), HF2608/ SF2437* is an omnibus domestic abuse bill.
The House language was amended onto the Senate bill by the House Finance Committee April 8, and was passed 132-0 by the House. It now returns to the Senate for concurrence. The original version received Senate approval 67-0 March 29.
Among the bills included in the omnibus bill are:
• HF2608, sponsored by Hilstrom, which expands the area for protection for a reasonable distance around a residence or dwelling of a person seeking an ex parte order for protection;
• HF3090, sponsored by Hilstrom, which clarifies the crime of stalking by explicitly labeling the applicable statute “stalking,” refining the stalking definition and expanding the list of conduct that constitutes stalking;
• HF2864, sponsored by Rep. Paul Gardner (DFL-Shoreview), which would permit a judicial district to conduct a pilot project to allow courts in the district to order, as a condition of release in domestic abuse cases, electronic monitoring of an offender to protect a victim’s safety;
• HF3361, sponsored by Rep. Mary Liz Holberg (R-Lakeville), which exempts certain domestic abuse or sexual attack programs from data practice requirements;
• HF3383, also sponsored by Holberg, which establishes data classification of private for vehicle information for OFP’s and no-contact orders;
• HF1396, sponsored by Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul), which allows animals and companion animals to be included in protective orders; and
• HF3089, sponsored by Paymar, which increases the maximum bail for non-felony domestic abuse offenses, expands the tampering with a witness crime and clarifies the requirement that the criminal justice data communications network includes OFP’s and no-contact orders.
Hilstrom said the bill has no cost.
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