Domestic violence bill clears House committee

By Beth Musgrave – bmusgrave@herald-leader.com

FRANKFORT — A bill that includes a provision to allow dating partners to seek emergency protective orders in domestic violence cases cleared the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Under current law, only those who live together, have a child together or are married can seek emergency and protective orders in the state’s courts.

House Bill 189 includes provisions from five different bills that proponents say would strengthen the state’s domestic violence laws.

The omnibus bill, sponsored by Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, also increases domestic violence training for police officers from once every eight years to once every two years. The state would also create a database to track domestic violence crimes.

Currently, there is no way to determine how many people have been killed as a result of domestic violence.

One provision that did not make it into the bill approved Wednesday was a provision to assess a $50 fee for those convicted of domestic violence. The money from the fees would go to the state’s domestic violence shelters, said Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Riner said several Republicans had problems with the fee so they decided to delete it from the omnibus bill. “I think there was concern that it would not pass the Senate,” Riner said.

All of the proposals came on the heels of the Sept. 11 shooting death of Amanda Ross, a state department of insurance employee, outside of her Lexington home. Steve Nunn — her former fiance and a former state lawmaker — has pleaded not guilty to charges that he murdered her.

The measure now goes to the full House, where it is expected to pass. But there are questions about whether the bill will clear the Republican-controlled Senate, where another domestic violence bill has stalled.

Sherry Currens, the executive director of the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, said board members of the statewide umbrella organization for domestic violence programs have talked with members of the Senate about House Bill 189.

“I think we just have to keep telling them how important this is,” Currens said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony last week from judges who have concerns about House Bill 1 — a provision passed by the House last month that would allow judges to order electronic monitoring devices for those accused of domestic violence.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Tom Jensen, R-London, has said that he expects to have several other meetings about the bill before the committee voted.

Filed Under: KY General Assembly